The first trailer for the upcoming reboot of The Grudge has arrived, giving us our first look at the anticipated horror movie. Previously, posters for the movie had been released, but this is the first footage we have seen from the reboot. It looks to be rather terrifying. Spanning over two minutes long, the full trailer reveals plenty about the new movie, and you can watch it for yourself below.
The Grudge is set in the United States, following a detective investigating a series of suspicious deaths all stemming from one house. Starring in the movie are Andrea Riseborough, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye, and Demian Bichir. It’s directed by The Eyes of My Mother helmer Nicolas Pesce, who’d rewritten an original screenplay by Jeff Buhler. Better yet, it’s produced by horror legend Sam Raimi, the genius behind the Evil Dead series and Drag Me to Hell. Raimi has also produced the original two Grudge movies and the well-received Evil Dead reboot, along with more recent acclaimed horror movies like Don’t Breathe and Crawl. Rob Tapert and Taka Ichise are also producing.
Related: Creepy First Look at The Grudge Reboot Will Have You Shivering in Fear
This new take is not a simple retelling of any of the previous Grudge movies, introducing new ghosts and characters into the plot. In the trailer, we see homeowner Peter Spencer (Cho) phoning a local young detective (Riseborough) after witnessing some seriously strange phenomena occurring in his home. After tracing the discovery of other bodies in the neighborhood to the house, the officer’s investigation leads to a look inside where she is confronted by the evil spirits within. She is then faced with keeping her son safe when the cursed entity apparently follows her back home. Of course, the trailer also teases some of the ghastly imagery we can expect to see in the reboot, and considering its R-rating, this is probably just the tip of the iceberg.
Based on the Ju-On Japanese horror franchise, the American adaptation of The Grudge was originally released in 2004. It turned out to be a surprise hit at the box office for Sony, who promptly ordered an official sequel which saw its release just two years later. The third installment of the series would arrive in 2009, although it was released directly to video unlike its predecessors. The franchise has been dormant in the years ever since, but after more than a decade, Sony’s rolling the dice with The Grudge to see if a new vision of the story can once again bring in vast profits for the company.
The Grudge is set to premiere in theaters on Jan. 3 in the United States, Jan. 9 in Australia, and Jan. 31 in the UK. Time will tell if the reboot can successfully revive the once-popular horror franchise, or if this new movie will wind up becoming another Rings. Given Raimi’s involvement, however, the odds are in the movie’s favor. The first trailer for The Grudge comes to us from IGN on YouTube.
