# The Grudge 2
A supernatural horror film from the United States released in 2006, ***The Grudge 2*** was helmed by Takashi Shimizu from a screenplay by Stephen Susco, and it serves as a follow-up to the 2004 movie *The Grudge*[1](https://ijr.com/x/the-grudge-2-Q1193488). Produced by [Sam Raimi](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-raimi), Rob Tapert, and Taka Ichise for Ghost House Pictures, it follows Aubrey Davis ([Amber Tamblyn](https://www.edgepedia.org/amber-tamblyn)), who flies to Tokyo when her sister Karen ([Sarah Michelle Gellar](https://www.edgepedia.org/sarah-michelle-gellar)) is hospitalized, and finds that the vengeful supernatural curse from the first film has been unleashed and is spreading to new victims[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thegrudge2) • [3](https://www.scifijapan.com/dvd-blu-ray-digital/the-grudge-2-production-notes).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Theatrical October 13, 2006 (Columbia Pictures); DVD and UMD February 6, 2007[4](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-grudge-2/22359/where-to-watch/) • [1](https://ijr.com/x/the-grudge-2-Q1193488) |
| Director / writer | Takashi Shimizu / Stephen Susco[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63854) |
| Producers | Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, Taka Ichise (Ghost House Pictures); distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63854) |
| Running time / rating | 102 minutes (BBFC: 102m 17s), rated PG-13[6](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-grudge-2-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zntm0njk) |
| Lead cast | Amber Tamblyn as Aubrey; Sarah Michelle Gellar returning as Karen; Takako Fuji reprising Kayako[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thegrudge2) • [3](https://www.scifijapan.com/dvd-blu-ray-digital/the-grudge-2-production-notes) |
| Critical scores | 12% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (77 reviews); Metascore 33 on Metacritic[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_2) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-grudge-2/critic-reviews/) |
| Basis | Based on the Japanese film *Ju-on: The Grudge* (2003), written by Takashi Shimizu[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63854) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The film carries the curse forward as it attacks a group of seemingly unrelated individuals, moving out of the burned-out house from the first film and spreading more widely[3](https://www.scifijapan.com/dvd-blu-ray-digital/the-grudge-2-production-notes). When Aubrey Davis learns her sister Karen has been hospitalized, she flies to Tokyo, learns her sister's story, and discovers the fatal curse has been unleashed; as the grudge spreads, a new group of victims becomes infected by a force that, in the studio's words, "can't be stopped -- and won't be killed"[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thegrudge2). Streaming synopses add a third strand: a high school prank goes wrong and strange events begin in a Chicago apartment building[9](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-grudge-2). A contemporary campus review noted the film interweaves Karen's story with schoolgirls Vanessa ([Teresa Palmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/teresa-palmer)) and Miyuki (Misako Uno), who are systematically haunted by the child ghosts, and observed that it lacks a single unifying story[10](https://archives.nd.edu/Observer/v41/2006-10-24_v41_038.pdf).
## Production
[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) began in Japan, announced by [Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures) and Ghost House Pictures in March 2006, with shooting on location around Tokyo and at Toho Studios, described in the trade report as the largest sound stages in Japan[11](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/second-grudge-rolls-into-production/). The producers had previously worked with Shimizu and Susco on the 2004 film; Raimi and Tapert described meeting Shimizu in a small room on the Columbia Pictures lot to hammer out an outline for the first draft[12](https://www.killermovies.com/g/thegrudge2/news/4857_Raimi_Tapert_Making_The_Grudge_2.html).
**Casting.** Amber Tamblyn, known for television's *Joan of Arcadia*, took the lead as Aubrey, with Sarah Michelle Gellar returning briefly as Karen[3](https://www.scifijapan.com/dvd-blu-ray-digital/the-grudge-2-production-notes). Japanese actress Takako Fuji reprised her role as the ghost Kayako, which the production announcement counted as the fourth time she had played the character, three times in the Japanese *Ju-On* films and once in the first English version; Ryo Ishibashi returned in a cameo as Detective Nakagawa, and nine-year-old Ohga Tanaka played the tortured Toshio[11](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/second-grudge-rolls-into-production/) • [3](https://www.scifijapan.com/dvd-blu-ray-digital/the-grudge-2-production-notes). The ensemble also included [Edison Chen](https://www.edgepedia.org/edison-chen), Arielle Kebbel, Teresa Palmer, Sarah Roemer, Jenna Dewan, Matthew Knight, Christopher Cousins, Jennifer Beals, and [Joanna Cassidy](https://www.edgepedia.org/joanna-cassidy)[3](https://www.scifijapan.com/dvd-blu-ray-digital/the-grudge-2-production-notes) • [6](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-grudge-2-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zntm0njk). Misako Uno, a member of the Japanese pop group AAA, made her feature film debut[11](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/second-grudge-rolls-into-production/). The crew reunited Shimizu with cinematographer Katsumi Yanagijima, editor Jeff Betancourt, and production designer Iwao Saito[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63854) • [13](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_2/cast-and-crew).
