The Grudge 2

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The Grudge 2
Directed by	Takashi Shimizu
Produced by	Sam Raimi Robert Tapert
Written by	Stephen Susco
Starring	Sarah Michelle Gellar Amber Tamblyn Edison Chen Arielle Kebbel Teresa Palmer Jennifer Beals Matthew Knight Sarah Roemer Christopher Cousins Joanna Cassidy Eve Gordon Takako Fuji Misako Uno Jenna Dewan
Music by	Christopher Young
Cinematography	Katsumi Yanagishima
Editing by	Jeff Betancourt
Distributed by	Sony (USA) Universal Studios (UK)
Release date(s)	October 13, 2006 (U.S.) October 26, 2006 (Aus)
Running time	95 min. [1]
Country	USA
Language	English Japanese
Budget	$20 million [2]
Preceded by	The Grudge (2004)
Followed by	The Grudge 3 (2008)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Grudge 2 is the 2006 sequel to the American horror film remake The Grudge. The Grudge 2 is the second film in Sony's The Grudge series and is directed by Takashi Shimizu (director of the original series)^[3] and written by Stephen Susco ^[4]. The film is produced by Sam Raimi and stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Tamblyn, Edison Chen and Arielle Kebbel .As stated by Takashi Shimizu the film is not a remake of Ju-on: The Grudge 2 and does follow a different storyline ^[5].

The film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA, 15 by the BBFC and M by the OFLC due to its content of mature thematic material, disturbing images/terror/violence, and some sensuality ^[6]. The film was released in North America on October 13 ^[7] after being pushed forward a week from the original October 20th release date ^[8][9]. The film was also released in United Kingdom on October 20 and in Australia on October 26, 2006^[10].

Tagline: What Was Once Contained, Will Now Be Unleashed

Contents 1 Synopsis 1.1 Aubrey Davis and Kayako's origins 1.2 The School Girls 1.3 Chicago 2 Plot changes and similaraties with other Ju-on films 3 Cast 4 Characters 5 Production 6 Promotion 6.1 Teaser Site 6.2 Missing Person File: Jason C 6.3 Short films 6.3.1 Tales from The Grudge 7 Release 7.1 Premiere 7.2 Reception 7.3 Box Office 7.4 Sequel 7.5 Release information 7.6 DVD 8 Trivia 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Synopsis

The Grudge is the curse of one who dies in the grip of a powerful rage or extreme sorrow. Those who encounter this murderous supernatural curse die and a new one is born, passed from victim to victim in an endless, growing chain of horror. The following events are explained in their actual order (which differs from the order shown on film). The film follows three main storylines. Aubrey Davis (Amber Tamblyn), who comes to Japan for her sister Karen, three schoolgirls in Japan, and an American family in Chicago. The film opens with intertitles describing characteristics of The Grudge.

[edit] Aubrey Davis and Kayako's origins

(Note: this story takes place weeks after the end of the first film) During the opening credits, there are several flashbacks of the Saeki murders, with Takeo Sakei (Takashi Matsuyama) reading his wife Kayako's (Takako Fuji) diary and learning about her obsession with an American professor before killing her, their son Toshio (Yuya Ozeki), the cat, and himself.

In Pasadena, California, Aubrey Davis (Amber Tamblyn) arrives home. Aubrey enters her mother's (Joanna Cassidy) room where she is told that her sister was involved in an accident in Japan. Aubrey is instructed to put aside her argument with Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and to bring her home.

As Aubrey arrives to the hospital in Tokyo, she encounters a lingual barrier with several nurses and is assisted by a young man. When the nurses lead Aubrey to Karen's room, Karen becomes hesitant by believing that she is real. Karen also begins insisting that she needs to get out of the hospital because she's "the only one who can stop her." As Karen becomes louder and more emphatic, doctors rush in to restrain and sedate her. When Aubrey leaves, Karen quietly says, "don't go in that house."

