Gellar’s Grudge Match

It must be a little disheartening to go from the star of a ridiculously successful TV series to leading role in a series of ho-hum films but, for Sarah Michelle Gellar, that may all be about to change. Fanboys the world over have bemoaned the loss of Buffy the Vampire Slayer from its weekly slot, but even a severe case of slayer withdrawal can't compel most of them to go out and watch the likes of Scooby-Doo or Harvard Man. How refreshing, then, to learn that Gellar will be adding a more edgy title to her cinematic CV (which promised such big thigs after her superb turn in Cruel Intentions) with a remake of cult Japanese horror, Ju-On. Retitiled The Grudge, the film will likely see the actress suitably imperilled as a supernatural curse - spawned from the dying words of a rather angry person - is passed like a virus among the living. With Japanese horror all the rage at the moment, Gellar may have picked just the right project to land her back in the spotlight. The fact that it's directed by Takashi Shimizu, the man who wrote and directed the original, can't hurt either. Let's just hope that Scooby-Doo 2 and daft spoof, Romantic Comedy don't nail the coffin shut first.