THE GRUDGE (15)
★★★★★
LACKLUSTRE reboot of the horror franchise spawned by the 2003 Japanese film Ju-on about a vengeful spirit, which attaches itself to unsuspecting victims and untethers their sanity.
Three months after the loss of her husband to cancer, griefstricken police detective Muldoon (Andrea Riseborough) moves to Cross River, Pennsylvania with young son Burke (John J Hansen).
As he settles into a new school, she gets used to her partner, Detective Goodman (Demian Bichir). The cops attend a horrific scene in the woods, which is connected to a local property, 44 Reyburn Drive.
In a bewildering mosaic of flashbacks, we encounter residents and visitors to the accursed house.
In 2004, live-in nurse Fiona Landers (Tara Westwood) leaves Tokyo to travel home to husband Sam (David Lawrence Brown) and daughter Melinda (Zoe Fish) in Cross River. She brings with her a malevolent presence, which infects and corrupts without mercy.
Estate agents Peter and Nina Spencer (John Cho, Betty Gilpin), who are expecting their first child, attempt to sell the property.
Once Peter steps across the threshold, he is doomed to destroy everything he holds dear.
In 2005, despairing husband William Matheson (Frankie Faison) invites assisted death guide Lorna Moody (Jacki Weaver) to 44 Reyburn Drive to deliver final words of comfort to his wife Faith (Lin Shaye). Lorna has been “a compassionate presence at the bedside of 44 people” but she will soon wish she were dead.
The Grudge exhibits dramatic rigor mortis from its opening frames. Characters show casual regard for their safety, and we’re braced for any jump scares as poorly served cast members are dispatched with maximum splatter.