The Grudge: Encyclopedia II - The Grudge - Plot

The Grudge - Plot

The Grudge is the curse of one who dies in the grip of a powerful rage. Those who encounter this murderous supernatural curse die and a new one is born, passed from victim to victim in an endless, growing chain of horror.

The Grudge - The Saeki Family and Peter Kirk

A young Japanese woman, Kayako Saeki (Takako Fuji), is unhappy in her marriage to her husband, Takeo (Takashi Matsuyama), and slowly develops an unhealthy obsession with an American college professor, Peter Kirk (Bill Pullman), who is working in Tokyo. Despite the knowledge that he, unlike her, is happily married, Kayako continues to hold a torch for this man that she does not know, and keeps a secret diary which she uses to chronicle her fantasies about him. She stalks him regularly, and even sends him love letters informing him of her feelings. When she returns home one day, she discovers, to her horror, that her husband has read her diary, and knows all about her affection towards the other man. In the grip of a powerful rage, Takeo brutally murders his helpless wife, along with their young son, Toshio (Yuya Ozeki), by drowning him along with his beloved pet cat. Upon arrival at the Saeki residence, Peter finds Toshio seemingly alive but bruised and shaken, and then discovers Kayako's body stuffed into a crawlspace in the attic upstairs. He instantly leaves the house in a state of shock. The next morning, in front of his wife, Maria (Rosa Blasi), he commits suicide by jumping off the balcony just outside his apartment.

The Grudge - The Williams Family

After he is given a promotion by his superiors, Matthew Williams (William Mapother) moves to Tokyo, and takes his wife, Jennifer (Clea DuVall) with him, along with his slightly ailing mother, Emma (Grace Zabriskie). Matthew's sister, Susan (KaDee Strickland), who has been living in the city for some time, helps them in their search to pick out their new home. Matthew, Jennifer, and Susan decide on a house located in the suburbs, although Emma, however, feels a great sense of unease when she ascends the staircase to the second floor of the house. This continues when the Williams family finally move in, and Emma sleeps fitfully, while Jennifer has quickly gone off her new life in Tokyo, feeling lost and lonely as she hasn't the faintest grasp of the language, and chooses to spend most of her time in the house. One day, when Matthew is out at work, Jennifer goes to investigate some strange noises and occurrences within the house. When Matthew returns, he finds his wife laid out on their bed, struggling to breathe. A young boy appears in the bedroom and confronts him with strange cat-like sounds. Meanwhile, Susan, worried about her mother, phones the Williams residence, leaves a message on the answering machine, and prepares to leave work. As she does so, she notices she is being followed by someone, and when she manages to catch a glimpse of the woman, she leaves her workplace as quickly as possible. Thinking she is safe in her flat in the city, Susan finds out she is wrong, as the woman later appears in her home.

The Grudge - Extended Unrated Edition Difference

See: Alternate Versions for The Grudge (2004).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Plot", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki