The Grudge Review: 2 Ups & 8 Downs

By Jack Pooley / January 24, 2020

6. It's Full Of Lazy Jump Scares

Despite Pesce's horror debut featuring little in the way of jump scares, his first foray into more traditional studio genre filmmaking is a depressingly generic affair where the "frights" are concerned.

The Grudge is jam-packed with obnoxious and predictable jump scares which even casual genre fans will likely see coming from miles away.

These jumps are aggressively forced enough that one suspects they may have been studio-mandated, especially given that the film actually wrapped shooting over 18 months ago, and a round of re-shoots was ordered last summer.

Whatever the reasoning, they strip away any slight sense of atmosphere the movie musters, ensuring the impression it leaves is one of a tediously formulaic, lazy horror jump-fest.