Haunted house tale The Grudge was originally a Japanese hit and with director Takashi Shimizu back at the helm for the US remake, it's no wonder this version is "impressively faithful". Now, another two years on, he presents The Director's Cut which goes just that little bit further to clarify the backstory. The release is conveniently timed to coincide with the theatrical release of The Grudge 2.
Household Renovations
Among a few minutes of extra footage is a full flashback to the hair-raising events that sparked the haunting and an extended version of Yoko (Yoko Maki) coming face-to-face with the spooky kid in the attic. In a subtitled commentary Shimizu reveals that US producers put a strict limit on the level of gore he was allowed to show and that's still the case for this version of the film. Japanese producer Takashige Ichise and actress Takako Fuji have a laugh at the director's expense as he also had to include a few "kissing and fooling around scenes", which he's not accustomed to doing. Ichise then jokingly suggests that he left most of the work to the American second unit. "It's all lies!" asserts Shimizu. "I directed it!"
Fifteen deleted scenes are presented separately and include more smooching for Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Doug (Jason Behr). There's also more on the police investigation into the mysterious happenings at the house and after the fire, Karen appears to slip back in time where she sees the ill-fated boy Toshio (Yuya Ozeki) moving in with his smiley-faced parents. It's a generous selection of off-cuts but the dialogue, especially between the detectives, often clangs. On discovering a human organ, one asks the other, "Who does it belong to?" The answer; "We don't know yet, but we can use the blood to help identify the person." As if we've never seen an episode of Quincy...
Delving even deeper into the folklore of The Grudge (aka Ju-on) are two short films by Shimizu. His debut film 44444444444 is barely three minutes long but that's just enough time to build a convincing atmosphere of dread and suspense. In A Corner is just over three minutes and chucks a bit more blood into the mix.
The Spirit Of Tokyo
The remaining extras are fluff. A tour of the haunted house is simply a camera roving through the set backed by eerie music. The Production Designer's Notebook and Shimizu's Storyboard Art are brief slideshows with more eerie music and the occasional screechy sound effect. Sarah Michelle Gellar's video diary is a light-hearted addition that seems to confirm Ichise's theory that Shimizu was 'out to lunch' most of the time. While cast and crew wait for him to show up, Gellar talks to an assortment of production bods from the on-set translator (who barely understands what she's saying!) and the bloke who cleans the toilets.
Supporting actress Kadee Strickland (who plays Susan) submits another video diary that plays more like a foodie's guide to Tokyo. "I do miss cooked food," she confesses as she browses supermarket shelves laden with sushi, tries to resist local fast food joints and squeezes fruit at a street market.
Those who want more in-depth behind-the-scenes info should check out the original DVD release. The Director's Cut is more likely to appeal to fans of the original Ju-on franchise who like to split hairs about the mythology.
EXTRA FEATURES