As Aubrey is sitting in the waiting room, the young man introduces himself as Eason (Edison Chen) and begins explaining that he pulled Karen from the fire and wants to talk with her. Aubrey denies his request and as she leaves, Eason tells her about his occupation as a journalist and photographer. Meanwhile, the lights in Karen's room go out and Kayako appears behind her bed. As Karen realises her situation, she breaks loose from the restraints and runs through the hospital trying to evade Kayako. Karen arrives at the hospital's rooftop where she sits next to the edge before Kayako's hand pulls her off. Aubrey and Eason both witness Karen's death. Eason however sees Kayako holding Karen's dead body.

Shocked and upset by Karen's death, Aubrey goes to Karen's former apartment and tries to call home before becoming teary from looking at an early photo of herself and Karen. While in his own apartment, Eason is watching his interview with Detective Nakagawa (Ryo Ishibashi). Eason realises that Nakagawa is very uncomfortable and refuses to talk about the Saeki investigation. As Eason's voice on the tape pushes him, referencing that two families have died there, Nakagawa looks behind him. Eason then hears a small sound glitch on the tape, and rewinds it. As he increases the volume, playing it back several times before it is clearly the "death rattle" of Kayako who also appears in the window of the door behind Nakagawa in a paused frame. Eason turns the video off, seeing Kayako's image reflected on the screen.

The following morning, Aubrey wakes up to Eason's knocking. After letting him in, Eason begins explaining about the Saeki house and the events of the first film. He reveals to Aubrey about Karen's feelings while working in the house by stating "she felt like something was watching her and that someone was with her". He also reveals that Karen burnt the house thinking the curse would stop, but it in fact made it worse. Aubrey questions Eason's knowledge, asking how he would know about her sister's feelings. Eason responds that he is feeling the same way and plans to go back to the house. Aubrey immediately insists on going with him, claiming she won't leave Japan until she finds out the reason behind Karen's death.

Upon arrival at the house, Eason warns Aubrey to stay outside so she doesn't get the curse. After opening the closet door, he finds Kayako's journal, while Aubrey notices someone through the window. As she enters the yard, Aubrey hears her sister's warning in the wind before being pulled into the house. Eason, realising Aubrey has entered the house, says they should leave. Both Aubrey and Eason head to Eason's apartment, where he explains that Kayako kept a journal since the age of eight years and that several diary entries make no sense. Eason suggests they see his friend who is a folklore expert. At the expert's house, he explains that Kayako's mother was like an exorcist (although there is no proper English translation for the word) who would take bad spirits from various people, and feed them to Kayako.

Back at Eason's apartment, Eason is rummaging through his research to find the address for Kayako's mother. As he starts planning their route, Aubrey starts reminiscing about Karen. She reveals that she had a fight with Karen before telling her to "leave her alone". Aubrey also reveals that the night of Karen's death was the first time she'd seen her since the argument. As Aubrey falls asleep, Eason places a blanket on her and heads into his darkroom. As he is reviewing several photographs of the Saeki house, he notices several black spots. As he attempts to develop the shot again, the spot shifts and defines itself by leaking out of the photo and into the pan of chemicals. As Eason backs away, Kayako rises from the pan and manifests into him.

When Aubrey wakes, she finds Eason dead in the darkroom. As she pulls Eason towards herself, Eason starts to hold her. Aubrey retreats as Kayako (who had manifested Eason) attempts to grab her, causing Aubrey to run from the darkroom with remaining pictures reveal Kayako's eye. Aubrey decides to continue Eason's route and while on the bus sees an old man playing Peekaboo with no one. She ignores him but the reflection in the window reveals Toshio sitting next to her. When she arrives at her destination, Aubrey finds Kayako's mother and asks her how to stop the curse. Aubrey also reveals Karen tried to burn the house down. Kayako's mother explains everyone is making the curse worse and it never will stop because Kayako wants everyone to suffer what she did. As Aubrey grabs her hand for help, Aubrey experiences a flashback where its revealed the rituals Kayako was involved with.

Kayako's mother then realizes that Aubrey has brought Kayako with her and as Aubrey stands dumbfounded, Kayako kills her mother. Seeing this, Aubrey leaves and calls her mother telling her that Karen died. When her mother starts berating her, she says "You don't get to talk to me like that anymore." While her mother continues, Aubrey tells her that she loves her and hangs up before entering the Saeki house. When she enters the house, Aubrey asks Kayako what she wants before seeing Karen's actions from the end of the first film, and follows her up the stairs.

