When it was released three months ago, Sam Raimi and Robert Tappert, the producers of The Grudge, indicated in interviews and in their cast and crew commentary track that the film would be seeing an "unrated director's cut" release. Not really the fairest of warnings, since you had to OWN the original DVD, and listen to the bonus material to learn this fact. But true to their word, we now have the presumably restored vision of director Takashi Shimizu in this comprehensive edition of the 2004 Hollywood hit. The original release had nice sound and image, and a decent assortment of extras. But this time, we have been promised a move beyond the childish PG-13 limits and into some fine fright waters. The question then becomes, is it worth wading into? Or should you save your money and continue to fear the digital repeater?

The DVD:
Instead of duplicating everything about the film that was said in the original reviews of The Grudge, this direct link will reference the previous piece for your reading pleasure. Also, there is a differing opinion here. What this piece will hopefully do is point out some of the added material, offer up judgments as to whether the revamp changes the film in any significant way, and if the additional contextual elements provided with the double dip warrant the extra outlay of cash.

As for this cut of The Grudge, it is obvious that director Shimizu was somewhat restricted by the American and MPAA-led desire to have a PG-13 rating. Judging from the violence that has been included in this new cut of the film, The Grudge was originally conceived as a very atmospheric, slow building suspense film that would pay off with some very disturbing imagery toward the end. Specifically (and for those who do not know the film, you may want to skip down to the next paragraph as here there be SPOILERS), once Yoko returns sans bottom jaw – which we now witness in long, lingering, gory glory – much of the fairly frightening original finale has been decked out with new, disgusting dread. The flashback to the original murders that started the curse are far more fleshed out (we see how both mother and son died in montage madness detail) and the famed "stairway crawl" is extended and far creepier. There are very minor bits added to Susan – the sister's – fate and the time-shift denouement, when Sarah Michelle Gellar discovers what part Bill Pullman plays in this story. The new footage includes some rather intense visuals.

Yet this doesn't really make The Grudge as better film. As it was, this was Ju-On on Tinsel Town tranquilizers. Shimizu still has an incredible grasp of tone and pacing, but everything else around him wants to betray the macabre mannerisms. The new cut doesn't make the vacant Ms. Gellar any better as a thespian. Indeed, her reaction shots in the new fangled ending prove she's a limited performer of a certain, set emotional range. The redux also doesn't save Stephen Susco's substandard script. While he's the one to thank for all the bloodletting we get here, he is also responsible for the dull, dragging aspects of the narrative as well. Indeed, while the filmmakers may feel it fun to kill off one of their leads within the first five minutes of the start time, the constant jumping back and forth in time is not disconcerting. It's just irritating. It constantly yanks us out of the mood Shimizu is creating, requiring us to build up our dread dynamics all over again.

Perhaps as an aside, it should be noted that the one simple facet that few people mentioned when Ju-On was making the cult cinema transition to the big screen is the film's formulaic notions. While everyone argued about how original and inventive this, as well as other Japanese horror films really were, they failed to pay homage to this story's real starting place. You could argue that The Grudge in nothing more than The Haunting draped in Eastern superstition, but the truth is far more tabloid. This film is basically The Amityville Horror with bows to obvious Asian influences.

The recent remake aside, the story of that possessed house with its evil permeating and dripping from every wall is the core of Ju-On's sloppy, slippery premise. The Japanese may believe in the power of a curse, or the reality of demons, but what we really have is that best selling story of a group of people who settle or come in contact with the scene of a previous triple homicide. The house is imbued with evil, and bad things happen. In essence, they get haunted by the uneasy spooks who once resided there. All CGI hair and creepy cat crying kids aside, The Grudge is Amityville without the fly infested priest. Heck, if you want to go back even further, one could call up Poe's House of Usher and not be too far off the mark.

Similarly, the entire Japanese/Asian angle of horror seems to have finally ebbed and started to wane. In just the eight months since this film saw a theatrical bonanza, the Ring 2 has arrived DOA, and other movies inspired by Eastern ideals of eeriness haven't proved as profitable as once thought. It seems that, in typical American style, we've binged and purged on the enigmatic concept of this idiosyncratic macabre until our fat capitalist bellies are bursting. What was once so novel and neat is now familiar and less than fresh. Pasty-faced ghouls growling like pissed off pandas are no longer the rage – they're the norm. And once your monster is mundane, you've lost a large portion of your dedicated fright flick audience (just ask a certain F. Krueger).

Still, for what it is, for how it tried to reconfigure the Ju-On films for a Western mindset, The Grudge is still a nice, old-fashioned scary movie. The added material may make it a little nastier, but this is still Uncle Sam's take on Japanese terror – and original director or not, it really isn't the same. The Grudge is not the kind of movie you can revisit over and over. It doesn't have the horror staying power of some of the classics like Evil Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist or the original Nightmare on Elm Street. Instead, it plays like the fad gadget that it is, a spanking new twist on a premise previously milked for all its mayhem. Fans of the film will definitely want to scarf up this unrated version. But unless the extras excite you, there is really no need to own a second copy. It pales in comparison to the original Ju-On, and thanks to the traveling of time, it now plays like a pale imitation of itself as well.

