Even though much of the 2004 version of the J-horror “The Grudge” is loud, unapologetic cornball schlock—see the unintentionally funny scene where Bill Pullman plummets to his death from the peak of a hotel high rise—the new 2020 version produced by Sam Raimi, is one of the more muddled horror remakes in recent memory. Takashi Shimizu inadvertently spawned a franchise when he remade the 2004 version from his own Japanese horror staple “Ju-On: The Grudge” (2002) and the series comprised mainly of carefully calibrated jump scares and haunted house mumbo-jumbo.

Continue reading ‘The Grudge’: Artful Horror Filmmaker Nicolas Pesce Falters With A Typically Dull January Horror [Review] at The Playlist.

Director Nicolas Pesce’s upcoming horror film “The Grudge” is very difficult to pin down. Perhaps it can best be described as a reboot/sequel to a popular American film franchise from the early-2000s that was, itself, a remake of a popular Japanese horror film series. Or you know, based on the new trailer, you can just say that the upcoming film is just pretty freaking scary.

READ MORE: ‘The Grudge’ First Look: Nicolas Pesce Says New Film Is Not A Remake & Is “A New Chapter In This Canon”

As seen in the new NSFW trailer for “The Grudge,” the film follows the story of a detective that finds herself left to deal with a vengeful ghost that has cursed a suburban home and is now after her and her young son.

Continue reading ‘The Grudge’ NSFW Trailer: Andrea Riseborough Is Not Prepared For What She Sees In This Disturbing Clip at The Playlist.

Who could forget the impromptu game of paranormal peek-a-boo with a terrified KaDee Strickland? How about the same entity uttering its unmistakable death rattle, as it slinks its way down the stairs to confront Sarah Michelle Gellar? Most iconic of all, what about the cold fingers that seemingly emerge from the back of the latter’s head within the personal privacy of a shower? It has been 15 years since Takashi Shimizu brought “The Grudge”—itself an Americanized remake of his 2002 film “Ju-On: The Grudge”—to audiences.

Continue reading ‘The Grudge’ Trailer: The Horror Franchise Returns With John Cho, Andrea Riseborough & Director Nicolas Pesce at The Playlist.

Horror remakes are a dime a dozen, nowadays. Why would Hollywood ever come up with a new idea, specifically in the horror genre, when there’s tried and true IP out there that is ripe for revisiting? Well, when it comes to the upcoming American reboot of “The Grudge,” the film’s director Nicolas Pesce doesn’t feel like his film falls into the above category.

Speaking to EW, who have a few first-look photos from the film, the director says that “The Grudge” doesn’t deserve to be lumped in with the remakes that have been populating theaters over the last several years.

Continue reading ‘The Grudge’ First Look: Nicolas Pesce Says New Film Is Not A Remake & Is “A New Chapter In This Canon” at The Playlist.

On this episode of Adjust Your Tracking, Joe and I dig into two new horror movies that infuse the genre with humor and oddball, off-kilter twists and turns. Or, at least, they try. There’s the latest from “Nightcrawler” writer/director Dan Gilroy, “Velvet Buzzsaw,” launching on Netflix today, the art world satire mixed with “Final Destination” like slasher cliches.

Continue reading The Difficulty Of Mixing Horror & Humor In ‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ & ‘Piercing’ [AYT Podcast] at The Playlist.

Mia Wasikowska‘s latest film, “Piercing,” is a most unconventional love story between two highly disturbed individuals. “Piercing” is Nicolas Pesce‘s followup to his critically acclaimed directorial debut, “The Eyes of My Mother,” and a warmup for his hotly anticipated upcoming “Grudge” remake, which comes out in 2020. Although it isn’t a role we’re used to seeing Wasikowska in, she commands the character with ease, reminding audiences of her impressive range.

Continue reading Mia Wasikowska On ‘Piercing,’ Watching Horror Films, Working With Mia Hansen-Løve & More [Interview] at The Playlist.

One of the biggest complaints, outside of the terrible acting, horrible dialogue, and overall bad filmmaking, about the “Fifty Shades of Grey” franchise is the lack of real kinky, BDSM-style sex. The film franchise touches on it, but the never really dives deep. That’s where the new film “Piercing” comes in. However, the ‘Fifty Shades’-esque premise, as seen in the new red band trailer, turns kinky sex into a horrific affair and will no doubt make you think twice about being tied up by Mia Wasikowska.

