The Grudge 2

The Grudge 2
The poster for the film
Directed by	Takashi Shimizu
Written by	Stephen Susco
Produced by	Roy Lee Sam Raimi Robert Tapert
Starring	Amber Tamblyn Arielle Kebbel Jennifer Beals Edison Chen Sarah Roemer Sarah Michelle Gellar Jenna Dewan
Cinematography	Katsumi Yanagishima
Edited by	Jeff Betancourt
Music by	Christopher Young
Distributed by	Sony (USA) Universal Studios (UK)
Release dates	October 13, 2006 (U.S.) October 26, 2006 (Aus)
Running time	102 min./108 min. Director's Cut
Country	United States
Languages	English Japanese
Budget	$20 Million

The Grudge 2 is the 2006 sequel to the 2004 American horror film remake The Grudge. The Grudge 2 is the second film in Sony's The Grudge series and is directed by Takashi Shimizu (director of the original series) and written by Stephen Susco. The film is produced by Sam Raimi and stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Tamblyn, Arielle Kebbel, Jenna Dewan, and Edison Chen. As stated by Takashi Shimizu the film is not a remake of Ju-on: The Grudge 2 and does follow a different storyline.

The film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA, M by the OFLC and 15 by the BBFC for its content of mature thematic material, disturbing images/terror/violence, and some sensuality. The film was released in North America on October 13 after being pushed forward a week from the original October 20 release date. The film was released in United Kingdom on October 20 and in Australia on October 26, 2006.

Taglines: What Was Once Contained, Will Now Be Unleashed

What Began With One....Will End With Many.

Synopsis

The Grudge

In The Grudge, Kayako Saeki (Takako Fuji) was a young Japanese woman who developed an unhealthy obsession with an American professor named Peter, who was working in Japan. She chronicled her obsession in her diary, which was found by her husband Takeo (Takashi Matsuyama). Takeo then broke his wife's neck and drowned their son Toshio (Yuya Ozeki) in the bathtub, then slashed their cat's throat. He wrapped his wife in plastic and placed her body in the attic. He then placed Toshio's body in an upstairs closet, before being hung by Kayako's spirit. Kayako's demonic spirit haunted the house, using Toshio and their cat to terrorize and ultimately destroy anyone who came into contact with them, except for a young American social worker named Karen Davis (Sarah Michelle Gellar). The Grudge 2 finds Karen in a hospital after attempting to burn down the house following the death of her boyfriend. The movie encompasses three stories following the lives of Karen's sister Aubrey, three schoolgirls living in Japan, and a family living in Chicago in different time periods.

