The original Japanese Ju-On and its American remake, The Grudge, remain pillars of 2000s J-horror and two of the most effective paranormal horror movies of their time. Next year, The Grudge makes its skin-crawling return with a reboot of the same name. Details are still somewhat scarce, but we finally have a look at the first official poster for The Grudge reboot, as well as some insights into the plot and atmosphere, as revealed at New York Comic Con (via BloodyDisgusting).
The official poster instantly reminds me of one of the most scarring scenes from the 2004 American remake, in which Karen Davis, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, is washing her hair in the shower when a ghostly-white hand reaches out from beneath Karen's hair. 15 years later, it's something I still occasionally fear when I'm washing my hair.
Aside from the dreadfully familiar tangle of black hair draped over the bathtub and accompanying bloodstain, there isn't much to see here. However, we were able to add a few key details onto what we already know thanks to the panel at NYCC. Namely, it's likely taking full advantage of its R-rating to deliver an experience more graphic than the series is known for.
Director Nicholas Pesce had this to say about the tone of his version of The Grudge compared to previous entries in the franchise (via GameSpot), "The cool thing about The Grudge movies is that it's a huge tapestry of all these different families surrounding this huge curse and now we have an opportunity to really lean into that deeper character study stuff," Pesce said. "There's definitely a deeper human character narrative to the movie. It's way more f***ed up."
The Grudge stars Lin Shaye, Andrea Riseborogh, Betty Gilpin, and John Cho, and is set for release January 3, 2020.
The Grudge is one of our most anticipated horror movies for the rest of 2019 and beyond.
