Trivia / The Grudge

• The Cast Showoff: Takako Fuji really can move like that, and has said in an interview that she sometimes likes to pull out her Kayako-moves to freak people out at parties. In addition, any scene with her crawling down the stairs was done without any wirework whatsoever.
  • The movements themselves—as well as some aspects of Kayako’s appearance—are based off of a Japanese style of avant-garde dance, butoh. Butoh incorporates contortion, and almost all dancers are trained contortionists. While Takako Fuji isn’t trained specifically in butoh, she is a trained contortionist and ballet dancer.
• Creator Backlash: A very small example. Takashige Ichise, who had been involved in almost all of the Shimizu-helmed productions both in North America and Japan, had to sue to get executive producer credits on the 2020 reboot. It’s been rumored since that there was some disagreements in regards to Ichise’s involvement in the reboot and supposedly he has since attempted to distance himself from all further Western involvement in the franchise.
  • Takashi Shimizu himself was said to not be fond of The Grudge 3, which was filmed shortly after both himself and Takako Fuji left the franchise. He has also since spoken about his distaste for the changes the North American studios tried to make for the films (see the Executive Meddling section below.)
  • Takako Fuji left the franchise because she was bored playing Kayako and did not like that people solely associated her work with the films, both overseas and in Japan.
• The Danza: Yoko Maki as Yoko.
• Executive Meddling: Kayako did not have much of a backstory in the original film series, and Takashi Shimizu wanted to keep it that way. However, he was told to give her a backstory for The Grudge 2, which he reluctantly went ahead with . In an interview, Shimizu also stated that executives kept insisting that Kayako should have "a twin", which baffled him. In The Grudge 3, Kayako is revealed to have a sister (though not a twin sister), which has to make one wonder if that was a case of executive meddling, too.
• Follow the Leader: The success of The Ring was the chief reason it was remade in the States.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Yuya Ozeki, who plays Toshio in the first film, was terrified of cats.
• Missing Trailer Scene: The trailer for The Grudge 2 contains scenes from the film's alternate ending involving Kayako coming down the stairs after Jake and Allison.
• The Other Darrin:
  • As with the original Ju-on series, Toshio has been portrayed by three different actors. In the first film and in flashbacks/photographs for the second and third films, he was portrayed by Yuya Ozeki (who also portrayed the version of the character in the two theatrical Ju-on films). In the second film, he was portrayed by Ohga Tanaka. In the third film, he is portrayed by Shimba Tsuchiya. (Unfortunately, the difference is rather jarring in the third movie, as Toshio looks a lot older than in the previous films.)
  • Not only that, but Takako Fuji, who has played Kayako from the very beginning of the Ju-on saga up until The Grudge 2, has been replaced in The Grudge 3 by Aiko Horichi (although Fuji does appear as Kayako in the third movie's flashbacks and photographs). According to Takako Fuji herself, she was getting tired of playing the same role over and over again. Also, in the Tales of the Grudge shorts, Kayako is portrayed by Anna Moon.
• Self-Remake: A Foreign Remake of Shimizu's 2002 film Ju-on: The Grudge.
• Spared by the Cut: In the original ending of the second movie, the ghosts don't take Allison away onscreen (although she's last seen in a precarious situation) and Mrs. Davis (Karen and Aubrey's mother) is killed by the curse. In the final cut, Allison is dragged away by the ghosts onscreen and Mrs. Davis is never cursed.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Selma Blair was the first choice for the role of Karen.
  • The role of Vanessa in The Grudge 2 was originally written for Vanessa Lengies.
  • For the 2020 film, the original title was just Grudge, before being called The Grudge, like the 2004 film. Although it kinda would make sense since the film (while a Soft Reboot) takes place between the events of the 2004 and 2006 films).

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