Karen, Eason and Aubrey

Karen and Aubrey Davis's sick mother sends Aubrey to Japan to bring her sister home since she herself is unable to, given her current medical condition. Their mother charges her with the duty of bringing her sister back home, despite the sisters not speaking to each other. She favours Karen over Aubrey. Aubrey goes to the hospital in Japan, trying to see her sister, but cannot initially due to the language barrier between the nurses and herself. Eason, a journalist who pulled Karen from the fire in (The Grudge) happens to be at the desk and translates for her. A police guard stands outside Karen's room. Karen is at first unsure, but upon touching her sister confirms, "You're really here." She repeatedly asks her sister to get her out of the hospital, with increasing volume each time. Orderlies strap her down to the bed. Aubrey leaves the room and the orderlies shut the door and turn off the lights. Karen whispers, "Aubrey, don't go in that house." Aubrey talks to Eason. He introduces himself as a journalist, but Aubrey brushes him off saying Karen can't have any visitors until tomorrow. Meanwhile, the lights begin to flicker in Karen's room. She has an inkling of what's going to happen and struggles to get free. A hand grabs her right arm. She gets free and manages to escape the guard and orderlies when they are alerted to something amiss by her gasps, trying to get free. After passing a group of medical staff and seeing Kayako, she ends up trapped in a hallway. The lights go out one by one, Kayako staggering towards her with the death rattle. Karen manages to get away and onto the roof of the hospital. She hears the death rattle once more and backs away to the edge of the roof. Aubrey is leaving the hospital, but Eason follows her, trying to talk to her about her sister and the house. Kayako pulls her over the edge in time for Aubrey and Eason to see her lifeless body fall and land in front of them. A horrified Aubrey collapses, Eason sees Kayako clutching Karen. Aubrey goes to Karen's apartment and sees childhood pictures. She calls her mother, but is unable to tell her Karen is dead. She hangs up and sits down, crying. Eason is in his apartment, watching one of his interviews with a member of the police force, Detective Nakagawa, about the original murder of Kayko, Toshio and Takeo's suicide. He notices the man turn around at one point after he hears something. When Eason rewinds and slows the tape down, he becomes more aware of the Kayako's signature death rattle and sees her face in the door, previously unnoticeable when the tape was playing because she's only visible for a brief moment. He shuts off the TV and sees the reflection of Kayako, but when he turns around, she isn't there. Eason goes over to Karen's apartment, where Aubrey is the next morning. They talk and Eason explains Karen's behaviour, only because he himself feels it. He knows the fire didn't solve the curse, but made it worse. They go to the house, and Eason tells Aubrey to stay outside the gate, the grounds surrounded by yellow police tape. He finds the closet all taped up. He tears through and finds nothing but Kayako's childhood diary. An unseen force flips it to a page with an eye. Aubrey goes underneath the tape, hears Karen asking her not to go inside, but Toshio's hand grabs her arm and pulls her in. Eason comes down and they leave. Eason calls a friend who is more knowledgeable of folklore to understand Kayako's diary. They find out her mother was able to heal people by removing inhabiting evil spirits and feeding them to her daughter Kayako. Aubrey and Eason find a matching photograph and drawing of a traditional archway outside the house where she grew up. They decide to go see her mother, but go home to Eason's first. At Eason's, the two talk and discuss why Aubrey and Karen stopped talking (she gave her a college application and Aubrey saw it as Karen trying to make her someone she wasn't) and Eason shares that he and his brother didn't talk despite living 4 blocks apart in Hong Kong. He makes tea for Aubrey, but she falls asleep. He goes into his darkroom and looks at pictures he took of the house's exterior. He notices a dark mass in one and develops another, an enlargement of that area. As it develops, the dark mass grows and the chemicals turn black. Kayako's head slowly comes out and they look at each other, Eason horrified, before Kayako leaps out and grabs him. Aubrey wakes up in the morning and finds herself alone. She goes into the darkroom and finds the picture, then notices Eason's body in the corner. She hugs him in disbelief, but he becomes Kayako and his arms wrap around her. Aubrey runs away as all the pictures in the darkroom show Kayako's face. Aubrey takes the train and then a bus to Kayako's home. A man on the bus plays peekaboo with some unseen child, but Aubrey doesn't notice it's Toshio's reflection. She goes to the house and finds Kayako's mother, accusing her of making her this. Kayako's mother says that although she fed evil spirits to her daughter to heal others, she did not make Kayako what she is now. She goes on to say the events are not about the house, but making others suffer the way she suffered; there is no way to stop it or its spread. She then realizes that Aubrey had brought Kayako with her. Aubrey watches her die. Aubrey leaves and returns to the house. She calls home and finally is able to tell her mother Karen is dead. When her mother accuses her of not being "able to do anything on her own," Aubrey tells her she loves her, but her mother has to stop talking to her like that and says goodbye. She goes into the house and asks what she wants. She sees Karen go upstairs, calling for Doug and follows her, but then sees Takeo reading the diary. As she turns to run away, her ankle snaps and she crawls down the stairs, but is caught by Takeo who snaps her neck. Intercut flashes show that she is killed just like Kayako and Aubrey is then able to understand the pain Kayako felt.

The Schoolgirls

Allison (Arielle Kebbel) is a new student at the international high school in Tokyo, and there she meets students Vanessa (Teresa Palmer) and Miyuki (Misako Uno). They take Allison to the Saeki house in order to play a prank on her. The girls convince her to enter the closet Toshio's body was stored in, and force the door closed. After Allison screams, the other girls try to open the door but can't, and Allison is unable to exit the closet until she sees Toshio and what appears to be Kayako.

