With The Grudge, Japanese horror helmer Takashi Shimizu had the dubious honour of making the same film twice - once for Japanese audiences and again for the American market. The US version stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as an exchange student in Japan who becomes the victim of a haunting. We called it "one of the scariest mainstream films in years" and audiences couldn't get enough, making it one of the highest grossing movies of the summer.

East Meets West

A series of featurettes, each boasting interviews with cast and crew, forms the bulk of extras on this DVD. Among them is The Birth Of The Grudge, which sees producer Sam Raimi and screenwriter Stephen Susco briefly discuss the process of adapting the story for a western audience. Director Takashi Shimizu also gets a little talk time, expressing his desire to introduce "a Japanese flavour" to the American mainstream.

Working with an English-speaking cast was a daunting task for Shimizu who only has a rudimentary grasp of the language. An entire featurette is dedicated to the matter with the leading players explaining the intricate process of communication on set, eg Jason Behr reveals that Shimizu would often "creep up behind you and scream like a cat" to get the desired reaction for a scene. Creepy.

Under The Skin takes a more scientific approach to film horror with Joseph LeDoux who boasts a PhD in the human fear response - although you probably don't need a fancy degree to figure out that it's got something to do with "the adrenalin rush". In other featurettes production designer Iwao Saito talks about the lavish set where the bulk of the film was shot and in The Myth Of Ju-On, Sarah Michelle Gellar explains her take on the film: "it's about a woman's rage". Which can only mean bad news for Freddie Prinze Jr...

A Sticky Situation

Gellar has more to say for herself in a lively cast and crew commentary where she paints Shimizu as a strict taskmaster. "I learned to swallow gum quickly, before Shimizu could catch me chewing," reveals the actress. He also demanded she conceal her tattoos for fear of "getting mistaken for yakuza". But Gellar got off lightly compared to Ted Raimi who tells of how he incurred Shimizu's wrath for eating a doughnut between takes. And then there were the cat impressions...

Although it's not bursting at the seams with bonus material, this package is suitably light-hearted and provides a good few behind-the-scenes titbits. It's just a shame there isn't more contribution from Shimizu who obviously doesn't take part in the commentary because of the language barrier. Nonetheless, The Grudge should scare up some good business on DVD.

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