The Grudge

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about The Grudge's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of The Grudge completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 15 November 2004.

Overall comments and recommendations

The Grudge generally achieves its aim of scaring its viewers; however, the storyline was quite weak with major flaws in logic. Many of the effects designed to make the viewer jump were repeated over and over making the movie somewhat predictable.

Besides the unsuitability of the content the question needs to be asked, other than trauma what positive enjoyment would a child under the age of fifteen years get from this film?

Most children over the age of fifteen years should be able to cope with the film's content, however the very creepy nature of this film should not be underestimated, and again other than a creepy scare the film has little to offer and is best seen with a number of friends or parent/s. l

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie The Grudge contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

The film's story centres around Karen, an American student working in Japan for a Health Care Agency. Following the mysterious disappearance of a health care worker, Karen is sent to care for an elderly woman, Emma, who suffers from dementia. On arrival, Karen finds Emma to be the sole occupant of the house until she discovers a small boy (who later transforms into a demon) imprisoned in a cupboard. Karen begins to hear creepy noises in the attic and has a close encounter with a female demon in the form of a Gothic like apparition with inky black tendrils. The film shows the lives of several characters whose past association with the house resulted in them being murdered by the female demon and the reasons that demons haunt the house are shown.

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

Violent acts occurred throughout the movie, including:

• a female heath care worker, while investigating strange noises in the house's attic, is violently attacked by a female demon. The victim screams and kicks as she is dragged into the attic through the hole in the ceiling.
• a man commits suicide by falling from a high-rise building, images are shown of his broken and disfigured body on the pavement below.
• the female demon crawls over her intended victim, inferring that she sucked the life force from him
• a husband brutally attacks his wife with the wife kicking and screaming in an attempt to escape
• a man finds a small boy abandoned in the house. The boy is distressed and covered in cuts, bruises and blood soaked bandages
• Karen finds the same boy in a similarly distressed state, but this time in a cupboard that had been sealed with packing tape
• a police detective finds the same boy drowning in the bathtub

Victims who survived the demon's attacks were portrayed as suffering both physical and psychological trauma as a result of the attack. For one victim the psychological trauma was so great that he committed suicide.

While the film included a number of scenes involving the representation of blood and gore, most of the scenes involving violence were intended to create a creepy atmosphere rather than displaying graphic acts of violence

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

The horror content of this film could cause psychological trauma to children under the age of eight years. Scenes or images that could scare very young children included:

• numerous scenes where demons jump out of dark places to attack their victims. These scenes created a high level of tension and suspense.
• the female demon was presented as a floating Gothic-like apparition with inky black tendrils, a grey pale tortured face with empty black eyes, matted hair and a horrifically distorted gaping mouth with flicking tongue; slithering down stairs on her stomach. Every turn of the demon's head or movement of an arm or leg was accompanied by the sound of breaking bones.
• the demon boy was presented in two contradicting forms: one as a normal but vulnerable boy who had been either abandoned or abused, the other as a menacing pale faced demon boy who meowed like a cat with a gaping mouth and jagged teeth.
• the health care worker who had been dragged into the attic at the start of the film returns in demon form to reek revenge on her boss. She is covered in blood from head to foot and leaves large pools of blood behind as she walks. Her face is bloody and mutilated, her bottom jaw is missing and she has a long hideous tongue that lashes out at her boss.
• while Karen is washing her hair in the shower, she feels something on the back of her head. When she reaches back, she finds it to be a hand growing out of her head, which on discovery disappears.
• the small boy drowns in the bathtub, thrashing about under the water and making loud gurgling noises.

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

All of the scenes described above could scare children between the ages of eight to thirteen. While they are better equipped to distinguish fantasy from reality, the horror themes of the film are still too strong for children in this age group.

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Children over the age of thirteen years; and in fact many older children and even adults, would be scared by this movie. Older adolescents could be particularly disturbed by the scenes involving domestic violence and inferred child abuse.

Sexual references

Mild sexual references in a scene where Karen tries to entice her boyfriend back into bed as he is getting ready for work.

Nudity and sexual activity

The film contained no nudity; however Karen was sometimes clothed in flimsy clothing.

Use of substances

Other than a quick glimpse of an ashtray full of half smoked cigarettes the film contained no scenes involving drug or alcohol use.

Coarse language

None.

The movie's message

The film presented no positive take-home message. The movie could raise serious issues about violence, domestic violence and child abuse that parents could discuss with older adolescents.