Later, Allison is in class when she feels Toshio's cat brushing between her legs. She then senses human hands on her thighs. Pushing her supplies forward on her desk, she peers under her desk to find Toshio curled in a ball at her feet. As she jumps up, she realizes that he is not there, causing her to be embarrassed in front of her fellow classmates. As she sits down, she notices Toshio's cat proceeding to Miyuki's desk, and the two exchange nervous glances.

After they return to school, all three girls deal with hauntings from Toshio, the cat, and Kayako. After taking a shower in which Kayako haunts Vanessa in a fashion similar to the somewhat iconic scene in The Grudge, Vanessa then sees a ghostly image in the locker room that frightens her, causing her to pee herself. Miyuki leaves school for an afternoon rendezvous with her boyfriend Michael (Shaun Sipos) at a love hotel. While Michael is in the shower, Miyuki feels something grabbing her beneath the covers. She smiles and laughs, thinking it is Michael who has shortly left the shower. When she looks towards the bathroom, she sees that Michael has returned to the shower, meaning that something else is beneath the covers. Miyuki looks under the cover to see Toshio staring at her, and backs away toward the mirror behind her. Suddenly, Kayako emerges from the mirror and grabs Miyuki, pulling her within the mirror.

Vanessa and Allison are later interviewed by the school counselor (Eve Gordon) over the events surrounding Miyuki's disappearance and their trip to the haunted house. Allison is overcome and leaves followed by the school counselor, while Vanessa attempts to text Miyuki. She waits for the counselor to come back and fiddles with pens and the light. She looks down and notices the lamp is unplugged, but as she goes to plug it in again, she sees Toshio's legs as he runs in front of the desk. The phone starts to vibrate from a call, and as she goes to pick up the phone, she feels Toshio's legs instead on the desk. She gets out from under the desk, frightened, and picks up the call to hear Kayako's death rattle. She runs out from school grounds to a phone booth and calls Miyuki. All she hears is the death rattle and Toshio grabs her legs, while she is consumed and killed by Kayako.

Allison is again called to the principal office, where she reveals her belief that she and anyone who enters the Saeki house have been cursed. Principal Dale reveals that she went to the house, as ghostly versions of Miyuki and Vanessa appear. Principal Dale then turns into a ghost as well and advances on Allison. Allison, completely horrified, runs out of the room screaming.

Chicago, Illinois

In Chicago, Bill Kimble (Christopher Cousins) has recently married a woman named Trish (Jennifer Beals), and is moving into the apartment he shares with his daughter Lacey (Sarah Roemer) and son Jake (Matthew Knight). While Lacey and her friend Sally (Jenna Dewan) are friendly with Trish, Jake is distant. The young boy is troubled when the child of his neighbors, the Flemings, moves back in after going insane. At night, he is awakened by a series of loud knockings from the Flemings apartment. Curious, he follows one of the apartments tenants and sees the person, who is wearing a sweatshirt, getting old newspapers from the trash. When the person turns around to leave, Jake hides behind an object. He then notices two pairs of feet following the person out the basement. Jake looks out, only to see that there is no one behind the person. After Bill leaves for work, Jake and Lacey leave for school, and Jake notices that all of the windows in the Flemming's apartment are covered with newspaper. Bill, doubting his wife's fidelity, returns home unexpectedly, under the pretense of having forgotten his keys, only to find Trish on the phone with a coworker she identifies as Nate. It is revealed, that Bill is squeezing his keys so hard that they cut his hands, though Trish doesn't notice.

After school, Lacey decides to show off her cheerleader outfit to Sally, who appears ill. Sally drinks then regurgitates milk. Lacey returns home to find Jake shivering in his closet, afraid because Trish and Bill have been fighting. Jake is again awakened by pounding on the walls, and upon investigation discovers his sweatshirt wearing neighbor is a young woman, who is banging her arm on the wall as she furiously cuts her own hair. After seeing the ghostly eyes of Vanessa and Miyuki staring in the window, Jake returns home and spends the night with his sister. That night Toshio appears by Sally's bed as she dies after a too large intake of milk.

