The Grudge 3

The Grudge 3
Directed by	Toby Wilkins
Written by	Brad Keene
Produced by	Takashi Shimizu Sam Raimi
Starring	Johanna Brady Gil Mckinney Emi Ikahata Shawnee Smith Matthew Knight Jadie Hobson
Edited by	John Quinn
Distributed by	Stage 6 Films Sony (USA) Columbia Pictures
Release dates	March 24, 2009
Country	United States
Language	English

The Grudge 3 is the direct-to-DVD sequel to the American horror films The Grudge and its sequel, The Grudge 2. The film is going to be directed by Toby Wilkins taking Takashi Shimizu's place. According to IMDb, filming took place in March 2008. The film will be released on May 12, 2009. The trailer was released on October 28, 2008.

Production

During post-production of The Grudge 2, Takashi Shimizu discussed the idea 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 was offered to direct the sequel but would rather produce the film instead. Moviehole reported that the film was putting out a casting call 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 as Amanda in the Saw films, has finished filming her scenes for this movie.

On January 1, 2008, the cover was revealed and it was announced that it would be released on DVD March 24th, 2009. It will only contain featurettes as special features.

There were rumors that the film was originally going to be titled as The Curse Continues or Ju-on 6, but it became The Grudge 3 as originally planned.

Despite rumors that the film's would be rated PG-13 in line with the previous American remakes, the rating is now an R due to the film's strong violence and disturbing images.

It is currently unknown if a Japanese version of The Grudge 3 will have a release somewhere in 2009.

Plot

From Ghost House Pictures, the makers of 30 Days of Night and The Grudge, comes the next installment in The Grudge series. Kayako and Toshio's curse continues by haunting The Grudge 2's only survivor, Jake, who's now confined to a psychiatric hospital after his family's alleged murder. News reaches Naoko, Kayako's sister, in Japan. As Jake's case worker, Dr. Sullivan (Shawnee Smith, the Saw series), investigates his Chicago home.

Actual Storyline: [from the actual DVD] In the first scene of the movie, Jake is seen killed by a ghost, having been tossed around the room, and having "nearly every bone in his body" broken. The film is then based predominately around the apartment block set from the previous film, of a family living underneath the cursed apartment. An older brother, his sister, and their younger sister (who suffers from asthma attacks cause by seeing ghosts) now live "with the curse". Kayako's sister visits the apartment block in order to put an end to the curse.

She visits the family and after a spate of deaths eventually tells them the story of the family that died in Japan. She explains how she is the sister to Kayako and wants to put an end to the curse. Kayako was fed evil spirits as a child, after her mother successfully had performed exorcisms on clients, when she was a child.

Kayako's sister eventually performs an ancient Japanese ritual to end the curse of Kayako (and her son) ending the curse. Kayako's curse has now been broken, however due to Kayako's sisters eventual death (by the older brother who became possessed by Kayako's deceased evil husband), Kayako's sister's curse now lives on and kills the older brother.

[from the pre-release DVD]

Cast

Character	Actor
Lisa	Johanna Braddy
Max	Gil McKinney
Naoko	Emi Ikehata
Rose	Jadie Hobson
Andy	Beau Mirchoff
Dr. Ann Sullivan	Shawnee Smith
Toshio Saeki	Shimba Tsuchiya
Kayako Saeki	Aiko Horiuchi
Praski	Michael McCoy
Gretchen	Marina Sirtis
Brenda	Mihaela Nankova
Daisuke	Takatsuma Mukai
Renée	Laura Giosh
Orderly	Mike Straub

Production history

Date	Event
October 2006	The Grudge 3 was announced during the Comic-Con 2006
October 2007	Toby Wilkins was tapped to direct The Grudge 3 with a screenplay written by Brad Keene. The plot was revealed too
January 2008	It was confirmed that Matthew Knight will return to play the role of Jake. It has been also revealed that filming will begin in March in Bulgaria for a direct-to-video release
February 2008	Moviehole reported that the film was putting out a casting call for new actors to play Kayako and Toshio, since Takako Fuji (Kayako) and Yuya Ozeki (Toshio) have passed on the opportunity
March 2008	Filming began in Bulgaria (3rd March according to Moviehole; 17th March according to IMDb)
April 2008	Bloody-Disgusting reported that Shawnee Smith, who appeared as Amanda in the Saw films, has finished filming her scenes for this movie. It reported also that Beau Mirchoff and Johanna Braddy were added into the cast. During Fed-Con (a Star Trek convention), Marina Sirtis said that she had finished filming a small part in the film.
June 2008	Emi Ikehata and Aiko Horiuchi (as Kayako) were added into the cast
July 2008	Gil McKinney was added into the cast
October 28 2008	The trailer was released and the DVD release date was announced for March 23 2009
November 3 2008	It was rumored that Lindy Booth was added into the cast
December 2008	The film receives an R rating by the MPAA for violence, language and disturbing images

DVD release

The DVD will be available to own on March 23, 2009, and should retail at around $24.96. The film will be presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track.The DVD will include two featurettes,"Tokyagoaria" (Tokyo+Chicago+Bulgaria) and "The Curse Continues" as well as deleted scenes

Thanks to the Pirate DVD Industry, the DVD is already on sale in remote places such as the Kingdom of Tonga, in the Pacific Ocean.

External links

• The Grudge 3 at IMDb
• BloodyDisgusting|The Grudge 3
• ShockTillYouDrop|The Grudge 3