The Grudge 3

I really liked the Japanese films (Ju-on and Ju-on 2), while the American remake was decent enough and it's sequel while I wasn't that taken by it still it had its moments. The latter two films received cinema releases where the remake was a big hit, but the second sequel (The Grudge 3) would see it hit the straight to DVD market. Watching you can see why. However that's not a bad thing, as I was actually surprised by it. It could've been worse. In some ways I prefer it over "The Grudge 2", but there's no doubts the story keeps within the same grounds of the first two films --- similar investigations, story progression, imagery and scares. We've seen it before, but there's one or two fresh developments regarding Kayako and another is its supposedly set entirely in America (except for one brief shot in Tokyo).

The third film continues on from the events of the last film where the curse was affecting an American family in a dingy apartment building. The sole survivor of the massacre a young boy is hospitalised, but is tortured by visions of the vengeful spirits Kayako and Toshio. Soon his fate is stamped, and now another family (an older brother and his two sisters) in the apartment find themselves in the path of these vengeful spirits. However there's a mysterious lady that has come Tokyo and moved in to the apartment to hopefully put a stop to this curse.

Very standard, but acceptable retread. The budget is considerably lower; as the make-up FX and special effects go on to show it. The ghosts and the jerky movements this time just seemed to lack that menacing and unnerving edge they once held, due to over-used make-up and too well lit scenes where they would creep up in. However the shuddery music score and sound FX is effectively skin-crawling and the air is dripping with a glum atmosphere of dread. Although the chills and tension falls on the uneven side, as some moments work while others fall a long way short. The problem might lie in that at times it was trying to be subtle, but then chooses to be blatant in its acts. Some stages felt bland (just like the second film) and the script is rather shallow, but the pacing seemed better handled. Compared to the other films, it goes against the grain with a linear storyline but remains just as slow-grinding with it growing darker the further along it went. As if there's no real escaping this stinging threat, as fate has a shocking twist or two waiting. The performances are able enough with the likes of Matthew Knight, Emi Ikehata, Johanna Braddy, Jadie Hobson and Shawnee Smith.

Was this movie really necessary?

Being a fan of Asian horror movies, it literally pains me to see Hollywood cash in on Asian movies and 'Americanize' them. And this third installment to the Americanized versions of "Ju-On" is no different than other previous attempts of turning Asian horror into Western horror.

The story told in "The Grudge 3" is not bad as such, but it was a very weak result they ended up with. Moving the curse from Japan to USA? Alright, well I guess it was a well enough attempted shot at merging Asian and Western horror into one movie. Just didn't work that well. And it seems there will be no end to this particular line of movies, as the story just goes on and on.

I found the acting in the movie to be adequate, and it was Johanna Braddy (playing Lisa) and Aiko Horiuchi (playing Kayako) who were carrying the movie with the most memorable performances. The story was plagued by poor dialogue, which brought the entire movie down a notch.

What is scary about a little white-painted Japanese boy with 'helmet hair' who makes cat sounds? Or a white-painted Japanese woman sounding like a squeaking floor? It is beyond my comprehension.

One of the better things in the movie was the effects, because they were actually just the right amount of everything; blood, gore, shock, etc.

And there was literally nothing new to this third installment. Have you seen the previous two American versions, then you have seen all the 'scary' stuff in this movie already. And I use the term 'scary' lightly here, because there were no real scares or spooky moments. The only new part introduced here was the second sister, and with that, letting the story go on and on...

Hollywood should have stopped once they 'Americanized' "Ju-On" with the first installment. This third movie was weak and unnecessary.

If you like horror movies, or Asian horror movies in particular, you are better off with something else entirely. There are lots of other more interesting and actually scary movies out there. "The Grudge 3" hopefully managed to put the "Grudge" series to rest.

I had my doubts with this one, as the director of this one and the first two parts is different. This one lacks at many occasions, firstly it does not have any horror in it.. i mean if you have seen the first two parts, they make u jump up from your chair, you need to take frequent breaks in order to get a relief and it might haunt u in the night if you are not into horror movies and if you believe in supernatural thingie.

However, this one, the writer tried sequencing it, but the director couldn't really make this one as perfect as the last two were.. It contained more story than horror, not many horror appearance, not many real killing scenes, director tried ending most of the scenes in suspense, as we'd guess what would have happened or perhaps like a trailer or a teaser that you'd have to wait to see what would have happened...

I felt it as a waste of my time frankly, and I think it will be a waste of time for all the people who have been great fan of the first two parts.

don't know what i wanna attack first,, this one was so well off,, from the first two. you didn't have the fear of what lies beyond,, not knowing what is in front of you like the first two. the kills were too stylized, should have never set it in chicago.. the couple always wanted to have sex in the apartment building ruined it for me,, just another campy American horror movie. i dind't really care for the characters that much,, this film just really did not sit well with me at all,, i mean the storyline wasn't bad,, i just think that somewhere along the line things just went horribly wrong,, i think that i really wouldn't recommend this one if you like the first two.

I had very low expectations for this film. I had read some of the reviews on here (good and bad) and wasn't holding out much hope. If you've fallen in love with the Ju-On and Grudge films in the way I have in the past month your curiosity will probably get the better of you. That's what happened to me, but being prepared for a bad movie I was able to enjoy it for what it was. Yes it changes the storyline, yes it's cashing in, yes parts of it were illogical, but something about it wasn't that bad. I'm not going to even bother going in to all the ways it's wrong because I'm sure people must have done that many times already on here. It wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen or even close. For me the Grudge 2 still had the power to scare but here the fear factor was gone completely which was a great shame. Some die hard fans of the series are saying it's just as scary as the first two, some people are even saying it's one of the scariest films they've seen which makes me question their mental age. If they found this film scary I don't know how they even got to it because by all rights the first two would have scared them so much they'd have probably had a heart attack - literally scared to death... This film wasn't even slightly scary but something about it was still quite enjoyable. Maybe it's just because I love the series so much, maybe it was the characters, the pace, I don't know, and sitting through the whole thing was worth it for the last twenty minutes which I found to be actually pretty exciting. It's no surprise to hear rumours that Grudge 4 is in the works , and after that Grudge 5 is a pretty safe bet, they'll be cashing in on this series 'til the cows come home. W*nkers. Thanks