As Aubrey goes upstairs, she sees Karen's vision of Takeo reading Kayako's diary. As she watches Karen's vision, the diary flips open revealing the drawn eye becoming real and drags Aubrey into the vision. Takeo proceeds by attacking her (much similar to Kayako's death) and Aubrey twists her ankle falling at the top of the stairs. As she crawls down the stairs, Takeo catches her and breaks her neck. When she falls to the floor, Aubrey attempts to breathe and produces the "death rattle" Kayako is known for.

Aubrey then witnesses Takeo killing Toshio and his cat. Before Aubrey dies of asphyxia, Kayako approaches her and looks at her.

[edit] The School Girls

(Note: The following takes place two years after Kayako's origin). In the International High School in Tokyo, Vanessa (Teresa Palmer), Miyuki (Misako Uno) tease Allison (Arielle Kebbel) about her clothing and point out that she eats alone at lunch. When they arrive at "the most haunted house in Japan." Vanessa explains that "some crazy American girl" killed her sweet-heart there and tried to burn the place. As the trio enter the house, Vanessa and Allison both go up-stairs followed by Miyuki who hears a splash come from another room. When the girls enter one of the rooms they find a closet which has a crawlspace into the attic. Vanessa begins explaining that Kayako was killed and her body was wrapped up and placed in the attic. Vanessa goes on daring Allison to sit in the closet with her eyes closed for ten seconds. If she survives, Allison will join Vanessa's group.

When Allison enters the closet, Vanessa and Miyuki both play a prank on her by shutting an holding shut the closet door. Allison begins screaming and demanding for the duo to open the door. Allison realises Kayako's diary flipping open onto a page with a hole in it, revealing an eye drawn on the page behind it. Allison then notices Toshio (Ohga Tanaka) sitting below her. the girls started getting frightened. then a horrific wraith, who is crawling out of the attic. The closet door then opens with all three girls fleeing.

Back at the International High School, Allison is in her Kanji class and is acting paraniod as a black cat rubs against her legs. As she looks down she notices Toshio, which causes her to jump backwards in a jerk. The rest of the class begin laughing at her as she sits down. The cat then heads to Miyuki who also feels it brush against her legs. Later in the locker room, Vanessa begins teasing Allison about seeing the school psychologist. As Vanessa, who has blonde hair, takes a shower, she begins pulling out clumps of black hairs. As Vanessa exits the shower, she thinks she is seeing kayako for several seconds, then flees.

In another part of Tokyo, Miyuki is meeting her sweet-heart michael (Shaun Sipos) where both go to a love hotel. Michael tells Miyuki who is nervous at the time to relax as he takes a shower. As Miyuki hides under the blankets the sheets begins moving. Miyuki tells Michael to stop, but realises Michael is still in the shower. As Miyuki moves away from the blanket, towards the mirror, her reflection changes to Kayako who pulls her through the mirror. As Michael comes back, he realises Miyuki is missing.

When Vanessa is called into the Principal Dale's office, Principal Dale (Eve Gordon) asks her what happened when they went to the house. Vanessa tries to deny Allison's story, but is requested to tell the truth because Miyuki has disappeared. Allison then yells at Vanessa, demanding why she took her to the house and runs out crying leaving Principal Dale to follow. Principal Dale asks Vanessa to stay in her office until she comes back.

Vanessa then sends a text messageto Miyuki, and starts playing with the lamp on Principal Dale's desk for several seconds. When the lamp stops working, she looks under the desk to notice the lamp is unplugged. As she climbs under the desk to plug it back in, she notices Toshio run past and begins to panic. Her phone begins ringing, and as she tries to reach it she instead grabs Toshio's feet, who had climbed onto the desk after running past it. Vanessa then screams, and we see that the caller ID says Miyuki is calling. As Vanessa answers the phone, she hears a cat yowl and kayako moaning. she then runs to a payphone to call Miyuki but again hears moaning. She then realises Toshio sitting in the phone booth grabbing on her ankles before Kayako's hair descends from the ceiling of the payphone trapping her. The two come face to before Kayako takes her away.

