The Grudge 2

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2006 / 102 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: February 6, 2007

The biggest asset The Grudge 2 has in its arsenal is unpredictability. Yeah, it’s the same old horror flick rehashed and repackaged in the same ol’ way (see Saw and its sequels; Scream and its sequels), but the same old same old comes at you in weird ways here. In fact, consider The Grudge 2 as The Ring meets Short Cuts.

The plot of the film is simple and straightforward. The same grudge that afflicted poor little Davis (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in the first film has now been farmed out to three other ladies (hence the Short Cuts interweaving narrative reference). There are: Karen’s sister Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn); Allison, a random and tormented high schooler played by the always-good Arielle Kebbel; and Trish (Jennifer Beals – meow!), a woman looking to grow some roots for her and her family in a new town. They all get slapped with that pesky grudge and have to figure out what to do with it before they turn into zombies. How are they all connected? Can they help each other out? I ain’t sayin’.

It’s refreshing that The Grudge 2 isn’t like the Saw movies. Director Takashi Shimizu has the decency to pepper his loud, freak-out scenes with a dramatic through-line instead of bashing his audience over the head with hideous imagery non-stop for two hours. Yet I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t left wanting more. Splitting the narrative into three threads was a solid idea – it adds more depth to the story and its theme without having to be bogged down by needless exposition – but by the time the film gets around to its second half, its momentum has all but evaporated.

This writer was invested in the film – I love it when filmmakers try something new with a franchise rather than stick to the same mundane trickery that made a first film so popular – but even though I’ll follow Arielle Kebbel anywhere, once the credits started rolling, I must admit to not really giving a rip. Yeah, there are some solid scares – two items (a milk carton and a frying pan) both figure into the gross-out-ness of the picture exceptionally well – but although The Grudge 2 has its heart in the right place, even though it’s not a carbon copy of its predecessor, it ends up being just as humdrum (nobly humdrum, I suppose).

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

You know what, though? The 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer is a thing of real magic. Small object detail is nearly spot-on. Considering that much of the film takes place in near-darkness, this transfer’s prowess with shadow detail is that much more impressive. Color accuracy is equally notable; both flesh tones and super-tweaked saturated hues pop with precision. Compression artifacts are nowhere to be found. Black levels are consistent and sharp. You really couldn’t ask for a better transfer.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The English Dolby Digital 5.1 track is equally laudable. Pulling out all the stops in creating a creepy-crawly soundscape, Paul N.J. Ottosson’s sound design comes across as a force to be reckoned with. Dialogue is crisp and clean, effects have both exceptional fidelity and finessed placement, and the film’s synthy/stringy musical score pops in with just the right volume and heft. And don’t get me started about the atmospherics – let’s just say that when the kitty cats on the soundtrack start meowing, you’ll be looking over your shoulder.

Also included are a French Surround 2.0 track, English and French subtitles, and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

We get three short films (Tales From The Grudge) that come with an introduction from Grudge 2 executive producer Sam Raimi, as well as five featurettes: Reel Change Montage (a clip-featurette showcasing the actors from the film), Holding a Grudge: Kayako and Toshio (a look at the film’s casting), East Meets West (a more surveying look at the differences between the original Japanese Grudge and its American remakes), Ready When You Are, Mr. Shimizu (a peek at the director’s working methods) and The Grudge 2 Storyline Development (which is pretty self-descriptive).

Rounding out this edition is a set of deleted scenes, most intriguing of which are an alternate ending and a coda of sorts that paves the way for another Grudge movie (I guess I knew all along that was going to be in the cards).

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.

Final Thoughts

It may not be the greatest horror movie, but this DVD edition of The Grudge 2 is really something. Audio and video qualities are rock-solid, and while the majority of bonus features aren’t exactly riveting, they add to the mystique of the film, nonetheless. Worth a rental, for sure.