• After watching 'The Grudge' I have had irrational fears of wardrobes, attics and young Japanese children with Black Adder haircuts. The movie has got to be one of the most terrifying things ever to grace my television set. It is brilliant, however. I have never been more terrified in my entire life. The film takes place in Japan (whereabouts I am not exactly sure) and starts with the murder of a Japanese woman and her son (Kayako and Toshio.) Kayako is murdered by her husband (Takeo) for loving another man. Perhaps one of the most gruesome scenes is that of her murder. I can't walk down staircases without the hairs on my neck standing on end due to it. Takeo murders his son who was a witness to Kayako's death. Then, in case the cat happened to take on a Red Dwarf-esque position and evolve into a fashion conscious idiot, Takeo slits its throat. I found myself cowering behind a cushion through the entire montage. That was not the scene that made me practically wet myself in terror though. The scene which I would have prefered not to have seen featured Yoko (carer) and a lot of blood. Seeing her without her jaw made my whole body turn into a leaf.

    Moving away from sights which would make even the strongest stomached human vomit, Kayako terrified the living daylights out of me. The fantastic acting of Takako Fuji made me truly believe that this was actual footage of a haunting. I was stunned when I researched her on good old wikipedia and found that the make-up artists must have been bloody genious. I was very disappointed when I learnt that in the third (but hopefully not the last) she was not playing Kayako. The child playing Toshio (Yuya Ozeki) was also fantastic. I once again turned to wikipedia but there was no image, but later searching google images I found a clear picture. Yuya is absolutely adorable. I did a classic double take when I saw the photo. Sarah Michelle Gellar was fantastic, as always.

    I was highly entertained by the film so I give it four and a half out of five. I only deducted a half because I'm still recovering from the terror.

    My next review will be 'Dark water' comment, rate and keep reading!