10 Failed Horror Movie Remakes That Could've Been Amazing
2. The Grudge (2004)
The success of the English-language remake of The Ring in 2002 left studios up and down America rubbing their hands together with glee at the prospect of importing more Japanese horrors.
The big follow-up to The Ring was The Grudge, which came out in 2004. An American retelling of Jun-On: The Grudge from two years prior, the central story of the film revolves around a vengeful ghost, born out of the brutal murder of a woman some years ago.
It's up to Sarah Michelle Gellar to sort things out, who, to be fair, is more than qualified to deal with this sort of thing.
Whilst there was much praise for the eerie presentation of The Grudge, a lot of viewers found they had absolutely zero idea what was going on. Non-linear films can be exceptional when done right, but this was far too messy and overcomplicated to capture the magic of a Memento or a Pulp Fiction.
It may have spawned its own franchise (of other terrible movies) and topped the box office, but The Grudge was not the next great Japanese horror remake that it could have been.