Back at the high school, Allison is called into the principal's office. She begins demanding that she be allowed to go home, but the principal instead asks about Vanessa's disappearance. Allison explains that she is cursed because of the house and that the disappearance of Vanessa and Miyuki is connected to it. Principal Dale then asks why Allison is making up stories and reveals that she went to the house and found nothing. After realizing that Principal Dale entered the house, Allison tells her she is also cursed, but Principal Dale replies that it she doesn't know what Allison is talking about and claims "they're right here next to you". As Allison looks at the ghosts of Miyuki and Vanessa, she realizes the principal is also a ghost, while the three ghosts makes a screaming sound. Terror-stricken, Allison backs up to opens the door and runs.

[edit] Chicago

(Note: The following takes place right after the school girl incident).

In a cold open to the movie, Trish (Jennifer Beals) and Bill (Christopher Cousins) both live in an apartment building in Chicago, Illinois. While Trish is cooking bacon in a trance, Bill approaches the table and comments on how she came home late last night and accuses her of having an affair. As she doesn't respond because she is in a daze, Bill sits down at the table and Trish scoops some bacon onto his plate. He begins complaining that his breakfast is burnt and she can't do anything right. Trish grabs the pan and pours the grease onto his head before striking him dead with it. She then sits down for breakfast while her husband lies dead on the floor.

Trish is moving in with Bill and his two children, Lacey and Jake. Trish is greeted warmly by Lacey (Sarah Roemer) and her friend Sally (Jenna Dewan), but Jake (Matthew Knight) is not as kind. Trish begins talking with him telling him that she doesn't intend to replace his mother but wants to be his friend. During the night, Jake hears strange sounds outside their apartment and opens the door to find their neighbors, the Flemings, walking slowly with someone who is wearing a hooded jacket. Jake says "hello" but receives a glare from them. After he closes his door, it's revealed that Toshio is sitting outside the Flemings' apartment.

Jake wakes to the sound of pounding on the wall from the apartment next door. He hears someone leave that apartment and becomes curious and walks into the hallway. He sees the hooded person leaving and follows them. He follows the person into the basement where the mysterious charatcer is gathering newspapers from trashcans. Jake tries to tell Lacey about it the next morning, but is interrupted by Trish. As the two leave for school, Jake looks up at the apartment realises the Flemings' apartment is covered in newspaper.

Back inside, Trish receives a phone call, and is chatting with them when Bill comes in. She hangs up and tells him who the caller was, while he tells her that he forgot his keys. She offers to check the bedroom, and leaves. Bill then looks at his hand, almost surprised to see his keys clenched in his hand so tightly blood is streaming from them.

Lacey heads to her friend Sally's apartment to tell her that she was chosen for the cheerleading squad. Sally doesn't say anything, but instead chugs a large amount of milk from the half gallon jug in her hand. She then proceeds to vomit the milk back into the jug, and Lacey gets a phone call from Jake, and runs to see what's wrong. She finds him in the corner of his closet, and Jake tells her he was afraid because Bill and Trish were fighting.

That night, Jake wakes to the pounding sounds from next door. He goes to the hallway again, and goes into the apartment to find the source of the noises. The apartment is messy, and he finds the room on the other side of his wall. The person in the hood is slamming her elbow into the wall as she slices off chunks of her long black hair. He turns and sees the windows and mirror are all covered in newspaper. two sets of eyes stare inside the room from holes in the paper-covered windows. He runs back to his apartment and jumps into Lacey's bed. She calms him down and says they'll deal with it in the morning.

The next morning, after the kids leave for school, Trish sits in Jake's bedroom with her ear to the wall as the food burns on the stove. Bill comes out of the bedroom, and sees the food burning on the stove. He sits down, and Trish comes back to tend to the skillet. He asks her why she was so late getting home the night before, circling the scene back to the beginning of the film.

