The Grudge 2 (DVD)

My weekend of bad DVDs continued with The Grudge 2, a movie Sony didn't show to critics on its theatrical release and for good reason... This movie is HORRIBLE! I really enjoyed the first Grudge, but this second attempt is almost the exact same movie only much, much worse.

Based on the popular Japanese flicks created by director Takashi Shimizu The Grudge 2 is the sixth time the director has revisited the story and I don't think I am the only one that thinks that is too much and there is a rumor that he will direct a seventh film. Get a new idea Takashi. This time around we still have a bit of a storyline centered around Karen Davis, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar who originated the role in The Grudge in 2004. Using Karen as a jumping off point we are introduced to Aubrey (Tamblyn), Karen's sister. When last we left Karen she was in the hospital and she is still there and Aubrey is sent by her bed-ridden mother to check on the sister she loves, since she so clearly hates Aubrey.

So, Aubrey heads to Japan, but wait, there are two more storylines. You have Allison played by Arielle Kebbel, and who would have thought any director could make a beautiful girl look so bad? Really, why cast Kebbel if you are going to put a hideous black wig on her and make her look like shit? Not because of her acting skills, that's for sure. Anyway, Allison is taken into the "grudge" house as a prank and gets the curse chasing her down. Then we have another American family living in Japan and they get all grudgy as well. How all these storylines tie together is incredibly stupid and uninteresting. In order to hopefully keep viewers interested Shimizu has a kill here and there, but why you are actually watching the movie becomes the question as the fractured narrative continues.

Special features wise you would think this is the best horror ever made and Shimizu is the best director ever. Gellar even says in one of the featurettes that the first film was a learning experience for the Japanese director in the way of making American-style films. However, if this is what he learned then he should go ahead and forget about making any more American horrors because this is a travesty. One other thing I keyed on from the making-of featurette is that "people expect more in a sequel." I would like to correct this and say that people expect different. Giving people "more" in a sequel? What does that even mean? The first movie was good for whatever reason and the second film needs to take the idea of the first and make a completely different movie, not make the same movie with just a few more kills in a different way. This is what the Saw franchise is trying to do, which is why the third film in that franchise is so bad.

The Grudge 2 fails on every level and it is highly unlikely we will see a Grudge 3. We can only be thankful for that.