The next morning, after Trish listens to the banging from next door, she begins to make breakfast in a trance. Bill, all this time having been influenced by the spirit of Takeo, accuses her of having an affair, but she does not respond. After Bill criticizes her for burning the bacon, Trish pours the oil from the pan onto his head before killing him with a blow to the head. Lacey and Jake return home to a dark and messy apartment, while the banging from next door continues. As his sister looks for a flashlight, Jake discovers his father's body. Searching for Lacey, Jake finds that she has been drowned in the tub. As he hears Trish calling his name, Jake attempts to revive his sister. An already dead Trish appears in the tub, telling him it's time for his bath, before Toshio pulls her under the water.

As Jake is fleeing his apartment, he hears screams from the Flemings' apartment. The girl in the sweatshirt turns out to be Allison, haunted by Vanessa and Miyuki, from the school in Tokyo. Through a series of flashbacks, it is learned that the ghost Allison saw in the house was actually the spirit of Aubrey. Jake accuses her of bringing something back with her, and she confirms that "they" have followed her to Chicago. Allison sees Kayako climbing down the hallway stairs, and Jake shortly after sees Toshio inside the hood of Allison's sweat shirt. Kayako's hands emerge from the hood and pull Allison into her clothing, her body disappearing into it. Jake reaches for the sweatshirt as a ghostly hand grasps his arm; Kayako then rises from the hood and lurches towards him as the movie ends.

Deaths (in order of appearance)

Character	Killer
Bill	Trish (Possessed by Curse)
Karen	Kayako
Miyuki	Kayako
Vanessa	Kayako
Eason	Kayako
Sally	Toshio
Sussah	Kayako
Principal Dale	Unknown
Kayako's mother	Kayako
Lacey	Takeo
Trish	Toshio
Aubrey	Takeo
Allison	Kayako

Chronology

Just like its predecessor, The Grudge 2 does not follow a linear timeline.

Deleted scenes

The names of the deleted scenes are taken from the DVD's 'Special Feature' section.

• When Closet Door Opens: After Allison was freed from the closet, she finds herself with Eason, who seems somewhat surprised upon seeing her in the closet. Two years earlier, when Eason first entered the house, he found the closet after hearing noises from it. The closet was sealed in tapes, and when he removed them, finds Allison in the closet, completely surprised of seeing her. Revealing they are both in a time-loop inside the house within two years period. This would make the chronology of the storyline more complicated and would remove the fact of having three different time periods.

• Itako's Film: When Aubrey and Eason are at Itako's apartment, they were watching a documentary film of Japanese exorcisms.

• The Passport: After being terrorized by the ghostly Principal Dale, Miyuki, and Vanessa, Allison ran back to her apartment to pack her belongings and grabbed her passport, trying to get back to Chicago.

• Aubrey's Dream: On the bus, Aubrey was dreaming of having a loving relationship with her mother. However, the dream slowly deteriorate into a nightmare, and her mother coughs up a gland and forces Aubrey to ingest it, much like when Kayako's mother would force her to swallow evil spirits when she was a girl. Aubrey then woke up, finding on old man playing peek-a-boo with no one.

• Alternate Ending & Epilogue: After Jake finds his family dead, he runs to neighbors apartment. On arrival he finds his neighbors dead. Jake finds Allison, and instead of Kayako's hand appearing and pulling Allison into her clothing subsequently having Allison's body disappear, she crawled from the apartment's stairs and chases Allison and Jake. Parts of this scene were used in the official trailer for the film.

In the epilogue Karen's and Aubrey's mother received a delivery from Japan, a box full of Karen's belonging and Kayako's journal. When Mrs. Davis takes a look at it, she finds some black hairs are attached to the page of it. She drops the journal, and when she picks it up again, finds an eye moving on it. She soon coughs up a decapitated, ghostly head which is wrapped in black hair. This kills Mrs. Davis, detaching her jaw from her head, and her face is similar to Yoko's jawless face in the first film.

