Ju-on: The Final Grudge opens on a montage of scenes from the last movie in the series, 'Ju-on: The Beginning of the End'. The montage doesn't really help, the short collection of scenes failing to capture the breadth of what happened in that film. But even with full knowledge of what went on before, this film isn't able to offer much in the way of clarity. It seems to be answering questions that no one was really asking, while bumbling its way through a plot that throws a bunch of interchangeable characters in the path of an ill-defined threat.
The movie starts out following Mai (Airi Taira), whose sister Yui was the victim of the ghostly grudge in the last movie. Mai and her boyfriend are drawn into the mystery of what happened to Yui, and end up dealing with the same grudge. Meanwhile, high schooler Reo (Nonoka Ono) is dealing with the arrival of her strange young cousin, who her mother had welcomed into their home following some mysterious and tragic circumstances. Soon enough, Reo and her friends start seeing strange things, leading them unwittingly into fatal situations.
One of the best qualities of Asian horror is its restraint. When the genre started out, it wasn't just a delivery system for systematic jump scares. The movies were creepy because they weren't just trying to startle people. They were built on weird concepts that were all the more mysterious because of how little explanation tended to be given. There is very little of that in this movie. It seems to have forgotten its roots, and is simply throwing in one jump scare after another, while providing extraneous details to a very simple backstory.
It is curious that the subtitle is "The Final Grudge." There is a distinct lack of finality in this installment this long running horror franchise. There is no closure, and no real resolution. It is just another iteration of the pattern of throwing indistinct characters in the path of a ghost with no defined modus operandi. There is nothing to be done about this supernatural threat, so the movie becomes an exercise in waiting to see what this ghost will do. There are a couple of unnerving images, but that's about it. The film can only do so many variations of this kid's body parts showing up in unexpected places.
The film goes into the backstory of the ghost, but it only really serves to make the whole thing more confusing. The timeline is all over the place, the film seemingly stuck on a singular event that never really progresses. The direction is a little too reliant on subpar visual effects. The acting is just about what you'd expect. It is no way natural, but this cast certainly works within this specific milieu. Nonoka Ono feels like the classic J-horror heroine, the actress able to tell a story of her character's growing unease purely through her facial expressions. Airi Taira manages to throw in a couple of memorable moments as her character falls prey to this curse.
'Ju-on: The Final Grudge' might be the least scary installment of the franchise. There's just so little to hold on to, the characters and their stories taking a backseat to the continuous delivery of lame jump scares, and the exploration of a ghostly backstory that doesn't actually help matters. Rather than make things clearer, this movie muddles the already convoluted mythology even further, and the confusion that arises gets in the way of enjoying the film as a pure horror experience. There just doesn't seem to be much left to wring out of this franchise, the filmmakers clearly tired of playing with all these same ingredients.
My Rating:
