According to The Bible, evil begets evil.

This notion, that from bad seeds blossom poisoned fruit, is at the core of the American remake of Takashi Shimizu's cult horror Ju-On: The Grudge.

Interestingly, rather than transplant the original story to some sleepy Stateside community, the producers of this new version have sensibly kept the story firmly ingrained in modern day Japan, with the revered director Shimizu at the helm.

As a result, The Grudge doesn't sacrifice too much suspense or psychological terror at the altar of Hollywood gloss.

American exchange student Karen (Gellar) is studying social work in Japan, where she has relocated with her boyfriend Doug (Behr).

When nurse Yoko (Maki) fails to turn up for work one morning, nursing home manager Alex (Raimi) asks Karen to cover and visit the home of an elderly American patient, Emma Williams (Zabriskie).

Arriving at the Williams residence, Karen is horrified to discover Emma consigned to her bed in a state of terrified shock.

There is no sign of Emma's daughter Jennifer (DuVall) or her dutiful son Matthew (Mapother) and daughter-in-law Susan (Strickland).

Checking the house, Karen discovers a young boy Toshio (Ozeki), who holds the key to a terrifying otherworldly force which has the house in its grasp.