The Grudge (DVD)

Before you go hitting that "Buy Now" button above let me just tell you one thing... there is going to be another version of this film released on DVD and it is going to be a director's cut, and it is going to be different, I will tell you how in just a bit, but first the movie...

The Grudge picks up where The Ring left off and hopefully The Ring 2 will continue the trend of successful Japanese horror film remakes.

Takashi Shimizu has made The Grudge a lifetime career, whether it is in his native Japan, or here in the States. The film tells the story of a powerful curse born of a grudge held by someone who dies angry, and fortunately for you scare fanatics there is enough visually shocking footage here to give you your fill.

The only critique I have on this film as far as a DVD purchase is that it isn't one, like The Ring, that you can watch over and over again in tight groups. You have to let this one sit on your shelf for a while in order to retain the fright quality it offers in any attempt to be startled by the images you know are coming.

As for the features this DVD offers it is pretty bare, with a five-part documentary that spans about 45 minutes and a featurette titled "Under the Skin", which offers up a medical explanation to the act of being scared.

The one big feature on top of those is the audio commentary that brings in just about everyone except for the family dog to talk about this film, and that is not a bad thing. The likes of Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Kadee Strickland, Ted Raimi, Sam Raimi and more join in to talk about the film and reveal just what you will get from the Shimizu director's cut.

Speaking of the director's cut of the film, which Raimi references several times, saying it should be out "a few months following this release." The differences you should see seem to lend to Shimizu's preference to the Japanese style of storytelling where not as much is explained to the audience and we are left to figure things out for ourselves. One scene in particular that will most likely be cut is the exchange between Gellar's character and the detective on the rooftop where the whole story is pretty much hashed out.

On top of that there will also be about three minutes of footage to make up for what was taken out, footage Raimi refers to as footage that was cut to appease the ratings board and attain the PG-13 rating The Grudge received.

Overall, I like this movie and I enjoyed the DVD, and at the same time I don't think avid movie fans will be upset purchasing this one on top of the director's cut as they will hopefully be different enough for those that just can't wait.