The Grudge is a 2004 American supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise.

It stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, KaDee Strickland, Clea DuVall, and Bill Pullman.

In 2001, Kayako Saeki, a housewife in Tokyo, is in love with her college professor, Peter Kirk, obsessively writing about him in a diary.

After receiving a letter from Kayako, Peter visits the Saeki house only to find her and Takeo's corpses and Toshio's ghost.

The remainder of the Saeki family rises again as restless ghosts due to the curse, notably Kayako, who appears as an onryō.

Karen discovers Toshio sealed up in a wardrobe at the house and later witnesses Kayako's spirit descending from the ceilings to claim Emma.

Karen researches the house, eventually confronting Nakagawa, who explains that the curse consumed three of his colleagues investigating the Saeki deaths.

Takashi Shimizu, the director and creator of the original film, was hired to direct The Grudge, from a screenplay by Stephen Susco.

Sam Raimi produced through its Ghost House Pictures banner, alongside Robert Tapert and Takashige Ichise.

[6] The film generated $39.1 million in ticket sales in its first weekend (October 22–24), exceeding the expectations of box-office analysts and Sony Pictures executives.

[14] Brian Rentschler of Screen Rant gave an overall positive review but in the end, unfavorably compared the film to The Ring, writing: "Writer/director Takashi Shimizu (who also wrote and directed the original) does a decent job of setting the mood of the film and (to a lesser extent) developing the storyline, but to be so similar to a movie that came out only two years ago... it's a tough obstacle to overcome.

[16] Scott Foundas from Variety wrote, "Project might have been more successful if Shimizu had style and/or atmosphere to substitute for his canned scares, cardboard compositions and flaccid cutting".