Since the release is not a remaster of the previous available DVD, the technical statements stay the same:

The Video:
Relying on a palette of charcoals and earth tones (even the occasional blood looks more maroon than brilliant and bright red) The Grudge has been given a wonderful DVD transfer by Columbia Tri-Star. The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen image is sharp, with lots of superb detail and excellent contrasts. Shimizu's framing and compositions are perfectly preserved, and there is a magnificently moody quality to the picture that helps sell the scares scattered throughout. Digital defects appear to be limited – there is no pixelating or compression grain - and the overall presentation seems perfectly in sync with Shimizu's visual and cinematic goals.

The Audio:
Much better than the optical elements are the aural issues. The Dolby Digital 5.1 offers a very atmospheric, ambient experience. The back channels come to life to provide a sense of all around immersion, and the use of strange, surreal noise cues (a Shimizu trademark) makes the soundtrack very unsettling and disturbing. The dialogue is clearly understood and the occasional subtitles are deftly handled and easy to read. While the score by Christopher Young is way too intrusive and obvious for the stifled refinement the director is going for (it truly telegraphs scares minutes before they occur) the sonic landscaping created by the mix really aids in The Grudge's effectiveness.

The Extras:
The original release of The Grudge contained trailers, a 49 minute Making-Of featurette, and a nifty commentary with Sam Raimi, Rob Tappert, Stephen Susco, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ted Raimi, Jason Behr, Clea DuVall and KaDee Strickland. Of that material, only a few of the trailers remain. In its place are another excellent alternate narrative track, deleted scenes, a series of mini-production promos, a video diary from both Ms. Gellar and Ms. Strickland, and two short films by director Shimizu. So right away you know – if you REQUIRE this added content to aid in your understanding and/or fandom of the title, by all means, take the money and buy. Indeed, at least two features here may actually make a double dip a necessary nuisance.

The first of these essential extras is the dozen or so deleted scenes. There are a few that, frankly, should be in the film (including a scene in Susan's apartment with Tashio making an appearance, as well as a finale flashback which shows the doomed first family in happier times). Along with a couple of sequences that flesh out the characters and add to our understanding of the backstory and mythology, the material that was edited out is a must-have for Grudge completists. The other essential bonus feature is the full-length audio commentary (in Japanese with excellent English subtitles) by director Takashi Shimizu, producer Taka Ichise and actress Takako Fuji (she's the white faced specter). True to the term, the three get together and actually COMMENT on the film. They discuss locations and working with American actors. They argue over certain shots and cuts. They add anecdotes about special effects gone haywire, and cranky 'ghost' children. But perhaps the best bits come when the decidedly Eastern individuals marvel at many of the cuts, as well as additions, the Western test audiences demanded. From never showing a dead body up close to making sure the flashbacks were fully explained, they can't seem to fathom the English speaking filmgoer. Such a clash of cultures is what makes the digital medium so much fun, and the new commentary track for The Grudge is perfect proof of this ideal.

Equally impressive, though they are very short (around 3 mins each), are two small films that Shimizu made utilizing similar Ju-On imagery. One is entitled 4444444444, and revolves around a vacant building, a lost cell phone, and a mysterious cat-like caller. It's an effective piece of directorial bravado. The other is called In the Corner and could be an outtake from The Grudge proper. Two young schoolgirls discover that our white-faced ghost really gets around. The pair has the unfortunate luck of meeting her in a rundown area near some woods. Again, Shimizu proves his ability with intense imagery as his camera captures some genuinely frightening visuals.

Perhaps the most pointless content here are the very minor making-of featurettes focusing on a tour of the house/set (5 mins), a storyboard slideshow of the staircase crawl finale (3 mins) and a series of sketches, again in slideshow format, from, the set designer Iwao Saito (3 mins). They really add nothing that the 49-minute documentary didn't already cover on the previous release. Better are the video diaries. Our lead, Ms. Gellar, walks us through a day in the life of The Grudge's production. From director Shimizu's rather late arrival that day to how the language barrier is addressed by cast and crew, there is a lot of insight in what is essentially a star's pleasant puff piece. The same goes for KaDee Strickland's piece. Though her focus is on the sights and sounds of Tokyo, we do get some snippets about working in Japan, and on The Grudge. Strickland loves everything about the city, calling it "magical" and "science fiction-like". Though we don't get a lot of convincing vistas (we see a great deal of KaDee's face, however), it is still an engaging walkabout.

Final Thoughts:
Here is the bottom line for those who like to cut through the critical analysis and are solely looking for the consumer side of the review. The Grudge is a decent horror diversion: barely a classic, but still pretty atmospheric and suspenseful in its own right. The new version adds about 4 minutes of blood and backstory and definitely ups the "ick" factor along the way. The bonus content here is light years ahead of the first release as far as extra footage goes, yet the cast and crew commentary and far superior Making-Of material is absent. And then there are those nasty little Shimizu shorts, probably better than anything in this Americanized version of his vision. If you LOVED The Grudge, go for the dreaded double dip: you won't be disappointed. But if you weren't floored by the film, or thought it was merely a decent DVD rental, the new edition probably won't alter your opinion. If you made it a Bloatbuster night before, it's probably a good idea to do it again. Otherwise, The Grudge is what it is – a reminder of a time when the Japanese ruled the horror roost. But now it looks like the reign will be short, not long lived.

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