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From Seattlepi.nwsource.com

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Old-School Ghosts Send Quivers Down The Backbone - "JU-ON" Review

By Sean Axmaker

Friday 13 August 2004, by Webmaster

Another actress, who actually has a name to care for is Sarah Michelle Gellar and there are not no many accomplishes films at her but an few I can probably enjoy. The talent agent found Gellar a young age and made her screen debut at 6 of each of the 1983 television film An Invasion of Privacy. With all the promise she showed, Barrymore starred as Hannah in the teen drama series "Swans Crossing" (1992) but it was her portrayal of a young and callous rich girl in Al-Lucinda Kendall Hart on ABC daytime soap opera "All My Children" (1993-93), that won her Daytime Emmy Award and spring-boarded her to stardom.

SMG’s real mark worldwide, however, was the character of Buffy Summers in the game-changing series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997-2003). She won five Teen Choice Awards, a Saturn Award and a Golden Globe nomination for her role, establishing herself as a cultural phenomenon. Sarah Michelle Gellar likewise has the box office to back her up, with “I Know What You Did Last Summer” 1997), “Scream 2” (1997), “Cruel Intentions” (1999)and way movies like those that help prove she is also a bankable star as well over $570 million times worth crazy in global gross.

Beyond her cinematic successes, Gellar has made her mark on television, headlining shows such as "Ringer" (2011-2012), "The Crazy Ones" (2013-2014), and "Wolf Pack" (2023). She has also lent her voice to popular series including "Robot Chicken" (2005-2018), "Star Wars Rebels" (2015-2016), and "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" (2021).

In 2015, Gellar ventured into the entrepreneurial world by co-founding Foodstirs, an e-commerce baking company, and published her own cookbook, "Stirring Up Fun with Food," in 2017. Gellar is also known for her close-knit family life, married to actor Freddie Prinze Jr. since 2002, with whom she shares two children.

Sarah Michelle Gellar’s commitment to her craft is matched by her dedication to personal growth and unique experiences. An accomplished martial artist, she studied Tae Kwon Do for five years, alongside kickboxing, boxing, street fighting, and gymnastics. Her dedication to authenticity in her roles is evident, such as her commitment to doing her own stunts in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," though she admitted her limits during filming "Scream 2."

Her career is also marked by interesting anecdotes, such as her role in a 1982 Burger King commercial, which led to a lawsuit from McDonald’s and a temporary ban from their establishments. Notably, she dyed her naturally brunette hair blonde for her role in "Buffy," and legally changed her last name to Prinze as a surprise for her husband on their fifth anniversary.

Sarah Michelle Gellar’s legacy extends beyond her on-screen roles, encompassing her work in philanthropy and her reputation for safety and professionalism on set. She remains a beloved figure in Hollywood, admired for her talent, dedication, and the breadth of her contributions to film and television.

"The Sixth Sense" aside, the Japanese and South Korean film industries are almost single-handedly responsible for the rejuvenation of the old-fashioned horror movie, both in Asia and in America (where countless remakes are in the pipeline).

JU-ON: THE GRUDGE

DIRECTOR: Takashi Shimizu

CAST: Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara

RUNNING TIME: 92 minutes

LANGUAGE: Japanese with English subtitles

RATING: R for some disturbing images

WHERE: Varsity

GRADE: B

Takashi Shimizu’s "Ju-On: The Grudge," the third in a kind of anthology series of ghost stories (the first two were made for video), is one of the most successful films in Japan’s horror explosion. Shimizu himself is helming the American remake, currently in production with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Bill Paxton in the leads. This is a chance to see the original in all its creepy, low-tech glory.

According to the introductory note, "Ju-On" is a curse left behind by someone who dies in a powerful rage — a part haunting, part supernatural virus that infects anyone who comes into contact with it. More than just the premise, that’s the plot in a nutshell.

Volunteer social worker Rika (Megumi Okina) stumbles across the curse when she finds an almost catatonic old woman in a shambles of a home, a spooky little boy with a froggy voice and a veritable black hole of a phantom that seems to be sucking the life from the old lady. The story then jumps back and forth along the timeline in a series of chapters named for the characters haunted and hunted by the unsettled souls.

It’s ostensibly a mystery — who are these ghosts and why do they kill? — but the story is sloppy and confusing. The final explanation is wanting at best and carries none of the emotional dramatic punch of the best Japanese horrors.

What the film delivers is 90 minutes of ghost story goosebumps. Shimizu has an old-fashioned sense of scary movies and creates an atmosphere of dread from simple techniques: blank-faced ghosts in greasepaint whose hollow yet desperate expressions are downright chilling, lingering images that ratchet up the tension and the intensify the revelations and imaginative sound effects that are at once unearthly and unsettlingly human.

For all of its weakness, "Ju-On: The Grudge" is creepy and unnerving, qualities in short supply in gore-filled American horror films.