"The  Grudge” series is the second horror franchise made by Hollywood after “The Ring,” which stopped at “Ring 2.” “The Grudge” now has its third installment which is released here theatrically but straight to DVD in the US. The first movie is about a mother and her son who were murdered, along with their cat. They haunt the house where they died and seek revenge on all those who go there. The explanation is that when someone is killed in a powerful rage, it gives birth to a grudge or curse that kills everything in its path.

“Grudge 3” continues where “Grudge 2” ends. If you’d recall, 2 was set in Chicago where a whole family was killed and the only survivor is Jake. The avenging ghost from “Grudge 1,” Kayako, has invaded their family and made her stepmother mad to kill their family. Jake is now in a mental hospital, afraid of Kayako’s ghost, under the care of Dr. Sullivan (Shawnee Smith of the “Saw” series) who vows to him: “I promise. I won’t ever let anything bad happen to you.” But as soon as she’s gone, a pair of ghostly hands grabs Jake and throws him around while a security guard watches on a TV monitor as he’s being hurled from wall to wall by an invisible force to break every bone in his body.

The apartment building where the murders took place naturally finds trouble getting new tenants. In charge of taking care of it is Max (Gil McKinney). He lives there with his two sisters, the sickly Rose (Jadie Hobson) and the self-centered Lisa (Johanna Braddy) who’s about to go on internship in New York. Unfortunately for them, the horrible curse that earlier brought mayhem to the place is back to haunt it anew. Apparitions show up again and a strange force is rampaging in the building with blood-curdling screams and filling up the eye sockets of its victims with the film’s trademark black hair.

The three siblings are naturally frightened. Dr. Sullivan then visits them and tells them about what happened to the victims in the first two “Grudge” flicks. A mysterious woman from Tokyo also comes along claiming she knows how to combat the curse. She’s Nakeo, the sister of the ghost Kayako. In a series of flashbacks, she talks about the myth of soul eaters who cause the curse. But can she really stop “Grudge” forever?

“Grudge 3” is now directed by an American, Toby Wilkins. The first two are by Japanese director Takashi Shimizu. Wilkins tries his best to continue with the fright tactics employed by Shimizu, like the terrifying ghost attacks that still deliver quite a punch especially to viewers who watch horror flicks for a good scare. Wilkins’ techniques are more aggressive, so be ready to be jolted in a lot of scenes. He also tries to make the franchise sound more serious by introducing this “soul eating” theme. The final 15 or 20 minutes of the movie is drenched in horrifying schlock blood and gore so, if you’re squeamish, get ready to feel sick. Nothing much is required from the actors except to look terrified, so don’t expect Oscar winning performances here. But the film has good production design and the high-strung music succeeds to highlight the film’s boo moments quite efficiently.