Like Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger and other stalwarts of the horror genre, The Grudge refuses to die. Bloody Disgusting breaks the news that Ghost House Pictures and Mandate are developing yet another remake of the long-running franchise, which has existed (and succeeded) in various formats over the years.
First, a brief history. The series started with two straight-to-video, made-for-TV Japanese horror films released in 2000. Because those films worked so well, their director, Takashi Shimizu, helmed a theatrical version, titled Ju-on: The Grudge. A Japanese sequel followed. Right around that time, lazy Hollywood executives also were hunting down creepy Japanese properties (see The Ring), so Shimizu was hired in 2004 to direct an American version of his own film. Leading lady Sarah Michelle Gellar returned with Shimizu for The Grudge 2 in 2006, while The Grudge 3 went straight to video.
Got all that? You almost need a flow chart. So now we’re left to wonder which version of Ju-on the new filmmaker will decide to pull from. Will a Grudge remake pay any attention to canon? The premise behind the horror franchise is simple enough, with a supernatural force feeding on its victims’ internal angers before moving on to another human source. Bloody Disgusting also doesn’t rule out the possibility that this latest Grudge, which would be the eighth in the series, could be a direct-to-DVD release.
A quick check of IMDB shows that Shimizu has Tormented in post-production, and is heading into pre-production on a thriller called Flight 75, about a supernatural force attacking passengers on a trans-Pacific flight. Dude loves his supernatural forces. It might not be too late to lure the director into a remade Grudge, because I’m not sure it officially can be called Ju-on without him.
