An unusual proposition: take a fairly successful Japanese horror film, the original crew and director (who also wrote it), an American star, and remake the thing in English.
That is precisely what The Grudge does.
It makes for interesting viewing: we have an American actress (Sarah Michelle Gellar) speaking English in what is otherwise a very Asian film. Everything from the minimal dialogue, to the quirky characters, to the unsignposted time transitions make this seem Japanese; which is both impressive and somewhat jarring at the same time. Although it’s good to see a remake for the Western market that doesn’t molest the source material like Steve Irwin in a crocodile pit (The Assassin AKA Point Of No Return, I’m looking at you here), a question hangs in the air: why bother?
I’m sure Gellar doesn’t need the money, the original film could easily be viewed with subtitles (it did get a UK release after al), and the director was probably fairly happy with his original vision. The only answer that makes sense is that the potato farmers in Utah didn’t want to read while viewing a film. Mass-market appeal means something to the money men.
Not to say that The Grudge is bad. It is not great though. Fairly middle of the road horror, if we are being honest.