10 Crazy Things About The Grudge Movies (and Show)

I am going to include the new Netflix series “Ju-On: Origins,” though it
could certainly be argued that it takes place in a different universe. The reason is that the Netflix series sought to give an origin to a few of the movie ideas, therefore I think it bear inclusion.

1. The Cat is a Ghost, but it Doesn’t want to hurt you.

Mar, the black cat that belonged to Toshio while he was alive, appears often in the series. He serves as a harbinger of the Grudge ghosts, or their curse, often appearing first.

Mar was killed by Toshio’s father Takeo and haunts the Grudge house. But in the American version his spirit is just a part of Toshio, due to their bond in life.

Mar doesn’t really hurt or kill anyone, he kind of just likes to ghost around.

But, sometimes he freaks people out a bit.

And he MAY have possessed a girl names, “Sally” at one point.

2. The Grudge Ghosts Took On Sadako From The Ring In A Baseball Game.

As a promotion for the upcoming film Sadako vs. Kayako (essentially, “The Ring vs. The Grudge) in Japan, Kayako, working with Toshio, took on Sadako at the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Yakult Swallows baseball game.

Sadako pitched, and Toshio ran the bases for the “eternally awkward” Kayako from The Grudge.

Sadako really carries that heat: **96 MPH** fast balls!

Toshio wore a shirt exclaiming, **“I Love Kayako.”**

This was actually Sadako’s third appearance pitching at baseball games in Japan.

3. The House Kills Everyone That Enters…Except the Realtor!

This is spelled out in “Origins,” but it really stands to reason this is happening in the movies too. The Realtor lives, and Yasuo lives because he wrote about the Grudge house, either because it gets out the story of the un-avenged murders that have occurred there, or because the ghosts in the house wish to have victims keep coming.

Obviously you weren’t THAT concerned about it.

Yasuo should probably stop writing actually.

Aoi’s unseen sister is another example of this.

4. Kayako and Toshio Have A Pretty Funny Instagram Account.

This was another thing that started to promote the “Grudge vs. Ring” Actress Runa Endo portrays Kayako here (the 6th actress to play the character), and Rintaro Shibamoto is Toshio (I believe he is the 9th actor to play that part).

I thought Bugle-fingers were only a US problem.

The Instagram page shows Kayako and Toshio all over the city: Playing Gameboy, marking Toshio’s height on a wall, going to the park, and a bunch of other funny stuff.

He’s going to get an ice cream headache.

5. “The Girl in the Gaps”

There is a scene that happens several times in the movies: Someone will be in bed and see the covers moving, they lift the blanket and Kayako (the mother), or other ghosts will appear, pulling them into the covers (or hoodie in The Grudge 2). This is based on a Japanese urban legend, called “The Girl in the Gaps,” which speaks of a ghost that can only enter our world through cracks, in furniture, or drapery. In the urban legend, the ghost will initiate a game of hide-and-seek, which inevitably ends in the victim being pulled into the crack and drug “to the fiery depths of hell.”

This isn’t actually her, but maybe it illustrates the point. *Art by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1882).*

6. Time is not linear within the Grudge house AT ALL.

Time shifts in the closet leading to the attic are very common in the franchise. This is generally the place where the living first see Kayako. But if you stand near the closet, people throughout the ages that have sat there may appear in real time, seemingly able to interact with the living and vice versa.

Outside the window in this scene it is 1997, but inside it is 1960. In ’97, Kiyomi breaks the window and enters the scene of her brutal attack by Yudai from years ago, while young Yasuo…

…Sees The Woman in White, possibly due to the fact that Kyomi is still possessed. Yasuo remembers her in an ambiguous manner, due to the randomness and shock of the experience.

Here is a scene where a killer from the past just appears in the room with two living characters. “Do you see him?” they say, indicating that multiple people can see these ghosts at a time.

Chiharu from Ju-On: The Grudge 2, gets bounced back and forth in time and space for fun before Kayako “claims” her.

7. Once You’ve Stepped In The House It Can Drop You Wherever You Are At Any Time It Wants.

Yasuo sees his father, who is arguably just trying to walk away from the Grudge house and not play it’s game.

But, apparently if you refuse to play the game, everything shakes and then you disappear into a tiny (you can barely see it in the picture) puff of smoke, and…

…nothing but a pile of super-heated gore is left over, WEIRD!

The Grudge curse was all the way in New York when the ghosts decided to roll up in Amber Tamblyn’s hood and take her forever.

8. The Ghosts Possess Some People For A Really, Really Long Time

The ghosts in the house, of course, possess people that usually reenact the ghosts death. But at some points, the ghosts possess people for TEN YEARS. Moving on, getting married, having kids, all while still possessed.

In this scene Kiyomi has been possessed long enough to get married and have a kid that grows to somewhere around 7-years-old. She will kill her husband after this scene, playing like the longest long-con ever.

Take Principal Dale from Aubrey’s School In The Grudge 2, and…

…OH MY GOD! See, Ms. Dale’s ghost actually went to work and spent a few days as a high school principle.

9. The kids role is up for interpretation.

The small ashen child (Toshio), goes back and forth from being evil in the franchise, often he’s totally passive, at times he’s actively deadly, and at some points he’s the biggest bad guy in the movie.

Little Toshio is the son of Kayako, and generally appears out of nowhere making sounds like a cat. This made it tough on actor Yuya Ozeki, who was terrified of cats.

10. The Grudge Curse Can “Infect” Other Buildings Too.

If you enter the Grudge house then go back home, or cross the country, or even the world, the Grudge ghosts can set up roots in your new location. The original Grudge house is in the Nerima district in Tokyo, Japan, but…