And Now To Wait For "Ring vs. Grudge"
Like I said on Friday, there were some rumblings among my posse to go see The Grudge 2 last night. And that's exactly what we did. Moses and I picked up one of our Anderson County crew (since the other was unfortunately unavailable) and caught the 10:00 showing in Frankfort.
My honest opinion of the movie is that it's got a bad case of sequelitis. I just didn't think it was as good as the previous movie. That's only exascerbated by the fact that the plot teeters on the brink of incoherence. It has three seperate storylines going on at once, and because it bounces back and forth between them, it can make the movie hard to follow. If the movie followed a more linear method of storytelling, it probably wouldn't be so confusing. But I think if one can decipher a proper timeline of events, it might make a little more sense.
What it lacks in plot, the movie makes up for with atmosphere and visuals. The movie is thoroughly creepy, building up a certain level of suspense while lulling the viewer into a false sense of security in order to create more effective jump scares. And believe me, there's some really good jump scares. The Grudge 2 is a lot like its predecessor, in that there are a lot of jump scares to go around. Combine the jumps with the atmosphere, the spooky ghosts, and the downright frightening sound design, and you have all the makings of a horror movie that would have been a very disturbing one had it been a little easier to follow.
The acting is hit or miss, but it isn't too bad. Sarah Michelle Gellar is great despite a limited role, and Amber Tamblyn is really good (although she's no SMG). Takako Fuji, though stuck in a thankless role that doesn't require a lot of "traditional" acting, was quite frightening as the malevolent "onryō" she's played in all prior Grudge movies, both Japanese and American. The rest of the main cast - Arielle Kebbel, Edison Chen, and Matthew Knight - are not bad, but don't really stand out, either. I'm also saddened that Ryo Ishibashi is relegated to a rather mundane cameo. Ishibashi was great in the previous movie, but is unfortunately only around for one scene here. While he's great in the one scene, and it does hint of his character's eventual fate, I personally would have been satisfied if he had been given Edison Chen's role.
As a whole, The Grudge 2 isn't all it could have been. It isn't awful, but it almost seems like just a quick way for the filmmakers to capitalize on the previous movie's success. However, with a little work, I think it could have been just as good as the previous movie. Perhaps an eventual unrated DVD will help correct that? But as it stands, I'm going to give The Grudge 2 three and a half stars. And if the movie taught me anything at all, it's to stay out of haunted houses and Japanese no-tell motels. Though that's just good advice in general.
My honest opinion of the movie is that it's got a bad case of sequelitis. I just didn't think it was as good as the previous movie. That's only exascerbated by the fact that the plot teeters on the brink of incoherence. It has three seperate storylines going on at once, and because it bounces back and forth between them, it can make the movie hard to follow. If the movie followed a more linear method of storytelling, it probably wouldn't be so confusing. But I think if one can decipher a proper timeline of events, it might make a little more sense.
What it lacks in plot, the movie makes up for with atmosphere and visuals. The movie is thoroughly creepy, building up a certain level of suspense while lulling the viewer into a false sense of security in order to create more effective jump scares. And believe me, there's some really good jump scares. The Grudge 2 is a lot like its predecessor, in that there are a lot of jump scares to go around. Combine the jumps with the atmosphere, the spooky ghosts, and the downright frightening sound design, and you have all the makings of a horror movie that would have been a very disturbing one had it been a little easier to follow.
The acting is hit or miss, but it isn't too bad. Sarah Michelle Gellar is great despite a limited role, and Amber Tamblyn is really good (although she's no SMG). Takako Fuji, though stuck in a thankless role that doesn't require a lot of "traditional" acting, was quite frightening as the malevolent "onryō" she's played in all prior Grudge movies, both Japanese and American. The rest of the main cast - Arielle Kebbel, Edison Chen, and Matthew Knight - are not bad, but don't really stand out, either. I'm also saddened that Ryo Ishibashi is relegated to a rather mundane cameo. Ishibashi was great in the previous movie, but is unfortunately only around for one scene here. While he's great in the one scene, and it does hint of his character's eventual fate, I personally would have been satisfied if he had been given Edison Chen's role.
As a whole, The Grudge 2 isn't all it could have been. It isn't awful, but it almost seems like just a quick way for the filmmakers to capitalize on the previous movie's success. However, with a little work, I think it could have been just as good as the previous movie. Perhaps an eventual unrated DVD will help correct that? But as it stands, I'm going to give The Grudge 2 three and a half stars. And if the movie taught me anything at all, it's to stay out of haunted houses and Japanese no-tell motels. Though that's just good advice in general.
posted by Matt Sutton at
1:20 PM
1 Comments:
So it's the same kind of thing as with the Ring. The first movie is great, but the sequel doesn't quite know how to follow up. Even so, I might still go see it.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home