Meanwhile, Jake and Lacey have arrived home. The lights aren't working and the banging sound continues. Lacey tells Jake to stay still while she looks for Bill and Trish. When the banging stops, Jake goes to find his sister. Instead, he finds his father's dead body. When he runs for Lacey, he finds her in the bathroom with her head in the tub, drowned. He hears Trish calling him from the tub, and he pulls back the curtain but no one is there. He tries to revive his sister, but Trish calls him again. She is sitting in the tub now, looking as if she has already drowned as well. She smiles and tells him it's time for his bath before she is pulled underwater by Toshio.

Jake runs into the hallway, and starts leaving but hears a scream come from next door. The hooded character runs from her apartment into the hallway, where flashbacks regarding the three schoolgirls repeat. The three girls again state that the house is the most haunted house in Japan and anyone who enters is cursed. Allison is again in the closet, screaming and trying to escape as the ghost descends from the attic. However, it is not Kayako, but Aubrey's.

In the hallway of the apartment building in Chicago, Jake goes up to the girl and yells that she brought something back with her. She looks down at Jake and we discover that it is Allison. She tells him that it followed her back, and that there is no stopping it. When she looks over his shoulder, she sees Kayako crawling down the stairs. She looks away, but Jake is staring into her hood, seeing an eye and grey skin behind Allison's head. Suddenly a hand emerges and pulls her into her clothing, which falls empty to the floor.

Jake picks Allison's sweatshirt up, and while looking at it, kayako's hands come out of the sleeves and clamp onto his wrists. then Kayako's ghostly head comes out of the hood and lurches forward with the screen fading to black.

[edit] Plot changes and similaraties with other Ju-on films

• The main subplot of the three schoolgirls is taken directly from Ju-on: The Grudge. However the deaths of the schoolgirls are different, and their relationship to each other is different (i.e. Miyuki and Vanessa playing a prank on Allison).
• One of the school girls is also called Miyuki in Juon: The Grudge.
• The subplot of Kayako's origin is delved into more in depth which was first revealed in the first film.
• Karen's theory of burning the Saeki house to relieve Kayako's battered spirit is proven false and actually tears the boundaries which holds the spirits in their place. The curse now can spread through interactions with the cursed person or through close proximity to the house (i.e. Pulling Aubrey into the house and the curse spreading in Chicago).
• Kayako's and Toshio's spirits can attack individuals who haven't entered the house but has been involvement with the cursed person, which is similar to the security guard scene in Juon: The Grudge.
• The plot structure is identical to the original series by taking place in different time periods (i.e. The Schoolgirl and Chicago subplots taking place 2 years after the first film).
• Karen warning Aubrey is heard in the wind moments before she is pulled into the house. This may indicate that Karen is trapped in limbo.
• The peekaboo sequence on the bus is similar to one in the hospital in Ju-on: The Grudge.
• The concept of the film not having any survivors is identical to the original series.
• The final scene where Aubrey becomes part of the Grudge cycle is similar to Juon: The Grudge where the same situation that Rika has been in.

[edit] Cast

Actor/Actress	Role
Sarah Michelle Gellar	Karen Davis
Amber Tamblyn	Aubrey Davis
Edison Chen	Eason
Arielle Kebbel	Allison Fleming
Teresa Palmer	Vanessa
Misako Uno	Miyuki Nazawa
Matthew Knight	Jake
Sarah Roemer	Lacey
Jennifer Beals	Trish
Christopher Cousins	Bill
Jenna Dewan	Sally
Eve Gordon	Principal Dale
Joanna Cassidy	Mrs. Davis
Takako Fuji	Kayako Saeki

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of The Grudge characters

[edit] Production

The Grudge 2 was announced 3 days after the release of The Grudge in 2004^[11] and was officially fasttracked^[12][13] after a positive box office response with the film grossing $110,175,871^[14]. In early January 2005 Takashi Shimizu suggested ideas regarding the film's plot. Ideas included the origin of the curse and new character subplots ^[15].

The film was later placed into production hell for almost a year until December 2005, where the first few cast (Sarah Michelle Gellar and Teresa Palmer) members were cast. Other production details were also revealed including the original scheduled date for principal photography which was due to begin January 30, 2006 but was postponed until February ^[16]. Principal photography for The Grudge 2 was held at Toho Studios ^[17] in Tokyo, Japan and production wrapped up on April 25, 2006. During an interview on Dread Central with Amber Tamblyn, it was reported that sets were created in Chicago, Illinois ^[18] for Tamblyn to re-shoot several scenes ^[19].

