The Grudge describes a curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage or extreme sorrow. The curse is an entity created where the person died. Those who encounter this evil supernatural force die and the curse is reborn repeatedly, passed from victim to victim in an endless, growing chain of horror. The following events are explained in their actual order, the film showing them in a non-linear narrative.
The Saeki family - Housewife Kayako, husband Takeo and son Toshio - were living in the Japanese suburbs when Kayako became attracted to her college professor, Peter Kirk (Bill Pullman). Kayako became obssessed with Peter, writing down her sexual feelings for him in her diary. Unfortunately, one day Takeo discovered the diary and he read the contents, learning of his wife's affair with Peter. Takeo went insane and beat his wife, torturing her and savagely breaking her neck. He then killed a stunned Toshio when Toshio saw this murder, by drowning Toshio in the bath. Takeo then wrapped up Kayako's corpse in plastic and hid it in the attic. This caused an evil entity known as a Ju-on to be born, manifesting in the forms of Kayako, who became an onryo and Takeo, who emerged as a Yurei, and the ghosts of the Saeki cat, Mar, and the son Toshio, who appear to warn inhabitants of the house about the evil there.
The Williams Family, Matthew, his wife Jennifer, his unwell mother Emma, and his sister Susan move to Japan, and move into the Saeki house with the exception of Susan who lives in an apartment in the city. Jennifer and Emma are both disturbed by the house, and soon Jennifer and Matthew are consumed by the curse. Yoko, a caretaker, returns to the house on one of her shifts to help Emma, but then hears a mysterious croaking noise from the attic. Yoko enters the attic but is attacked by Kayako's ghost, who drags her, kicking, into the attic. Karen Davis, an American caretaker, is sent by her boss Alex to cover for Yoko. Karen finds Emma alone in the house, but is shocked when she finds Toshio and the cat in the closet, and telephones Alex for help. Karen catches Emma talking to herself, but then sees Kayako descend from the ceiling and kill Emma. Alex and various police officers enter. Among them is Detective Nakagawa who finds Yoko's cell phone, bottom jaw, and the bodies of Matthew and Jennifer in the attic.
Karen finds herself haunted by Kayako and Toshio, and investigates the house's past. Meanwhile, Susan, who visited the house after Emma's death, is hunted by Kayako, who drags her into her bed when she attempts to take refuge inside. Alex is also killed when he encounters Yoko's corpse, possessed by Kayako's ghost. Karen confides to her boyfriend Doug, and then confronts Detective Nakagawa regarding the Saeki family's deaths. Nakagawa reveals three of his co-workers were killed while investigating the deaths, and the retailer who sold the house to the Williams is also dead. Karen returns home to find a message from Doug, informing him of Yoko and Alex's deaths, and how he has gone to the house. Nakagawa arrives at the house first and attempts to burn the house down to end the curse using gasoline, but is viciously killed by Takeo's evil ghost. Karen enters the house looking for Doug but to her confusion only finds Peter Kirk as the scene morphs into daylight hours. Karen watches Peter Kirk discovering Kayako's journal and reading about her obssession with him, and then Karen sees Peter finding Kayako's bloody, mutilated corpse in the attic, wrapped in plastic. Shocked and nuseated, Peter stumbles and flees from the house. Karen enters Kayako's bedroom and finds Takeo Saeki, hanging from his neck, with Toshio flinging him against the wall. The evil around Takeo makes Karen see an insight into his final moments wherein he kills his wife and son. Nuseated, Karen walks downstairs where the scene morphs into night. She finds Doug, incapacitated. Kayako's ghost crawls downstairs and kills Doug by sucking the life out of him. Karen fights back against Kayako and burns the house down by using Nakagawa's oil cans just as Kayako is about to kill her.
At the hospital, Karen learns that the house was saved from destruction and thus the curse is still alive. In the morgue, she visits Doug's corpse for a farewell. Kayako appears behind her, croaking, and Karen realizes that the curse is definitely not over
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as protagonist Karen Davis
- Jason Behr as Doug, Karen's boyfriend
- William Mapother as Matthew Williams,
- Clea DuVall as Jennifer William
- Ryo Ishibashi as Det
- KaDee Strickland as Susan Williams
- Grace Zabriskie as Emma Williams
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