Sarah Michelle Gellar

THE GRUDGE (***) — Yes, it has some good frights. No, it does not make a lick of sense. Although this horror film is a total hack job, it is a chillingly effective total hack job. Director Takashi Shimizu uses every horror-flick cliche from the ’90s in this story of people who keep dying whenever they set foot into a particular Tokyo house. Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as an American exchange student sent to the house for social-work home care. She winds up traveling through time for reasons that are never clear to anyone. Even after the explanation the story does not make sense. Still, it is chilling. And people who love to jump when something unexpected pops up on the screen will have plenty to jump about. 1:25. Rated PG-13 (violence, gore). Byrd.