The Grudge Unrated Extended Directors Cut

Product Description From filmmaker Sam Raimi (Spider-Man(r), Army of Darkness) and acclaimed Japanese director Takashi Shimizu comes a terrifying tale of horror in the tradition of The Ring and 28 Days Later. Sarah Michelle Gellar (TV's Buffy The Vampire Slayer ) stars as an American nurse who has come to work in Tokyo. Following a series of horrifying and mysterious deaths, she encounters the vengeful supernatural spirit that possesses its victims, claims their souls, then passes its curse to another person in a spreading chain of horror. Now, she must find a way to break this supernatural spell or become the next victim of an ancient evil that never dies, but forever lives to kill. Additional Features The special features included on the unrated extended director's cut of The Grudge will appeal primarily to horror buffs and fans of director Takashi Shimizu. The extended cut of The Grudge (Shimizu's semi-American remake of his early video feature Ju-On) saves the best for last, with a more frightening and slightly more graphic climax. More interesting, however, are Shimizu's early short films "4444444444" and "In a Corner," serving as obvious prototypes for The Grudge, which represents the culmination of all previous incarnations and demonstrates Shimizu's penchant for spine-tingling atmosphere and visual composition. (These strengths are firmly based on Shimizu's impressive storyboard art, also included here.) The director's commentary is only partially informative, but it does outline some of the specific differences between Ju-On and The Grudge, along with interesting anecdotes about collaborating with an American cast & crew. The deleted scenes are just that: scenes that deserved to be deleted, and of interest only to hardcore fans. Video diaries by Sarah Michelle Gellar and costar KaDee Strickland are perfunctory, but enjoyable as behind-the-scenes amusement and Japanese sight-seeing. The "Grudge House Insider's Tour" is essentially a showcase for the admirable work of set designer Iwao Saito, whose pre-production sketches are also included. --Jeff Shannon