Split Picks: 'The Grudge' Goes America (2004 Vs. 2020)

What happens when a US studio remakes a Japanese film with the original director still behind the camera?
After an extended talk about Takashi Shimizu's 2002 breakout film, Ju-On: The Grudge, the Split Picks crew — Bennett Glace, Jim Hickcox, Frankie Vanaria and host Craig Wright — picks up with The Grudge franchise making its way to the US. After the US remake of Ringu (as The Ring) became a global sensation, The Grudge was tapped as the next film up and confirmed that J-horror was ready for primetime.
Shimizu was asked to direct the remake, and he said he would do so only if he could bring his ghosts with him in Kayako (Takako Fuji) and Toshio (Yuya Ozeki). But with Sarah Michelle Gellar in the lead role and a brief Bill Pullman appearance as Americans abroad, the film is fundamentally different from the suburban Japanese original. Through the episode they debate whether the remake is stronger than the original Ju-On: The Grudge — or if the trailer is stronger than the film itself. Namely, they talk about how the US remake softens most of the previous version's best scares, and wonder if Americans are truly as unintelligent as studios would like to believe.
In 2020 director Nicolas Pesce revived the franchise with The Grudge, a film set in the same universe that is not a direct sequel or remake. It is also an American work produced by Sam Raimi, and it asks what happens if the curse could spread to a different location. The discussion follows what happens when the original creator loses control of a franchise, and whether the films were too slow to evolve their brand of horror.
Also in the episode: Jim hypothesizes what it might be like to take his short horror film Slow Creep from a short to an international big-budget adaptation; Bennett swears the 2020 Grudge is the finest offering of the series. Frankie enjoys none of the Grudges. Craig reveals which film put him to sleep. Who tests ramen packaging that way? And how exactly does the WWE predict the state of horror and culture at large? Tune in to find out!