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This October, Hollywood will once again reveal its gift for scavengery (not a word, but should be) when it releases The Grudge, a Sarah Michelle Geller/Bill Pullman vehicle designed to scare us right out of our underwear.
In the meantime, why not catch the incredibly chilling Japanese film that inspired the ripoff? It’s called Ju-On: The Grudge, and no less a connoisseur of horror than U.S. director Sam Raimi, auteur of The Evil Dead and its creepy descendants, calls Shimizu Takashi’s thriller “the most frightening film I’ve ever seen, leaving you no time to catch your breath.”
The third film in the Ju-On series, which has fomented a worldwide cult, this 2004 feature dramatizes the grim tale of a family murdered in their own home, which is then occupied by a demonic spirit who terrorizes everyone else who dares to set foot in the place. Takashi makes most haunted-house movies, even the original Exorcist, look like child’s play, and that alone commands our undivided attention.
Ju-On: The Grudge opens Friday, September 3, for one week only at the Starz FilmCenter, in the Tivoli building on the Auraria campus. For information and showtimes, call 303-820-FILM or go to www.denverfilm.org.
