When a person dies a horrible death in extreme anger or sorrow, it leaves and impression on that place and all the people who enter it. Sounds like a good premise for a movie, does it not? Well, that is the plot line for “The Grudge.” Unfortunately, this movie attempts to be “The Ring” and fails on many levels. The movie begins strong but then goes rapidly down hill. But don’t blame the plot-it was a good idea in itself. The plot looks at a house where a horrid murder/suicide took place, (done a lot, but a classic if done correctly) and what happens to the family of a catatonic woman who moves into the house.

I would have to say the main problem this movie has is it is far too jumpy. It tries to be suspenseful by telling this tale of terror out of normal sequence. Again, this could be a good tool in a horror film, but the cuts are sloppy and it just makes the film hard to follow and understand. I was also very saddened by the cinematography. It tries to be artistic, but ends up being distracting, which, in the long run is quite annoying.

Every horror movie needs a good protagonist, like a monster, creature, or villain. This film lacks even that. The ghostly creature thing is not scary. It could be construed as creepy, but only due to the eyes, and music around it. Other than that, naked dead little boys and wet corpses just are not scary, even if they do meow like cats and jump out from around corners.

I tried to find something positive to say about this film, but could not. With the movie’s cast (Sarah Michelle Gellar and Bill Pullman rounding are a cast of fairly good actors), it had a shot at being good or at least OK, but it was not. I am sorry I spent $9.75 on this waste of celluloid. I could have used it to see a good movie or at least bought myself a nice dinner. If you really want to see this movie I strongly encourage you to wait until it comes out on DVD and video. In fact, this should have been a direct to video release to begin with. This was a sad attempt at a horror film, and that is all it was and ever will be.