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The Grudge (2020) Review

By Bryce Hanson on January 8, 2020 4

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We went and saw The Grudge, and I feel like I’m taking crazy pills, because I liked it. That’s because it’s a dark and moody sequel/reboot of The Grudge.

Nicolas Pesce wrote and directed the film, and brings a more serious and weighty tone to the proceedings.

This is the first Grudge film to earn an R-rating, and it is warranted not only for the violence, but also for the mature subject matter.

The Grudge Tub Draino
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The Grudge 2020 Synopsis

This film is a soft reboot sequel of the American Grudge from 2004. It tells the story of a single mother Detective Muldoon (Andrea Riseborough) as she moves to a new police force and discovers a dead body in the woods.

Muldoon’s partner Detective Goodman (Demián Bichir) is disturbed when the body is connected with previous murder cases he investigated. As established in the previous Grudges and the opening credits, when someone is killed in a violent rage, a curse is formed around the place of death. Goodman mysteriously tries to dissuade Muldoon from investigating too deeply, and DEFINITELY NOT GO IN THE HOUSE. As you can guess, she goes in the house.

As Detective Muldoon investigates the current and previous murders, the film flashes back to tell the story of three families in different stages of life all being haunted, and hunted by the same curse.

Review of The Grudge (2020)

I haven’t seen any of the previous Grudge’s or the original Ju-On, so I was going in blind. However, the information I needed was provided in the opening credits:

  1. Murder bad.
  2. Make curse.
  3. Curse Bad.

This technique I actually liked, but I admit it does lessen the mystery a bit. But since this is a sequel, all that information has already been established.

Dark Tone

The director Nicolas Pesce sets a measured pace and a moody tone for this movie, which for me, helped to build up the dread. There isn’t much mystery, or any real surprises in terms of the plot, but it does still feel compelling because of the inevitability of what you know is going to happen. It’s like watching a slow-mo train wreck. 

The first act takes it’s time to develop characters. Each family is introduced in turn with a unique situation that inspires empathy. Therefore it does feel like there are stakes. The most interesting of the bunch is probably the elderly Matheson family that is dealing with dementia and assisted suicide. 

R-Rated Horror

This is definitely a one trick pony though. Along the lines of The Conjuring movies, it’s more of a vehicle for jump scares. Some of the scares are effective, but they are generally pretty sparse until the end. With the R-rating, it is able to delve into some more graphic violence. This is a pretty “light R” since there are only a few moments that earn the rating, but they are effective and pack a punch.

When we left the theater, both David and I thought it was a good movie. Despite it’s slow pace and general predictability, it’s a well crafted movie with a distinctive tone and gravitas. We covered Nicolas Pesce’s last movie, Piercing a while ago and I think he has an really interesting style.

Negative Reactions on Twitter

Upon checking twitter, we are in the minority on this movie. People and critics apparently HATE this movie. It has worse scores on Rotten Tomatoes than CATS, which is ridiculous to me. I felt like I saw a completely different movie. I don’t know what people were expecting from it, but apparently they were VERY disappointed with the film. Most of the criticisms about it are that it is “boring” or that it didn’t feature the original girl ghost “Kayako” as much as they wanted. 

Score for The Grudge (2020)

6/10

The Grudge (2020)

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Final Recommendations

I stand by my original impressions upon leaving the theater. I think it’s worth a watch.

About Bryce Hanson

I'm a big fan of horror movies because it's rare that they aren't interesting. Whether it is a straight to VOD or the latest theatrical release, there is always something to talk about. I also like to sing, wax philosophical about mythology and religion, contemplate the void, and spend time with my family. I am usually up in my head about something, so apologies if I'm looking off into the middle distance. Along with David, I am a co-founder of Horror Movie Talk.

If you want to know more about my taste in horror films, checkout my about page or listen to episode 14: "The Horrific Beginnings of Horror Movie Talk"

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elisabeth says

    January 8, 2020 at 9:51 am

    Hey Guys! Love your podcast, listen to it every week. I cannot agree more with the grudge. I saw the original a couple days after I saw the 2020 version. I liked the original better but I also loved the new one. I thought it was great, was really good at building up the story and atmosphere without being too cliche. Definitely review the first one as well. It’s really good as well!

    Reply
  2. Bryce Hanson says

    January 8, 2020 at 10:09 pm

    Thanks for listening Elizabeth, and thanks for confirming that we aren’t crazy for liking it.

    Reply

Trackbacks

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    February 5, 2020 at 12:01 am

    […] week. We review the surprisingly good Color Out Of Space, interview the lovely Tara Westwood from The Grudge (2020), and play a new game called “fNICt or fCAGEtion”. Hold on to your alpacas, and listen […]

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