The Grudge appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie boasted a pleasing image.
Overall sharpness worked well. Some wider shots veered a smidgen toward the soft side, but they remained in the minority during this largely accurate presentation.
I saw no shimmering or jaggies, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws also failed to become an issue.
In terms of palette, Grudge went a lot of orange/amber and teal, as those tones dominated the presentation. Predictable as the colors tended to be, the Blu-ray rendered them in an appropriate manner.
Blacks looked dark and deep, while shadows seemed smooth and concise. I felt happy with this high-quality presentation.
As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it added involvement to the proceedings. The five channels used music in an involving manner, and various effects also broadened the soundscape in a winning way.
While not a film packed with action, Grudge came to life enough to work the speakers well. Various horror elements related to the thrills moved around the room in a convincing pattern to contribute life to the tale.
Audio quality worked well. Speech seemed concise and distinctive, while effects appeared accurate and natural. Louder moments boasted fine punch.
Music was warm and full, with a good level of punch from percussive elements. All of this left us with a satisfactory “B” soundtrack.
A few extras fill out the disc, and Designing Death runs three minutes, three seconds. It brings comments from executive producer Schuyler Weiss, writer/director Nicholas Pesce, producer Sam Raimi, makeup effects designer/puppeteer Toby Lindala, cinematographer Zack Galler, and actors John Cho, Lin Shaye and Tara Westwood.
“Death” looks at the ghosts and supernatural elements of the film as well as stunts and effects. We get some good notes, though the featurette feels fairly promotional overall.
The Cast of the Cursed runs three minutes, 44 seconds and features Weiss, Pesce, Raimi, Cho, Shaye, Westwood, Galler, and actors Jacki Weaver, Frankie Faison, Demián Bichir and William Sadler. This one offers a view of cast/characters, though it mostly hypes the film, so don’t expect much from it.
With Easter Egg Haunt, we get a four-minute, 47-second reel that offers notes from Pesce. He leads us through hidden Grudge nuggets found through the movie. We get some fun insights.
Seven Deleted Scenes fill a total of 30 minutes, seven seconds. We get a mix of character notes and scares that add more substantial material than usual. I don’t know how well they would’ve fit the final film, but they present some interesting material.
The disc opens with ads for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Fantasy Island (2020), Bloodshot, Searching, Black and Blue and Brightburn. No trailer for Grudge appears here.
As a reboot of a remake, 2020’s The Grudge comes with more positives than I’d expect. However, it also suffers from too many flaws to develop into a satisfying horror tale. The Blu-ray boasts pretty good picture and audio along with supplements led by a generous collection of deleted scenes. Though not a terrible film, Grudge fails to coalesce.