As a film, it is at once too much a part of an overarching story and divided into too many episodes to be all of a piece. However, as a sustained collection of scare moments, it's a winner.
Comment
07/03/04
Ju-On: The Grudge (2004)
56
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:68
Fresh:38
Rotten:30
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: The film grows more repetitive as it goes on, and as a result, the scares lessen.
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: A volunteer home care worker, Nishina Rika (Megumi Okina), enters the home of a bed-ridden patient and discovers a strange ghostly presence lurking behind a door sealed with duct tape. Her... [More]
Starring: Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Euhara, Yui Ichikawa
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Reviews for Ju-On: The Grudge
Top CriticUnsettling, but it's also fragmented and repetitive.
06/19/04
Click to read the article
07/03/04
Top CriticClick to read the article
06/24/06
Top CriticWhile it's low on blood, it's high on the good stuff like dread, spooky atmospherics and tension.
07/23/04
Top CriticUna buena mezcla de efectos sonoros y de ambiente de miedo.
06/27/04
Click to read the article
07/03/04
I haven't been this frightened during a movie since 'The Others.'
07/19/04
Ju-on has the ability to shoot chills up, down and, well, sideways across a viewer's spine.
09/23/04
Director Shimizu fiills his spook quotient in unexpected, everyday situations.
08/15/04
A masterfully creepy little import, a deeply unsettling daisy chain of expanding terror.
07/26/04
Ju-On features more matted black hair than you'd find in the locker room shower drain of an Italian soccer team -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
04/01/05
Preys on your imagination, toying with your darkest feelings, and, in the process, it gets under your skin.
09/16/04
While the film wouldn't go on my list of horror classics -- the acting is often stagey, the effects are cheesy, and one particular groaning floorboard sound effect is drastically overused -- it is an intriguing addition to the field.
09/16/04
With just a little bit of editing and some disorienting sound effects, Japanese director Takashi Shimizu can create more tension and jolts than most filmmakers can with oceans of blood.
02/18/07
Performs the ratchet-release- repeat trick with such metronomic efficiency that it gathers the force of a hallucinatory incantation.
07/20/04
A collection of effectively scary sights and sounds -- sound effects play a huge part in rolling that chill down your spine -- and that's about it.
07/03/04
There is nearly enough atmosphere and general creepiness to make you forget that the film doesn't really add up to anything.
11/06/04
An effective scary movie, if not always a coherent one.
08/08/04
One of the freakiest, most unsettling movies to come out of Japan in the past few years.
08/12/04
Latest News for Ju-On: The Grudge
March 01, 2006:
Second "Grudge" Rolls Into Production
Head on over to the Ghost House Pictures website and you'll find a new press release that'll thrill all you ravenous "Grudge" holders. Seems the sequel just started... More...
October 18, 2005:
Next Asia-to-America Horror Remakes? Two Separate "Eye"s
For those who just can't get enough of American remakes like "The Ring," "The Grudge," and "Dark Water," get ready to celebrate. Paramount's got a... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube 
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds