The Grudge : Review of the first 2 minutes

The Grudge is the first film of 3 in a series of Japanese Horrors; the target audience is 15-30 year olds as the rating is a 15, allowing the main Horror fan audience to see the film. The storyline is about a American nurse living in Tokyo is exposed to a curse which locks onto a person in a powerful rage before claiming there life in a painful way and then moving onto the next victim. It was directed by Takashi Shimizu and stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr and Clea DuVall.

The first 2 minutes stars with the Columbia statute panning into the shot, with some slow eerie music in the background. This then fades to black, a door then fades in, it looks old and rusty. The sort you would expect to see in a Horror film. It then shuts by itself, you know this as you can see both handles due to the angle it the zooms in on the keyhole for a skeletons head to be visible on the other side and the title Ghost House Pictures appears, this allows the audience to know that they are watching a Horror film, as Ghost House production does specialize in Horror films. This then fades to black again the music is still audible but it is quiet. A line comes onto the screen, it helps explain about the curse which features in the film. This then fades out but the word curse stays there and turns red then fades out. This is very symbolic, without even seeing the film the audience already know that the film is going to be about a curse, and the red color suggests that it is going to be the killer in the film. Another line then comes onto screen, explaining about how the curse will gather in the place of death of the person who was killed by hatred. This time instead of the word Curse staying on screen, the word Death does, this suggests to the reader that people are going to die in the film. A third line appears on the screen after this one, this one talks about how the fury will overcome its victim. And the word fury stays this time. This strengthens the fact that the curse is born of anger. 

At 01:05 the first actual footage fades in. It fades in on a civilized area, which is quite populated  suggesting that it is the suburbs. It helps set the scene by, letting the audience it is set in Japan as an oriental boat is seen on the river and it gives the audience a basic knowledge of where the film is going to take place. A character then pans into shot. A white ginger male, with probable British ethnicity. The creepy music is no longer playing; all you can hear is the sound of the cars driving, which is visible in the background. The man is on a balcony and his facial expression shows some distress. The camera then cuts to another shot of his face, and a woman in the bed is visible behind him, and she calls the name Peter. She asks if he is okay but he does not reply this suggests to the audience that Peter is not all right and he is distressed in some way. She try’s to have a conversation with him by saying how he is up early. He turns round to look at her but doesn’t say anything. This is weird and is there to Creep out the audience. He then turns back out and swings himself over the balcony. The way he does it shows resistance but he is the only person by the balcony. Suggesting to the audience that the Curse is at work. The camera then goes to his perspective and you fall to the ground to hear a splatting sort of noise. You then see the shock on the woman’s face in the next shot. You see her peer over the balcony at  the body. Which is on the floor with the limbs spread out to each side. Creepy piano music then begins. The first to 2 minutes of the film then ends.