Continue reading ‘Piercing’ Red Band Trailer: Mia Wasikowska Turns Kinky Fantasy Into Horrific Reality In New Thriller at The Playlist.

Filmmaker Nicolas Pesce burst onto the scene in a big way at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival with his debut feature, the startlingly reassured “The Eyes Of My Mother,” a twisted horror movie rooted in a kind of disturbed empathy about a woman who consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life. Pesce’s encore movie “Piercing,” marks another visceral chapter in his fascinating filmmaking career.

Continue reading ‘Piercing’ Trailer: Mia Wasikowska Is A Prostitute Who Turns The Tables On A Psycho Christoper Abbott at The Playlist.

About once a year, we take stock of all the exciting movies we’ve seen, and all the tantalizing announcements we’ve covered, and picked out the names that we’re most excited about in a variety of fields for a series we call On The Rise.

Covering actors, filmmakers, composers, cinematographers, screenwriters and more, we’ve been ahead of the curve on names including David Oyelowo, Joel Edgerton, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Daniel Kaluuya (back in 2012!), Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander, Colin Trevorrow, Benh Zeitlin, Dee Rees, Graham Moore, Bradford Young, Rachel Morrison, Steven Price, Jack Thorne, Pilou Asbaek, Emory Cohen, Will Poulter, Ruth Negga, Maika Monroe, Ryan Coogler, Sean Baker, Ava DuVernay, Natasha Braier, Mica Levi, Johan Johansson, Andre Holland, Jack O’Connell, Lisa Joy, Tessa Thompson, Katherine Waterston, LaKeith Stanfield, Damien Chazelle, Yann Demange, Taylor Sheridan, Bel Powley, Sterling K.

Continue reading On The Rise: The 50 Most Exciting Emerging Actors & Filmmakers In 2017 at The Playlist.

“The Grudge” is an interesting case study in a horror franchise that has had difficulty sustaining itself beyond a single film. The Japanese original spawned six sequels, but none of them have been as memorable as the first film. When the property went stateside for the 2004 remake starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, it was a big hit, tallying up $187 million worldwide. However, that goodwill didn’t last long as the follow-up, released two years later, couldn’t even crack $100 million globally, and everything pretty much stopped there.

Continue reading ‘Eyes Of My Mother’ Director Nicolas Pesce Rebooting ‘The Grudge’ at The Playlist.

One of my favorite horror movies of 2016? Nicolas Pesce’s austere and disturbing black and white drama “The Eyes Of My Mother,” a startling directorial debut. Featuring no known stars to speak of, the slow-burn horror thriller centers on a woman traumatized by the death of her parents at a young age. With little guidance as she grows up, the girl’s fascination with the surgical, a skill passed down from her mother, takes a dark and twisted turn.

Continue reading ‘Eyes Of My Mother’ Director Nicolas Pesce Wraps Thriller ‘Piercing’ Starring Mia Wasikowska & Christopher Abbott at The Playlist.

We’re looking back at 2016 during December, and while it’s been a shitshow in so many ways, it has also been a very good year at the movies —particularly when it came to discovering new talent. From massive blockbusters to Oscar winners, from cult hits to tiny indies, the last twelve months has seen a wealth of exciting new filmmakers emerge, leaving us with plenty of faith for the medium’s future (even if we have to watch their next movies huddled together on a break in President Trump’s copper mines).

Continue reading The 25 Best Breakthrough Directors Of 2016 at The Playlist.

26-year-old filmmaker Nicolas Pesce stunned more than a few audiences at Sundance this year with his horrifically hypnotic goth breakthrough, “The Eyes Of My Mother.” Shot in an austere black and white, the creepy, precisely-constructed psychological horror is built in the mode of clean Alfred Hitchcock aesthetics and disturbing “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” moods. And the haunting thriller never lets up in its dark, twisted surprises.

Continue reading Director Nicolas Pesce Talks Fairy Tale Horror & His Disturbing Debut ‘The Eyes Of My Mother’ at The Playlist.