The Ju-On franchise, better known to Western audiences as The Grudge, is one of the most expansive brands in the history of the horror genre, spanning 20 years and encompassing thirteen movies, two short films, a TV series and even a video game. That’s an awful lot of content being wrung from a relatively thin premise, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to discover the law of diminishing returns set in a long time ago.
So far, there’ve been sequels, prequels, remakes and sequels to the remakes and reboots, with 2020 bringing a double dose of Ju-On. Netflix’s six-episode Ju-On Origins arrived in July to very little fanfare, while the fourth edition in the American series touched down in January to muddle the timeline even further and swiftly gain a reputation as one of the most dismal cinematic efforts of the year.
2020’s The Grudge was originally designed as a straightforward reboot, but during development, it mutated into a confusing sidequel that took place both before and after the events of the original U.S. trilogy made between 2004 and 2009, the last entry of which went straight to home video and never even saw the inside of a theater.
Nicolas Pesce’s movie made close to $50 million at the box office on a $14 million budget, though, proving that even awful outings in the genre are still capable of turning a healthy profit. And while the filmmaker has expressed an interest in a crossover with The Ring franchise, something that’s already happened with the respective Japanese originals, insider Daniel Richtman now claims that another reboot is in the works instead. He offers no further details, though, and at this point, The Grudge has already been run into the ground and should probably be left well alone.