I can’t believe they’re already on part number three on this thing. The original Japanese series was repetitive enough, and now the American remake version continues churning along for absolutely no reason other than to squeeze as much cash out of it as possible before it goes the way of the “Friday the 13th” and its ilk. Oh well. Here’s news from Variety that someone name Toby Wilkins has been given the cushy director’s chair for the upcoming “Grudge 3″, replacing the previous two installment’s director, Takashi Shimizu, who is also the auteur of the Japanese originals. Wilkins’ previous credits include some short films and a feature-length horror mvie called “Splinter”. Sam Raimi is producing.

More:

Wilkins is making his feature directing debut on “Splinter,” a horror pic for ContentFilm that he is wrapping up. Raimi had hired him to helm “Tales of the Grudge,” a series of short films to promote “The Grudge 2.”

His work, including the short film “Staring at the Sun” has also been screened at Sundance. Before directing, he did f/x and design work for James Cameron, Brett Ratner and Bryan Singer.

First two “Grudge” pics have been solid earners at the B.O., given their low budgets. The two pics have earned $258 million worldwide, with the first having released in 2004 and the sequel in 2006.

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but big-budget horror movies are now worst than their direct-to-DVD counterparts. At least the DVD versions are fun. These big-screen versions are just repetitive.