Cast

Actor/Actress	Role
Sarah Michelle Gellar	Karen Davis (cameo)
Amber Tamblyn	Aubrey Davis
Arielle Kebbel	Allison Fleming
Edison Chen	Eason
Teresa Palmer	Vanessa
Natasha Hettick	Sussah
Misako Uno	Miyuki
Ryo Ishibashi	Detective Nakagawa
Matthew Knight	Jake Kimble
Jennifer Beals	Trish Kimble
Christopher Cousins	Bill Kimble
Sarah Roemer	Lacey Kimble
Eve Gordon	Principal Dale
Shaun Sipos	Michael
Takashi Matsuyama	Takeo Saeki
Takako Fuji	Kayako Saeki
Ohga Tanaka	Toshio
Yuya Ozeki	Toshio flaskbacks from The Grudge were used
Paul Jarrett	John Fleming
Jenna Dewan	Sally

Characters

Main article: List of The Grudge characters

Production

The Grudge 2 was announced 3 days after the release of The Grudge in 2004 and was officially fasttracked after a positive box office response with the film grossing $110,175,871. In early January 2005 Takashi Shimizu suggested ideas regarding the film's plot. Ideas included the origin of the curse and new character subplots.

The film was later placed into production hell for almost a year until December 2005, where the first few cast (Sarah Michelle Gellar and Teresa Palmer) members were cast. Other production details were also revealed including the original scheduled date for principal photography which was due to begin January 30, 2006 but was postponed until February. Principal photography for The Grudge 2 was held at Toho Studios in Tokyo, Japan and production wrapped up on April 25, 2006. During an interview on Dread Central with Amber Tamblyn, it was reported that sets were created in Chicago, Illinois for Tamblyn to re-shoot several scenes.

Production history

• October 24, 2004 - The film was green lit by Sony Pictures after The Grudge had a positive box office response in North America.
• December 4, 2005 - Several details emerged online with film production set to begin on January 30, 2006.
• December 5, 2005 - It was confirmed that Sarah Michelle Gellar will return to play role of Karen Davis.
• January 24, 2006 - It was confirmed that Amber Tamblyn would be the lead, playing the Karen's sister Aubrey Davis.
• February 10, 2006 - Several more cast members were added including Jennifer Beals, Arielle Kebbel and Teresa Palmer.
• March 13, 2006 - Matthew Knight and Shaun Sipos were added into the cast.
• March 22, 2006 - Eve Gordon, Edison Chen, Takako Fuji, Ryo Ishibashi and Misako Uno were added into the cast.
• April 1, 2006 - The teaser site went online and the release date was set for October 13, 2006.
• April 16, 2006 - Sarah Michelle Gellar filmed her role on the 53rd day out of a 64 day shoot.
• April 25, 2006 - The film finished production and entered post-production.
• May 15, 2006 - The first pictures from the movie went onto the internet.
• May 31, 2006 - The teaser poster was released.
• July 24, 2006 - The trailer was previewed at Comic Con 06.
• August 1, 2006 - Trailer hits the net.
• September 18, 2006 - The full website was available to the public.

Differences from Ju-on: The Grudge 2

Director Takashi Shimizu stated in an interview with Sci Fi Wire: For The Grudge 2, I was going for this mystery that was never there in The Grudge, and I think that's going to fulfill the audience. ... There's a secret about Kayako's childhood life, so that's part of the big mystery. And the other mystery is, this grudge will never stop, and it's going to ... spread. And how is it going to get spread? That's another mystery."

He also stated that: "The Grudge was a complete remake of Ju-on, meaning the storyline was very similar. Basically, it's the same. But Grudge 2 is actually different from Ju-on 2, and I don't think I would have accepted this job if it was going to be the same storyline. And because it was a different story, you know, my motivation was a bit higher, and I actually enjoy doing this."

Promotion

Teaser Site

On April 1, 2006 a teaser site was launched with details revealing the October 13 release date. Many Database forum sites such as IMDB were swamped with claims that Sony was playing an April Fool's joke. A few days later, the site's authenticity was proven, and claims that it was a hoax were dismissed.

