The Grudge (2019) Plot Summary & Timeline

The story begins in 2004, when a live-in nurse named Fiona Landers departs from the residence of the Williams family in Tokyo, Japan. She appears deeply disturbed as she informs her colleague, Yoko, that she is returning to the United States. Before her departure, Fiona has a brief and terrifying encounter with the ghost of Kayako Saeki, played by Junko Bailey. Upon arriving back at her home in a small Pennsylvania town, Fiona reunites with her husband, Sam Landers, and their young daughter, Melinda Landers. However, the malevolent curse of Kayako has already possessed Fiona. In a fit of supernatural violence, Fiona bludgeons Sam to death and drowns Melinda before finally committing suicide by stabbing herself in the throat.

Shortly after this tragedy, but before the bodies are discovered, real estate agents Peter Spencer and Nina Spencer receive devastating news that their unborn child will likely be born with ALD, a rare genetic disorder. While looking into the sale of the property at 44 Reyburn Drive, Peter enters the home and encounters the ghost of Melinda, whom he initially mistakes for a lost girl bleeding profusely from her nose. Peter is soon attacked by the spirits of both Fiona and Melinda, which leaves him corrupted by the curse. The possessed Peter returns home and brutally kills both Nina and their unborn child; he is later discovered dead in his own bathtub.

The investigation into the Landers’ murders is handled by Detective Goodman and Detective Wilson. While Wilson enters the home to examine the crime scene, Goodman is unsettled by the atmosphere and refuses to step inside. After exiting the house, Wilson begins to lose his grip on reality, eventually becoming hysterical when he spots the ghost of Fiona outside Goodman’s car. In a desperate attempt to end his suffering, Wilson tries to shoot himself. He survives the attempt, but he is left permanently disfigured and is committed to a psychiatric asylum. Traumatized by the event, Goodman ceases his investigation into the case.

In 2005, an elderly couple, Faith Matheson and William Matheson, move into the cursed house. Faith is already suffering from dementia, a terminal illness. Shortly after moving in, she is infected by the curse and begins seeing visions of Melinda throughout the home. As Faith’s sanity rapidly declines, William seeks the help of Lorna Moody, a consultant specializing in assisted suicide. Lorna is disturbed by Faith’s deteriorating state and suggests that the couple leave the residence. However, William reveals that he is aware of the ghosts and views them as a sign that loved ones can be reunited after death. Later, Lorna discovers a gruesome scene: Faith has murdered William and sliced off her own fingers. As Lorna flees in horror, she is attacked in her car by the ghost of Sam, causing a crash that kills her.

By 2006, a rookie detective named Detective Muldoon moves to town with her son, Burke, following the death of her husband. Muldoon and her partner, Goodman, are called to the woods where Lorna’s body has been found. When they learn that Lorna had been visiting 44 Reyburn Drive, Goodman becomes visibly uncomfortable, revealing his long-held suspicion that the house is cursed.

Muldoon decides to investigate the house and finds the disoriented Faith alongside the corpse of William. Faith is transported to a hospital, but after seeing Melinda once more, she commits suicide by jumping from a staircase landing. As Muldoon delves deeper into the history of the home, she is plagued by the ghosts of the Landers family. She visits the asylum to speak with Wilson, who warns her that anyone who enters the house is destined to become a victim of the curse. In a moment of extreme desperation, Wilson gouges out his own eyes to stop seeing the ghosts, though he discovers that the hallucinations continue even in darkness.

Terrified that the curse may drive her to harm her own son, Muldoon confides in Goodman. She learns that the curse originated with a family in Japan and was brought to America by Fiona. After another attack by the spirits, Muldoon returns to the house and douses it in gasoline, experiencing visions of how Fiona murdered her family. The curse attempts to trick her by creating an apparition of Burke, but Muldoon realizes it is an impostor when the entity fails to repeat a specific phrase the two of them use regularly. She sets the house ablaze, and as it burns to the ground, she embraces her real son outside.

Some time later, Muldoon hugs Burke before he departs for school. However, she suddenly sees the real Burke leaving the house. The child she is currently hugging is revealed to be the spirit of Melinda. In the final moments, Muldoon is violently dragged away by the ghost of Fiona, becoming the latest victim of the endless curse.