[edit] Promotion

[edit] Teaser Site

On April 1, 2006 a teaser site was launched with details revealing the October 13 release date. Many Database forum sites such as IMDB were swamped with claims that Sony was playing an April Fool's joke. A few days later, the site's authenticity was proven, and claims that it was a hoax were dismissed.

[edit] Missing Person File: Jason C

To promote the film, Sony released a missing persons file on its official blog ^[20] stating a student filmmaker known as "Jason C" disappeared a few weeks after visiting the set of the film. The blog originally broadcast interviews with the film's stars including Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amber Tamblyn but has been taken over by his roommate who filed the report ^[21].

[edit] Short films

On September 19, 2006 Yahoo! Movies was the first site to release three short films titled "Tales from the Grudge" with an introduction from one of the producers of The Grudge Sam Raimi. The series of short expands on the story of The Grudge curse ^[22]. The shorts also appear on the film's official site Sony Pictures Entertainment, here fans who volunteer their mobile phone number, will get surprise calls from Kayako or Toshio. The films are also available on other film and horror related web sites as part of a wide reaching and unique digital marketing strategy ^[23].

The shorts were directed by Toby Wilkins Official Site, IMDb page, and Written by Ben Ketai.

[edit] Tales from The Grudge

• Hotel - is the first in the series of shorts. It introduces Ross (played by Daniel Sykes) as he wakes up in a Tokyo hotel room and coughs up quantities of Kayako's black hair. He wakes from this nightmare to the sound of his mobile phone he answers to his girlfriend's voice, Abby (played by Stefanie Butler) who is safe at home in the US. Ross explains that his attempts to investigate the house and the woman with long black hair have lead to a dead end. When the phone call ends, we stay with Ross as he takes a photo of himself with his mobile phone and sends it to Abby. Ross then goes to brush his teeth and finds black hair in his toothbrush before being grabbed through the mirror by Kayako.

• School - is the second short film in which we follow the story of Abby as she ends the phone call from the first short. Abby then proceeds to call her friend, Brooke (played by Ginny Weirick) to ask about plans that evening. When the call ends, Abby receives a photo message from her boyfriend Ross (from the first short). When Abby looks closer at the image, she sees that Kayako is in the hotel room with Ross. Abby attempts to call her boyfriend and warn him, but she only hears Kayako and then it hangs up. Abby looks over at the girl that was sitting beside her to see Kayako.

• House - is the third short film that overlaps during the events in School. The film opens with Brooke (as introduced in the second short) receiving a phone call from Abby. As the call ends, Brooke agrees to play hide and seek with the child, Josh, who she is babysitting and chooses a walk-in closet as her hiding place. Brooke soon finds herself trapped and is dragged violently into the underworld by Kayako. Josh then gets up and says "Come out, come out, wherever you are." before Brooke's cellphone begins ringing.

[edit] Release

[edit] Premiere

The Grudge 2 premiered at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California on October 8th, 2006. During the premiere, the theme park was open to the public and featured a Grudge 2 maze as part of its 2006 Halloween Haunt ^[24].

After the premiere was shown, Sam Raimi, Amber Tamblyn, Takashi Shimizu, and two KAYAKO's went to the new Grudge 2 Maze at Knott's Berry Farm, and held a opening ceremony. Amber and the director cut the "ribbon" at the entrance to open the maze; the ribbon was the hair from the two Kayako's which had been tied together. Amber then declared the maze open. Some pictures of the opening follow:

[edit] Reception

The film was one of three films not shown to film critics on the release date (others included The Marine and One Night With The King)^[25]. The film has a freshness of 7% on Rotten Tomatoes (4 out of 54 reviews counted fresh)^[26].

