Before Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Freddy vs. Jason, Saw and Hostel turned everyone onto gore, and before Paranormal Activity turned Hollywood’s attention to found footage, J-horror attempted to creep onto U.S. soil. While it never quite found its footing, U.S. remakes of both The Ring and The Grudge were huge successes, with the latter being the main catalyst behind Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead remake. It went on to spawn two sequels, the third going to direct-to-home video. Now, several years later, they’re hoping to spread the infection once again.
Last summer, Ghost House Pictures got us excited by attaching Nicolas Pesce, the man behind The Eyes of My Mother, to rewrite and direct the reboot of The Grudge.
Now, Deadline is asserting that casting is officially underway and that Andrea Riseborough (“Black Mirror”) is circling the role of a detective and young single mother.
Based on a script by Midnight Meat Train scribe Jeff Buhler, it’s a new take on the 2004 pic (itself based on the 2002 Japanese original Ju-on), which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar as a nurse in Tokyo who is afflicted by a curse that created uncontrollable homicidal rage.
This will be the twelfth Ju-On/The Grudge film, which also has a video game, two short films, and several graphic novels included in the collection.
Andrea Riseborough appears in NANCY by Christina Choe, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Zoë White.
