On The Grudge

2004-11-01

It's time for another LibertyBob movie review. This time I saw Sony Pictures' "The Grudge".

From the previews, it's obvious that this movie is a horror movie. As a general rule, I don't really get horror movies. I can't get into them. They all seem hokey. This one is an exception.

I won't tell you the plot because I want you to go and enjoy this movie for yourself. Instead, I'll tell you about the plot. There was very good plot continuity. Even when there were pieces of the story that didn't seem to fit at first, they were skillfully woven back into the tale. What's more, the plot was not very predictable. Most horror movies are so formulaic as to be all the same movie. There's none of that in "The Grudge".

Character development was also well done. There are enough characters to tell the story well without having too many characters. Few characters are generic. By that I mean there is depth to all of them. You really get to know the little things needed to find attachment and start to give a damn.

There is very little in the way of gore. Too many horror movies try to shock you with bloody images. This movie almost seems apologetic for having to show the small bits that are necessary. Even if they don't show you the bad stuff, they do a wonderful job of implying that it's there. They make you feel glad that you aren't seeing it.

The effects they do show are wonderful. They won't bedazzle you with the full capabilities of computer-generated graphics. They also don't need to. The images are kept simple and well placed, in addition to being very disturbing. I mean that. The images will creep you out.

Your skin will also crawl from the sound effects. Simplicity seems to be the hallmark of this film and they keep it up with the music and all the other sounds. There are no growling or shrieking monsters in this one. The sounds made are far more insidious. The guys who figured out the sound to make were geniuses.

I mentioned above the horror movies don't really bug me. This one was a real exception. It made my skin crawl. When I think back to some of the scenes, it still sends a chill up my spine. Take my advice, see this film.