Customer Reviews

The Grudge 3

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I was also one of the few who saw it already and to be honest, it was a big improvement over The Grudge 2. The acting's pretty decent and the story was a lot more coherent this time around. The deaths weren't all that special but they definitely stepped up in the violence department to say the least. The ghosts were more aggressive and the story gets pretty intense as we get closer to seeing if this is truly the end of Kayako and Toshio's killing spree, but when it's all said and done, I had very mixed feelings about the ending. It's an ending that can truly be interpreted in so many different ways. If this is in fact the final movie of the trilogy, then we're left with a lot to think about. Rather that's a good or a bad thing is up to you.

On the the whole, despite me seeing it early, I'm seriously buying it no matter what. It definitely wasn't a waste of my time, but it doesn't surpass the first one in any way.If you're a die hard fan like me, you'll enjoy what this film has to offer to some extent.

Sad how Matthew Knight got top billing and is hardly in it at all. This film was a big letdown! Took too long to get started and when it did, totally predictable. Characters other than Gil McKinney (really hot guy) and Emi Ikehata (the best actor in the film) were a bore. I wish they would not continue with this franchise, but will.

Do yourself a favor, just watch the Japanese versions of them. America is not good at all with remakes or continuation of films.

I got this from a friend an can't honestly tell if this was a bootleg or not because it seemed pretty authentic, but even than I first thought this would be just as terrible as the second Grudge and was greatly surprised as how much better this one was than the second. The story beginning shows the young boy who was alive after the ending of the second movie in a asylum secure room as everyone thinks he's unstable and delusional as he continues to spout out about the spirit of Kayako and her plans to kill him. Well as you might expect they don't believe him and lock him in the room where of course Kayako does kill him very painfully, after that they show you the apartment complex from the second movie where Kayako has apparently cursed as well. The movie mainly keeps the focus on four people the first is Max(The elder brother who manages the complex and takes care of his two sisters Lisa and Rose and is also struggling to keep the complex afloat since most of the tenants have left), Lisa(The oldest sister who plans on going away and trying a career she's tried for a long time), Rose(The youngest sister who has a medical problem that also adds to her brothers concern both about her health and trying to keep the medical expenses paid), and finally Naoko(The younger sister of Kayako and feels it's up to her to try and end her sisters curse that's harming everyone). The actors and actresses in the movie were pretty decent and while the effects weren't that many it still did pretty good and left you the feeling of foreboding knowing when a victim of Kayako was about to be offed. While it doesn't quite reach the fear factor of the first movie it still way surpasses that of the second and that was enough for me. So if you've already got the first two movies finish the set with the third even though it didn't come out and theaters it's still a nice horror ghost movie to watch with the lights out...

WHY ... did they bother to create this film? That is my question.
The FIRST TWO american-version Grudge films were exemplary; not only were they faithful to and did justice to the Japanese versions, but they were a credit to the enitre horror genre, a style that in many ways has been consistently failing since the 90's. They were a much needed breath of fresh air for horror die-hards like myself, who were tired of directors sacrificing top-level dialogue, acting chops and plot outlines to pander to quick DVD sales and an industry expecting little to nothing from the Horror genre save for the endless drivel of "Screams" and "I What You Did Last Thursdays..."
And this is how Grudge 3 fails in every way... not necessarily because it wasn't released theatrically; that's irrelevant. But the director, when it came to quality, should have been "thinking" theatrically.
And yet, this time around, we have actors who can't act, poor cinematography, a weak, rehashed plotline thats already been covered better and in greater detail in the first two films, very minimal screentime for both Kayako and Toshio compared to the first two, and when you do see them... oh.. don't get me started! The character of Toshio is a young boy, approximately 6-8 years of age, can't remember which. In 3, we have a young man who is CLEARLY way too old for the role, looking more in the 15-16 range. Do ghosts age, too? Apparently so. And Kayako, the greatest villainess of recent times in all of horrordom; replete with dark hair, faded looks and the her signature fright-inspiring stop-motion cinematography... all that of that is ruined here. Its a different actress, which albeit is not always a bad thing, but it certainly is when the new actress blatantly overacts, and is not saved by the directors cheap makeup and effects. The makeup looks very "straight-white," not "natural ghost." Cheap. The trademark stop-motion is choppy and less smooth. And the attacks are minimal. Which means the creepiness is minimal. The only thing "new" is a cheap attempt at an even further backstory for Kayako and her newly introduced sister character, but even this is done tactlessly and ends up feeling very forced.
I REALLY WANTED TO LIKE THIS MOVIE! PLEASE UNDERSTAND! But I feel this new "director" should have left Grudge material to Sam Raimi and Takeshi Shimizu. The big guns of Horror!
If you are a die-hard like myself, go ahead... give it a whirl. Just don't expect too much.