Missing Person File: Jason C

To promote the film, Sony released a missing persons file on its official blog stating a student filmmaker known as "Jason C" disappeared a few weeks after visiting the set of the film. The blog originally broadcast interviews with the film's stars including Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amber Tamblyn but has been taken over by his roommate who filed the report.

Short films

On September 19, 2006 Yahoo! Movies was the first site to release three short films titled "Tales from the Grudge" with an introduction from one of the producers of The Grudge Sam Raimi. The series of short expands on the story of The Grudge curse. The shorts also appear on the film's official site Sony Pictures Entertainment, here fans who volunteer their mobile phone number, will get surprise calls from Kayako or Toshio. The films are also available on other film and horror related web sites as part of a wide reaching and unique digital marketing strategy.

The shorts were directed by Toby Wilkins Official Site, IMDb page, and Written by Ben Ketai.

Tales from The Grudge

These short films are also available in the DVD's "Special Feature' section. There is an introduction by Sam Raimi.

• Part 1: - is the first in the series of shorts. It introduces Ross (played by Daniel Sykes) as he wakes up in a Tokyo hotel room and coughs up quantities of Kayako's black hair. He wakes from this nightmare to the sound of his mobile phone he answers to his girlfriend's voice, Abby (played by Stefanie Butler) who is safe at home in the US. Ross explains that his attempts to investigate the house and the woman with long black hair have led to a dead end. When the phone call ends, we stay with Ross as he takes a photo of himself with his mobile phone. He does not notice as Kayako passes by behind him at the precise moment he takes the shot. He then sends the picture to Abby. Ross then goes to brush his teeth and finds black hair in his toothbrush before being grabbed through the mirror by Kayako. (Anna Moon)

• Part 2: - is the second short film in which we follow the story of Abby as she ends the phone call from the first short. Abby then proceeds to call her friend, Brooke (played by Ginny Weirick) to ask about plans that evening. When the call ends, Abby receives a photo message from her boyfriend Ross (from the first short). When Abby looks closer at the image, she sees that Kayako is in the hotel room with Ross. Abby attempts to call her boyfriend and warn him, but she only hears Kayako and then it hangs up. Abby looks over at the girl that was sitting beside her to see Kayako.

• Part 3: - is the third short film that overlaps during the events in School. The film opens with Brooke (as introduced in the second short) receiving a phone call from Abby. As the call ends, Brooke agrees to play hide and seek with the child, Josh, who she is babysitting and chooses a walk-in closet as her hiding place. Brooke soon finds herself trapped and is dragged violently into the underworld by Kayako. Josh then gets up and says "Come out, come out, wherever you are." before Brooke's cellphone begins ringing.

Release

Premiere

The Grudge 2 premiered at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California on October 8, 2006. During the premiere, the theme park was open to the public and featured a Grudge 2 maze as part of its 2006 Halloween Haunt.

Reception

The film was one of three films not shown to film critics on the release date (others included The Marine and One Night With The King). It received generally negative reviews from critics, with a freshness rating of 11% on Rotten Tomatoes (7 out of 59 reviews counted fresh).

The film has received criticisms from several critics regarding a poor plot. Keith Phipps from The A.V. Club stated, "While The Grudge 2 deserves some credit for creating and sustaining a creepy atmosphere, it doesn't matter much when the plot doesn't go anywhere". Pete Vonder Haar from Film Threat stated, "The same problems that plagued the original are on display here. Most notably, the lack of any coherent plot". Paul Debrudge from Variety stated, "The Story is incidental, as auds merely anticipate the scares". Tim Goernert from Joblo stated, "For the most part, I found it really hard to follow the story as well, as there were three of them happening at the same time".

The film has also been criticised as being eye candy. Terry Lawson from Detroit Free Press stated, "The Grudge 2 is just a mélange of images, some mildly disturbing, but mostly just variations on a theme". The film has generated generally negative reviews with an average score of 34/100 on Metacritic. Also, an 0/5 from The New York Post.

