The Grudge

The Grudge is a 2004 supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's own 2002 Japanese horror film Ju-On: The Grudge, it is the first installment in The Grudge film series. It stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, KaDee Strickland, Clea DuVall, and Bill Pullman. Takako Fuji, Yuya Ozeki, and Takashi Matsuyama portray the characters Kayako Saeki, Toshio Saeki, and Takeo Saeki from the original films. The plot is told through a nonlinear sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplots. It's an international co-production film between the United States and Japan. The Grudge was released in North America by Sony Pictures Releasing through its Columbia Pictures label on October 22, 2004, and grossed $187.3 million worldwide, and received mixed reviews from critics. It was followed by two sequels, The Grudge 2, released theatrically in October 2006, The Grudge 3, released direct-to-video in May 2009, and a sidequel, The Grudge, released theatrically in December 2019.