The Grudge Review: 2 Ups & 8 Downs
Downs...
8. It Wastes An Incredibly Talented Cast
One can only assume that The Grudge amassed such a talented cast off the back of Pesce's cred alone, because it's tough to imagine what any member of the film's oddly distinguished acting line-up saw in the script alone.
Andrea Riseborough and Demián Bichir are able to escape with the most dignity in tact as our detective protagonists, yet despite the marketing playing-up his presence as a major character, John Cho has a far smaller and more forgettable role than advertised.
As his screen wife Nina Spencer, the talented Betty Gilpin scarcely gets anything worthwhile, horror legend Lin Shaye has maybe one scene to do something interesting, and celebrated character actors such as Jacki Weaver, William Sadler, and Frankie Faison are just left stranded in the middle of the movie.
The cast is an embarrassment of riches, honestly, but as a piece of storytelling or even a purely stylistic genre exercise, this film completely squanders them.