Box office

The film opened in 3,211 theatres and was expected to generate $27 Million on the October 13 - 15th weekend but generated $10,018,039 on its opening day and $20.8 million on its opening weekend. The film showed exceptionally poor staying power and earned $39.1 million in North America making it the first ever film to open over $20 million yet gross less than 50% of its earnings after opening weekend. It goes without saying that it also easily set the record for lowest gross of a $20 million opener. It earned an additional $30 million internationally. The movie made 70 million world wide.

Sequel

Main article: The Grudge 3

During post-production on the film, Takashi Shimizu discussed ideas of creating another sequel, "During the script meeting, Our ideas didn't go anywhere good, and we couldn't come up with anything interesting to stop the curse, so if that's the case, I would rather just go for something that could never be stopped. But who knows, maybe something can be stopped in The Grudge 3. During Comic Con 06, Sony officially announced plans of creating the sequel. Takashi Shimizu stated he has offered to direct the sequel but would rather produce the film instead. Moviehole recently reported that the film was putting out a casting ball for new actors to play Kayako and Toshio, since Takako Fuji (Kayako) and Yuya Ozeki (Toshio) have passed on the opportunity. Bloody-Disgusting reports that Shawnee Smith who appeared Amanda in Saw, Saw II and Saw III has finished filming her scenes for the movie.

Release information

The following is a list of the films release dates worldwide.

Country	Date
Netherlands	October 13, 2006
Canada	October 13, 2006
USA	October 13, 2006
Iceland	October 13, 2006
Malaysia	October 13, 2006
United Kingdom	October 20, 2006
Philippines	October 22, 2006
Australia	October 26, 2006
Germany	October 26, 2006
Brazil	October 27, 2006
Sweden	October 27, 2006
India	July 20, 2007
Finland	November 3, 2006
Croatia	December 07, 2006
France	December 27, 2006

DVD

File:Thegrudge2 dvd.jpg

The Grudge 2 unrated DVD

The Grudge 2 was released on DVD and UMD video for the PlayStation Portable on February 6, 2007. Both are available in a rated and unrated director's cut format. The unrated format is 6 minutes longer than the rated version.

Both DVD formats include the following extras:

• Tales from The Grudge
• Cast & Crew reel change montage
• Four Featurettes:
  • Holding a Grudge: Kayako & Toshio
  • East meets west
  • Grudge 2 Storyline Development
  • Ready when you are: Mr. Shimizu
• Deleted Scenes

A Blu-ray version of the movie was supposed to be released the same day as the DVD, but was cancelled. Then in 2007 when The Messengers was released on Blu-ray, it features a trailer for The Grudge 2 coming to Blu-ray. As of now it is TBA.

Trivia

• The old man playing peek-a-boo with Toshio is featured in many Japanese horror films including the original Grudge(Ju-on)
• Toshio isn't portrayed by Yuya Ozeki, the actor from Ju-on 1 and 2 (theater versions), instead he is portrayed by a newcomer Oga Tanaka, due to the fact that Ozeki had aged considerably since the last film. They gave him credit for being in some scenes and flashbacks.
• A poster of the Vancouver band The Manvils, can be seen displayed on the wall of the teenagers room in the movie.
• The role of Vanessa, now played by Teresa Palmer was originally written for Vanessa Lengies, who eventually turned it down to film My Suicide; the part still bears her name.
• Actresses Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amber Tamblyn previously worked together on an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer titled "All the Way". While the two were sisters in the film, in the episode Tamblyn played the friend of Gellar's character's sister.
• Kayako's makeup took 2 hours to apply before filming.
• Writer Stephen Susco claims that the movie went through 5-6 versions of the script. Sarah Michelle Gellar's role was the hardest. In one version, she's in almost every scene. In another, she's in about half of the film. In one, she's only in a couple scenes; and in one, she's not in the story at all. Because the circumstances of the production kept changing, the role of Karen Davis was mutable through much of the development process.
• Beals and Fuji work with each other again in Reptar versus the Snow Serpents.

External links

• Official Website
• Official Blog
• The Grudge 2 at IMDb
• The Grudge 2 Reviews at Metacritic.com
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• The Grudge 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
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• Review atDread Central