Grave Grievance
GRUDGE I Sam Raimi produces a rage-full J-horror reboot, helmed by a ‘madman’
Why does legendary horror producer Sam Raimi think now is the right time to resurrect the Grudge franchise? It’s all down to the director. “We found Nicolas Pesce,” Raimi says of the New York-raised filmmaker. “With The Eyes Of My Mother he really created an original space in the horror genre. Plus now he can make it with an R-rating and show the new Grudge is in the hands of a madman.”
That madman enthusiastically agrees. “Being rated R, the movie is way more fucked up,” Pesce laughs. “Not that the wave of J-horror at the beginning of the 2000s wasn’t fucked up, but this is really fucked up.”
Grudge originated in that wave before being remade into an American franchise. The central shtick concerns a curse that’s created when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage. So what does Pesce hope to bring to the series?
“The beauty of the franchise is that it’s an anthology,” he explains. “It has to be non-linear with multiple storylines weaving in and out, and the second you step into the house you’re cursed. But between all the scares it’s a new movie. And we were careful when we’re paying homage not to do it in the exact same way. We’re giving it a new spin, putting it in a new context.”
The new film is the first to be set primarily in the States, and that’s led to changes in the appearance of the ghosts. “The Japanese ghosts were very much inspired by kabuki make-up, which makes a lot of sense for someone in Japan,” Pesce says. “We wanted to give our ghosts a spin slightly more towards American folklore.”
But it’s not the ghosts that provide the real horror. “It’s not a movie where a ghost strangles you and kills you,” Pesce grins. “It’s a movie where that ghost gets into your subconscious and causes you to do something to yourself. Self-harm is something that’s super visceral. When you see people doing that to themselves, it’s that much more fucked up.”