In the very first scene of the series, we look through a window into a house where a mother and son are being interviewed, creating a sense of voyeurism that subtly permeates the following episodes, with views through a mysterious peephole and on video monitors. Many storylines are intertwined. There are jokes about small penises. Usher tries to obtain incriminating evidence from the casino where he used to work, hoping to trade it with a local TV reporter for better coverage. And he and Whitney are trying to get her friend, a Native American artist, to be their unpaid consultant because they don’t want seem exploit the local indigenous population.
To overcome all this is a curse. Usher gives a little girl selling soda cans in the parking lot $100 so he can look like a philanthropist for Dougie’s cameras, but snatches it back when he thinks the cameras are off. The girl says, “I curse you,” although at first no one understands whether this is a TikTok meme or a real nightmare in their lives.
By the third episode, the series became darker and deeper. Why is Dougie crying alone? And he becomes even more conscious of race, prejudice and mindless condescension. The show initially raises eyebrows over how it might treat Native Americans and a black child casting a curse, but the topic of race later escalates into an explosive argument between Usher and Whitney. However the next seven unpredictable episodes unfold, The Grudge is already one of the most richly conceived and acted shows of the year.
★★★★★
The Grudge will premiere on Paramount+ from Showtime on November 10 in the US and on Paramount+ on November 11 in the UK.
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