Piercing director Nicholas Pesce says his Americanized Grudge remake is more of a cop drama

A lot of horror movies feature some involvement from the police, whether it’s to drive Dr. Loomis around town as he repeatedly just misses seeing Michael Myers or to just show up and dismiss everyone’s concerns about something nightmarish going on, but Piercing director Nicholas Pesce’s upcoming remake of The Grudge will apparently be all about cops. We previously heard that the new take on the Japanese horror classic would be set in America and center on “the horrors of American suburbia,” so focusing on cops seems appropriate. After all, what captures the horrors of American suburbia better than calling the cops to solve every problem (even if that problem is a little ghost boy who makes cat noises).

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Pesce indicates that his Grudge will be more “grounded” and “character driven,” comparing it to Seven in the sense that “there’s a cop drama that drives the whole thing.” Andrea Riseborough will be the head cop, with John Cho playing a yet-undisclosed role.