## Relationship to Ju-on: The Grudge 2
The film is not a remake of Shimizu's Japanese sequel. In an interview from the Tokyo set, Shimizu explained that *The Grudge* was a complete remake of *Ju-On 1* with essentially the same storyline, but that *The Grudge 2* is actually different from *Ju-On 2*, adding that he would not have accepted the job if it were going to be the same storyline[14](https://www.horror.com/php/article-1201-1.html). Screenwriter Stephen Susco had said similarly that the film would vary greatly from *Ju-On II* and would probably be almost entirely unfamiliar to fans of Shimizu's other films[15](https://horror.org/private/newsletter/january-2005/susco.htm). Cast members quoted in the production notes emphasized that the script delves into the history of the first film and the mystery of the Grudge character[3](https://www.scifijapan.com/dvd-blu-ray-digital/the-grudge-2-production-notes). A scholarly survey of [Japanese horror](https://www.edgepedia.org/japanese-horror)'s American remakes notes that both *The Grudge* (2004) and *The Grudge 2* (2006) were directed by Shimizu himself[16](https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/cl/article/download/34999/38190/90719).
## Reception
The film opened to poor critical notices. Its Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer stood at 12% from 77 reviews, with the site's critics consensus calling it "a diminished sequel that makes even less sense than The Grudge 1"; the audience Popcornmeter was at 40% from more than 250,000 ratings[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_2). On Metacritic it scored 33, labeled "Generally Unfavorable", with 11 of 16 counted reviews mixed and 5 negative[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-grudge-2/critic-reviews/). Reviewers credited Shimizu's staging of individual scares, such as a body under the sheets and a man in a shower, while faulting the plot; the *New York Daily News* called it "a second-generation copy, a little faded, with less impact than the first", and *Variety* wrote that story was incidental as audiences anticipated the scares[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-grudge-2/critic-reviews/).
The film arrived during a crowded period for horror: 2006 saw eight horror films debut at the top of the US box office, including *The Grudge 2* alongside *Hostel*, *Silent Hill*, and *Saw III*[17](https://8flix.com/assets/dod/American-Cinema-in-the-Shadow-of-911-by-Terence-McSweeney.pdf).
## Home media
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and UMD video for the [PlayStation Portable](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-portable) on February 6, 2007[1](https://ijr.com/x/the-grudge-2-Q1193488) • [3](https://www.scifijapan.com/dvd-blu-ray-digital/the-grudge-2-production-notes). The [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) records a home entertainment version of 103m 36s classified in March 2007, plus deleted-scenes material on the DVD[6](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-grudge-2-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zntm0njk). The film debuted on Blu-ray in France on March 2, 2010, both as a standalone release and in a trilogy set with the first and third films[1](https://ijr.com/x/the-grudge-2-Q1193488). It has since circulated widely on streaming services; as of late 2026 it streams on Prime Video, Starz channels, and several free ad-supported platforms including Tubi, Plex, and [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)[9](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-grudge-2).
## References
1. [The Grudge 2 — news, coverage & facts, IJR](https://ijr.com/x/the-grudge-2-Q1193488)
2. [THE GRUDGE 2, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thegrudge2)
3. [THE GRUDGE 2 PRODUCTION NOTES, SciFi Japan (Sony Pictures, 2006)](https://www.scifijapan.com/dvd-blu-ray-digital/the-grudge-2-production-notes)
4. [The Grudge 2 (2006): Where to Watch & Stream, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-grudge-2/22359/where-to-watch/)
5. [The Grudge 2 (2006), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63854)
6. [THE GRUDGE 2, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-grudge-2-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zntm0njk)
7. [The Grudge 2, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_2)
8. [The Grudge 2 critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-grudge-2/critic-reviews/)
9. [The Grudge 2 streaming: where to watch online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-grudge-2)
10. [Movie Reviews, The Observer (University of Notre Dame), 24 October 2006](https://archives.nd.edu/Observer/v41/2006-10-24_v41_038.pdf)
11. [Second "Grudge" Rolls Into Production, Rotten Tomatoes editorial (March 1, 2006)](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/second-grudge-rolls-into-production/)
12. [Raimi & Tapert Making 'The Grudge 2', KillerMovies](https://www.killermovies.com/g/thegrudge2/news/4857_Raimi_Tapert_Making_The_Grudge_2.html)
13. [The Grudge 2: Full Cast & Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_2/cast-and-crew)
14. [The Grudge 2: Interview with Takashi Shimizu, Horror.com](https://www.horror.com/php/article-1201-1.html)
15. [Horror Writers Association Newsletter, January 2005: Stephen Susco interview](https://horror.org/private/newsletter/january-2005/susco.htm)
16. [Contemporary Legend, Vol. 8 (2005): Japanese horror cinema](https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/cl/article/download/34999/38190/90719)
17. [American Cinema in the Shadow of 9/11, Terence McSweeney](https://8flix.com/assets/dod/American-Cinema-in-the-Shadow-of-911-by-Terence-McSweeney.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Horror and slasher series film entries › 2000s releases*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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