There are only two good things about The Grudge 3, and here they are: 1) The excellent set design, which places you exactly back into the look and feel of the Chicago apartments even though they were actually reconstructed from the ground up in Bulgaria, and 2) Shawnee Smith (the Saw francise), because she's an amazing actress (and she's great looking!). She gives probably the best acting in the entire film, but even she can't save it from sucking. Matthew Knight reprises his role as Jake from The Grudge 2, but the absence of Sarah Michelle Gellar as Karen and Takashi Shimizu in the Director's chair doesn't lend any sense of true continuity to the Grudge series. Grudge 3 gets the first R-rating in the series. The lighting and cinematography are good, but the story line is, to say the least, a little weak.

You have the dead woman's sister who travels all the way from Tokyo to try and exorcise the curse from the Chicago apartments, as weird things have started happening to the residents. People begin to die, and the ghostly culprits are (once again) the dead mother and her cat-noise-making son, Toshio. He is gigantic in this film -- closer in fact to the size of a 12 year old tween than that of a 5 year old boy. There comes a point where all of this just isn't scary anymore. I guess it's easy to understand why this film didn't even make it to the box office. A bigger budget, better acting and a much, much stronger storyline could have saved The Grudge 3......but no.

The Grudge 3 isn't worth your time. Go and see the original Ju-On movies instead -- they're much better!

At this point the Asian horror genre is somewhat tired due to American remakes of the Ring & The Grudge, followed by their sequels. The first Grudge came at a time when we were still intrigued by this creepy, robotic moving ghost girl which led to a decent film. The second was pretty much the same deal with a little less of a budget, a slightly weaker story, and an appearance of Kumar. Now we are brought to the third and hopefully last installment which lacks just about everything. Obviously the budget was way less since it was a straight to dvd release, the story was the same but with a few boring twists, and our scary ghost girl/brother have really lost their effect.

The story picks up kind of where the second one left off. The apartment in Chicago where our asian ghosts have caused havoc is now forcing tenants to flee leaving it close to shutting down. Max is the manager of the complex who lives there with his two younger sisters. As he desperately tries to retain and gain new tenants he winds up becoming possessed by the spirits. As his sisters lives lay in the balance between the spirits and their possessed brother they are told they must do a ceremony to end the spell.

Out of the series this by far is the worst of all. It was supremely boring with way too much dialogue. To watch the film you will have to fast forward through roughly 70 % of it or you will be fast asleep in you chair like Santa at work. Even the ghost girl and her brother were way less creepy. The way the girl would crawl around in that bizarre twitching motion has even been cut back. I guess they couldn't afford the camera function that made it appear so scary because this one didn't have it. Even their make-up was more b. It looked like they rolled the actors in some flour and threw them out on set. When this one is returned it will get the Sid patented "He's gone, the evil's gone from here!" We would NOT have enjoyed this one back in the glory days.

It goes on and on. When you think everything is over, it is not. Three years after "The Grudge 2" comes another sequel featuring Kayako and Toshio, Japan's answer to Jason Voorhees (sort of). The new installment is as effective as the last "Ju-On" entry, which, sorry, is not saying much.

It seems there is no way to stop Kayako the vengeful spirit. That's what Jake (Matthew Knight, reprising his role in "The Grudge 2") keeps saying in the opening of the straight-to-DVD sequel "The Grudge 3." Dr. Sullivan (Shawnee Smith) doesn't believe him, which, as you know, is a big mistake. Then two ghosts, Kayako and Toshio, start haunting the cursed Chicago building where some residents still remain after the terrible event described in "The Grudge 2." In the meanwhile, a young Japanese woman travels to America, believing that she only can stop the curses.

The third installment suffers from the predictable storytelling and bland direction. The film just follows the basic template of horror genre faithfully. There is no surprise, no originality in the script. There is no logic behind the random appearances of the pale-faced ghosts Takao and Kayako, but still you can tell when they appear and how the victims get killed. Even the "twist" is not really a twist.

Though unnecessary and uninspired, "The Grudge 3" is not totally bad. There are some nice scares and the photography and production designs are decent. The acting is acceptable. Aiko Horiuchi plays Kayako, replacing Takako Fuji (who did the same role seven times). Maybe Ms Fuji thought it's time to do something different. Aiko Horiuchi is pretty good as the creepy woman with a crackling voice though sometimes her Kayako looks like computer-generated Sadako/Tamara.

It is not a total disaster, but obviously it is time to stop. But wait, this year another two "Ju-On" films have been released in Japan, "The Grudge: Girl in Black" and "The Grudge: Old Lady in White"....

I think it's time to lay the Grudge franchise to rest.

This 3rd installment is poorly written, poorly acted, re-visits familiar territory and adds nothing to the legacy of the first movie.

I found 2 fairly good "scare" moments in the film, but that's about it. The first Grudge film managed to be scary throughout by setting a tone and mood. The films since the first one have not been able to capture this eerie feeling.

Grudge 3 just doesn't work. It's not scary, the characters are uninteresting and the new pretzel ghost can't hold a candle to the original.

I found it funny that the kid ghost is now bigger, taller and has taken to wearing brown shorts. I wonder if he'll be a teenage ghost in the 4th one?

The first Grudge is a horror classic as far as I'm concerned. Although the 2nd one was not bad it did not measure up to the first. This 3rd one is a pale imitation. Enough is enough.

After reading a few of the positive reviews, I was excited to see this movie, but after sitting through this piece of trash, I would suggest you save your money. I've seen a lot of bad movies in my life, but this movie is just plain STUPID! Every time the ghastly dead Japanese woman enters a room to attack one of the actors, the actor would fall to the ground, start crawling backwards as slowly as they possibly can, and put their hands as far away from a defensive position as possible. All the actor would need to do is stand up, turn away from the creature-woman, and walk away, and the dead crawling woman would be left in the dust.

--- Spoiler ---

To make matters worst, every male actor in this movie acted like this was their first time in front of a camera - they were atrocious. The best actors, the psychiatrist Sullivan (Shawnee Smith), and the tenant-friend Gretchen (Mirina Sirtis - aka Counselor Deanna Troi), are killed off early in the movie. The other good actors are made to act stupid, causing the movie's plot to completely unravel. Never mind, there was no plot, what was I thinking.

Save your money and buy a good movie like "The Eye" with Jessica Alba, and you'll be a lot more entertained, and a lot happier that you shelled out over $20 for a movie that wasn't a complete waste of time.

Woopak never learns...

Being a fan of Takashi Shimizu's "JU-ON: The Grudge" and "JU-ON: The Grudge 2", but never really liked their American remakes; I still thought I'd check out this 2nd "Americanized" sequel since I was bored and curious. Shimizu directed the first two remakes of "Ju-On", "The Grudge 3" has a different director at the helm in the person of Toby Wilkins (Splinter). Loosely based on "Ju-On", the film does adapt the established formulas set by the first two, with a different cast and shot in Bulgaria, released by Sam Raimi's Ghost House pictures. Well, I decided to check this out since the director is the guy who gave us "Splinter" which I somewhat liked. So how does "The Grudge 3" rate? Well, it is different but also very run-of-the-mill--it is a direct to dvd popcorn snooze.

The story takes off after the events of "The Grudge 2" as Jake (Matthew Knight) is the sole survivor from those events that took his family. Jake is certain that something bad will happen in the Chicago apartment where he used to live; he tries to warn his doctor (Shawnee Smith) but she never believes his warnings. That is, until Jake is broken into two. Now, Doctor Sullivan decides to look into Jake's unexplained violent death, and goes to his former apartment building. But it seems like strange things have already began to occur as people have started dying. Max (Gil McKinney), the building's super lives with his two sisters; Lisa (Johanna Braddy) and an asthma-stricken Rose (Jadie Hobson) may already be in danger. Naoko (Emi Ikehata) is a young woman from Japan, who may be able to end this curse...but at what price?

I liked "Splinter" which is the main reason why I gave this "made for dvd" movie a look. Wilkins does display competency in generating thrills in that film, and in "The Grudge 3", his finest moment would have to be a "Mister Potato-head" very creepy approach. Forget crawl spaces that looked spooky, Mr. Potato head is one creepy gimmick. Other than this, the film is pretty routine and I thought Wilkins tried to inject some nice compositions to an otherwise simple screenplay. I guess the best way to approach this film is to look at it from other direct to dvd sequels such as "Rest Stop 2" and "Wrong Turn 2", which this film is superior. Heck, this film is even better than "The Haunting of Molly Hartley" which saw its release in theaters. Let's make up a phrase; it is so routine, but it is fabulously routine (?).

The screenplay by Brad Keene is totally disconnected from the events of "The Grudge 2" although it is linked. Jake played by Knight and Doctor Sullivan (Smith) would be expected to be the film's main characters, but the film takes its focus on Max's family. There are some pleasantly creepy moments as we witness the "Yurei" (long-haired vengeful ghost) do the familiar scary movements and the sound of a `clicking' and 'vibrating' throat which is an ominous sign of things to come. The timing of the scares are good, although a bit too familiar. It was curious that this time around, the cinematography is brightly lit most of the time, and doesn't have that gloomy dimly lit areas, although the make up effects of our ghosts go from good to pretty darned cheap.

I suppose the cast is pretty competent. Johanna Braddy is so charming as the lead actress, and she is quite easy in the eyes. She does show some potential as an actress despite the weaknesses of the script. Now, I don't mean to go overboard, but she is full of character (as your girl next door) that she managed to get some sympathy from me. Her supporting cast is quite decent, I liked Hobson and McKinney was acceptable. Too bad Ikehata was underused, she should've gotten more screen time. I was disappointed that the ceremony wasn't fully fleshed out, I would have enjoyed a little more groundwork.

Overall, "The Grudge 3" isn't amazing nor would it be worth as anything more than a rental. At least it wasn't as annoying as I feared it would be. There are some freaky images that may interest fans of the franchise, and for the non-veteran horror fan it can be a diversion. The script is boring and very routine, but its energy is pretty pleasant. I suppose mediocrity can be passable when compared to some real BAD movies. Better than "The Grudge 2", dare I say?

Rent it [2 ½ -Stars]
Video/Audio: 1.85 ratio anamorphic widescreen. The picture is incredibly clean and sharp. The transfer is pretty darned good. The 5.1 Dolby Digital track is clear and powerful.