The film has received a weighted average^[27] rating of 4.4/10 at the Internet Movie Database^[28]. The film has received criticisms from several critics regarding a poor plot. Keith Phipps from The A.V. Club stated, "While The Grudge 2 deserves some credit for creating and sustaining a creepy atmosphere, it doesn't matter much when the plot doesn't go anywhere"^[29]. Pete Vonder Haar from Film Threat stated, "The same problems that plagued the original are on display here. Most notably, the lack of any coherent plot"^[30]. Paul Debrudge from Variety stated, "The Story is incidental, as auds merely anticipate the scares"^[31]. Tim Goernert from Joblo stated, "For the most part, I found it really hard to follow the story as well, as there were three of them happening at the same time"^[32].

The film has also been criticised as being eye candy. Terry Lawson from Detroit Free Press stated, "The Grudge 2 is just a mélange of images, some mildly disturbing, but mostly just variations on a theme"^[33]. The film has generated "generally negative reviews" with an average score of 33/100 on Metacritic and 4.9/10 from members^[34].

[edit] Box Office

The film opened in 3,211 theatres and was expected to generate $27 Million on the October 13th - 15th weekend ^[35] but generated $9,710,000 on its opening day and $20.8 million on its opening weekend. The film has earned an estimated $39.1 million dollars^[36]in its total box office.

[edit] Sequel

Main article: The Grudge 3

During post-production on the film, Takashi Shimizu discussed ideas of creating another sequel, "During the script meeting, Our ideas didn't go anywhere good, and we couldn't come up with anything interesting to stop the curse, so if that's the case, I would rather just go for something that could never be stopped. But who knows, maybe something can be stopped in The Grudge 3 ^[37]. During Comic Con 06, Sony officially announced plans of creating the sequel ^[38]. Takashi Shimizu stated he was offered to direct the sequel but would rather produce the film instead ^[39].

[edit] Release information

Ratings
Australia:	M
Canada (Ontario):	13+
Finland:	K-15
Germany:	FSK 16
Iceland:	15A
Indonesia:	Dewasa
Malaysia:	18SG
Netherlands:	16
Philippines:	PG-13
Singapore:	PG
United Kingdom:	15
United States:	PG-13

The following is a list of the films release dates worldwide.

Country	Date
Netherlands	October 13, 2006
Canada	October 13, 2006
USA	October 13, 2006
United Kingdom	October 20, 2006
Philippines	October 25, 2006
Australia	October 26, 2006
Germany	October 26, 2006
Brazil	October 13, 2006
Sweden	October 27, 2006
Finland	November 3, 2006
Croatia	December 7, 2006
France	December 27, 2006
Spain	January 26, 2007

[edit] DVD

The Grudge 2 will be released on a DVD format in North America on February 6, 2007^[40]. There will be a PG-13 version and Unrated version, which is 6 mins. longer, released on the same day. It will also be available for PSP.

[edit] Trivia

• Toshio isn't portrayed by Yuya Ozeki (original actor from Ju-on and the 2004 remake) instead he is portrayed by a newcomer Ohga Tanaka. However the film does credit Yuya in several flashbacks.
• The role of Vanessa, now played by Teresa Palmer was originally written for Vanessa Lengies, who eventually turned it down to film My Suicide; the part still bears her name ^[41].
• Actresses Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amber Tamblyn previously worked together on an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer titled "All the Way" ^[42].
• Kayako's makeup took 2 hours to apply before filming ^[43].
• The films writer Stephen Susco claims that film's script underwent 5-6 drafts.
• The film's poster is very similar to Ju-on: The Grudge.
• Is Misako Uno (who is a member of the J-Pop band AAA) first acting role.
• Amber Tamblyn also appeared in the American remake of Ringu, The Ring.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Offical Website
• Official Blog
• The Grudge 2 at the Internet Movie Database
• Tales of The Grudge at the Internet Movie Database
• The Grudge 2 Reviews at Metacritic.com
• The Grudge 2 at Movie Tome
• The Grudge 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Grudge 2 at Yahoo! Movies
• Review at Dread Central

The Ju-on Curse
Directed by Takashi Shimizu
Short Films: Katasumi and 4444444444 | Tales of The Grudge
Juon Series: Ju-on | Ju-on 2 | The Grudge | The Grudge 2 | The Grudge 3
American Films: The Grudge | The Grudge 2 | The Grudge 3
Characters
Aubrey | Karen | Kayako | Takeo | Other