Evil has gone stateside. The first trailer has arrived for writer/director Nicolas Pesce and producer Sam Raimi’s The Grudge, a kinda-sorta-reboot that brings the famous Japanese horror series back to the United States with a new home and recognisable story.
The first trailer for The Grudge (via IGN) hits a lot of the same notes as the previous American adaptation, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and was helmed by Ju-on creator Takashi Shimizu (who is not involved in this latest film).
This latest version takes place at the same time as the Gellar film, but at the other end of the world in a small American town.
The mystery starts with a large, abandoned house that’s been up for sale but can’t seem to find a buyer. It isn’t until real estate broker Peter Spencer (John Cho) enters the house that we find out why: There’s a g-g-g-g-ghost.
Andrea Riseborough stars as a detective who starts investigating the house, learning more about a terrible murder that happened there and how it seems to be leaving a trail of bodies in its wake. The detective ends up bringing the problem with her, as the Grudge invades her home and goes after her and her son.
But she’s not alone: Other folks in her town—played by Lin Shaye, Betty Gilpin, and Demian Bichir—are also pulled into the Grudge’s wrath.
The Grudge comes out on January 9, 2020.