The Grudge 2 is an example of Hollywood's lowest point in terms of creativity. This sequel to a remake of a hit in Japan (albeit one that retained the same director) tries to expand upon the ideas of its 2004 predecessor but serves up a stream of thin plot turns instead. If all that was on the studio's mind was a desire to repeat the original movie's $110 million box office haul, it would've been more subtle to assign panhandlers outside the nation's multiplexes. 

Retaining the same structure as its predecessor, The Grudge 2 presents a series of seemingly-unrelated vignettes that will eventually tie together, but with little or no cohesion. The primary figures here are Trish (Jennifer Beals), a Chicago woman entering the lives of two kids as their new stepmom; Allison (Arielle Kebbel), a shy girl attending high school in Tokyo; and Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn), a young woman facing a family crisis.

These three threads somehow share one thing in common: a house in Tokyo with a legend that all who enter it are doomed to a grim demise. Aubrey has the closest connection, for it was her sister Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) who tried putting an end to this supernatural wrath in the previous Grudge installment. But with the curse beginning to spread outside of the house, Aubrey must take it upon herself to find a way to stop it before more poor souls fall victim.

The Grudge 2 isn't just a bad movie -- it's a BAD movie, one that's nonsensical, scareless, and, in a way, unfair. This film makes me look back upon the year's lesser horror titles, from Stay Alive and Pulse to the Omen and Wicker Man remakes, and think about how much I'd rather see them all over again, five times each. It also inspires me to look at director Takashi Shimizu (responsible for the Grudge movies and their Japanese counterparts, the Ju-On series) and wonder what he was thinking while working on this clunker. I've seen some inept horror movies in my time, but few have moved as quickly to the top of the heap as The Grudge 2. It's an ugly narrative mess without the  slightest hint of a terrifying effect.

Scarewise, Shimizu doesn't provide anything that hasn't already been seen in his other films or in scores of Asian horror imports; it's the same song and dance, with a long-haired ghost hauling around a CD of Halloween sound effects and just waiting for the opportunity to jump out and scare someone. The supposedly scary scenes are limply-constructed and worsened by the movie's complete mess of a story that never once bothers to connect the characters in a convincing manner or give a good explanation concerning why the curse is able to escape and spread as it does. 

Most of the acting impact seems hampered here by the choppy story structure, but the characters are so paper-thin in the first place, don't be surprised if you end up forgetting about them by the time you get out of your seat. Gellar pops up for about five minutes (yet still retains top billing in the ending credits) and screams warnings of doom and gloom, Tamblyn wears the sort of expression one takes on when their favorite TV show got canceled, and Kebbel spend most of the time sobbing while traipsing around in a terrible black wig. 

Representing horror filmmaking at its worst, The Grudge 2 ends up flipping film buffs the cinematic bird.

MY RATING: * (out of ****)

(Released by Columbia Pictures and rated "PG-13" for mature thematic material, disturbing images/terror/violence, and some sexuality.)