Now that it's here, it will never let you go.
On October 28, Sony Pictures unveiled the first trailer for the upcoming Grudge reboot
an R-rated refresh of the 2004 supernatural horror film of the same name, which itself
was an American remake of the 2002 Japanese horror classic Ju-On: The Grudge.
Like the 2004 version of The Grudge and the film it was inspired by, director Nicolas
Pesce's reboot of the property roots itself in the same blood-chilling curse: When someone
dies "in the grip of rage," an entity forms killing everyone who comes in contact with
it and passing on the Grudge in an endless cycle.
That said, it should come as no surprise that the first trailer for the reboot of The Grudge
features several references to the films that came before it.
These are the most important details in the Grudge reboot trailer.
Early on in the trailer for the Grudge reboot, we watch real estate agent Peter Spencer enter
the house he and his wife are selling, head upstairs, and lean down to look at the bathtub
mysteriously filled with jet-black water.
As he brings his face closer to the tub, a pair of hands break the surface of the water
and grab the sides of Peter's head.
What the heck just happened there?
Obviously, the entity or entities living within the house aren't afraid to make their existence
known, and will lash out in any way they can.
It's also clear that one of the ghosts is taking hold in the same location where a supernatural
beast present in The Grudge liked to hide out: the bathroom.
Specifically, it was Toshio the dead son of Takeo Saeki, who killed his wife Kayako after
discovering she was in love with another man.
In the American version of the films, Takeo drowned young Toshio in the bathtub.
"(speaking Japanese)"
The Grudge reboot director Nicolas Pesce previously explained to IGN that the drowning motif,
quote, "keeps coming back" throughout the new film, given that, quote, "the nature of
the bathtub is that part of the initial crime that started this all was a drowning."
But is the evil spirit shown in the bathtub within the first Grudge reboot trailer actually
Toshio, or is it another entity entirely?
Pesce noted this time to Collider that the Grudge reboot takes place at a "slightly different"
time than the other flicks, so there's a chance that the body in the bathtub is indeed Toshio,
who may have resurfaced in a new location to continue haunting the innocent.
Pair that information with the fact that the trailer also includes a shot of what appears
to be a ghostly being peeking over the edge of the bathtub, and it's looking like Toshio
will make a grisly comeback in the new Grudge movie.
On the subject of horrifying spirits from the Grudge franchise, it looks as though Toshio's
slain mother, Kayako, also appears in the trailer for the flick.
There's a moment that shows a character named Fiona walking in broad daylight, unaware that
a ghost is behind her.
With her white skin, black hair draped over her face, and dropped-open mouth, the spirit
bears a striking resemblance to Kayako whose presence is also felt later in the trailer,
when we see a body tumbling down the center of a stairwell.
Both fans of Ju-On: The Grudge and The Grudge alike as well as people who have never seen
the films before will know that Kayako has a strong connection to stairs: she famously
crawled down them in the most nightmarish of manners as she was closing in on one of
her victims.
Maybe she's the one who threw the body down the stairwell, or perhaps her appearance caused
the person to leap to their death.
Pesce has confirmed that the curse happening in the U.S. is, quote, "connected to the one
in Japan," and teased that it had "been brought" to the country like a malignant disease.
Pesce told IGN:
"The Grudge is kind of like a virus it spreads and is contagious.
So much of what we wanted to do with this movie is show that, yes, you know very well
what's been happening in Japan, but what you don't realize is this is happening in other
places too, and it's not just contained to this one house in Japan.
It's here and it's here and it's here, and it's everywhere."
At several points in the footage, including the pre-roll stinger, we see a gray-haired
woman on the brink of insanity.
She's first shown laughing maniacally in a kitchen with blood running down her chin and
neck.
She then pops up looking less human than before with her hands blackened and curled up, her
eyes sunken in, and her mouth dropped open in a pained yell.
This character may be a new one in the Grudge universe, but the actress who plays her has
been at the horror game for decades now.
She's Lin Shaye, a bonafide scream queen who has appeared in films like A Nightmare on
Elm Street, Critters, the Ouija movies and, perhaps most famously, Insidious.
This time around, Shaye plays the creepy cackling woman named Faith Matheson who's clearly affected
by the Grudge in some way, and may even be revealed as the original owner of the house
where the curse has taken hold.
Did she bring the Grudge to the States from Japan?
Is she the woman who committed the killing in the Grudged home?
We suspect Faith will be a major player in the upcoming movie.
If this first trailer didn't scare you away, catch The Grudge in theaters on January 3,
2020.
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