Movie Review: The Grudge 2

The Grudge 2 

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Ghost House Pictures, Mandate Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, USA, Japan, 2006. 

This version of Ju-on is divided into three intertwining subplots.

Some time after the events of the "The Grudge.": 

Three high-school girls Allison (Arielle Kebbel), Vanessa (Teresa Palmer) and Miyuki (Misako Uno) visit the partially burned haunted Saeki house. Because if there is a house where everyone who enters it dies, you absolutely have to go there. That's a mistake. 

Vanessa, Allison and Miyuki

Soon after the events of the "The Grudge.": 

In California Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn) hears that her sister Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is in hospital. She has survived the deadly curse until now. Aubrey must go to Japan to bring Karen back. Reporter Eason (Edison Chen) wants to interview Karen but she is restrained. She escapes when Kayako's ghost (Takako Fuji) begins to hunt her. As the fire changed something, the ghosts are now looking for new home. 

Aubrey and her mother (Joanna Cassidy)

Karen

Eason and Aubrey try to find Kayako's mother (Kim Miyori) who is an exorcist. But once started nothing can stop the curse!

Eason

Terrible photos

Some time and couple of days after the events of the "The Grudge.":

In Chicago Trish (Jennifer Beals), Bill (Christopher Cousins) and Bill's kids Jake (Matthew Knight) and Lacey (Sarah Roemer) move to new apartment. A weird hooded person lives next door. The curse has come to USA... 

Trish and Bill

Jake

"The Grudge 2" changes the already too familiar formula but not to the right direction. This iteration of Grudge is more and more resembling an generic American boogeyman style horror movie. The segmented nonlinear structure still sort of exists making the story jump around in time, but in lesser amount than in previous Shimizu's movies as there are only three subplots. The action is taken from the haunted house to hospital, high-school (with an obligatory girls' locker room scene), love motel, countryside and finally to USA. There is an really weird explanation for the origin of the curse. Basically the plot is slightly more interesting than in the previous "The Grudge" remake, with adequately sinister atmosphere but nowhere as effective as the original Ju-on films. 

Rating: Average 

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Tamblyn, Arielle Kebbel, Takako Fuji, Edison Chen, Sarah Roemer, Matthew Knight, Misako Uno, Teresa Palmer, Ohga Tanaka, Yuya Ozeki, Jennifer Beals, Christopher Cousins, Zen Kajihara, Takashi Matsuyama, Joanna Cassidy, Eve Gordon, Jenna Dewan Tatum, Ryo Ishibashi, Shaun Sipos, Kim Miyori, Sotaro Nagasawa, Kyoka Takizawa, Paul Jarrett, Gwenda Lorenzetti, Satoshi Ninomiya, Mitsuo Togioka, Masanobu Yada, Nahana, Isao Yatsu, Akira Sato, Tomomi Hiraiwa, Yôko Chôsokabe, Kayoko Toda, Shuri Matsuda, Yuzo Mikawa 

Director: Takashi Shimizu