Character Relationship Map: The Grudge

Characters

• Detective Muldoon (played by Andrea Riseborough) — protagonist

  A rookie detective who investigates the murders linked to the cursed house, leading to a tragic confrontation with the curse and her own son.

• Goodman (played by Demián Bichir) — protagonist

  A veteran detective who initially investigates the Landers family murders, becomes traumatized by the house's curse, and later assists Muldoon by revealing the curse's origins.

• Lorna Moody (played by Jacki Weaver) — supporting

  An assisted suicide consultant who visits the cursed house, witnesses Faith's violent breakdown, and becomes a victim of the curse after being attacked by Sam's ghost.

• Nina Spencer (played by Betty Gilpin) — supporting

  Peter Spencer's wife who tragically dies when her husband becomes possessed by the house's curse.

• William Matheson (played by Frankie Faison) — supporting

  The husband of Faith Matheson who remains aware of the supernatural presence but is ultimately murdered by his wife under the curse's influence.

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• William Matheson → Nina Spencer (Temporal Curse Victim) — Both are connected through the recurring pattern of cursed-house deaths.

  William and Nina die in separate household tragedies caused by the cursed property and its supernatural influence.

• Lorna Moody → Nina Spencer (Temporal Curse Victim) — Their stories are linked as victims in the curse's sequence.

  The plot presents Lorna's death as another consequence of the same curse that previously caused Nina's death.

• Lorna Moody → William Matheson (Professional Consultant) — Lorna is brought in to advise the household about assisted death.

  William Matheson calls Lorna Moody to the house because she is an assisted-suicide consultant.

• Detective Muldoon → Goodman (Professional Detective Partners) — They work together on the investigation into the cursed house.

  After moving to town, Detective Muldoon is assigned Goodman as her new partner while investigating a corpse found in the woods.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Nina Spencer → Detective Muldoon (Narrative Case Victim) — Nina is part of the victim pattern Muldoon is trying to understand.

  Detective Muldoon researches the series of deaths connected to the cursed house, which includes Nina's death.

• Nina Spencer → Goodman (Narrative Case Subject) — Nina's death belongs to the case history Goodman has investigated.

  Goodman previously investigated murders linked to the cursed house, and Nina's death is one of the deaths caused by the curse.

• Goodman → Lorna Moody (Narrative Prior Case Investigator) — Goodman recognizes Lorna's connection to the property as significant evidence.

  Goodman becomes uncomfortable when the investigators learn that Lorna had been visiting the cursed house.

• Detective Muldoon → Lorna Moody (Narrative Case Investigator) — Lorna's death becomes the investigation's entry point into the house's later victims.

  Detective Muldoon and Goodman are called to the woods after Lorna's corpse is discovered.

• Goodman → William Matheson (Narrative Case Connection) — Goodman's knowledge connects William's death to the larger case.

  Goodman explains that people who enter the house become victims of the curse, a pattern that includes the deaths investigated at the Matheson residenc...

• Detective Muldoon → William Matheson (Narrative Case Investigator) — William's death becomes part of Muldoon's investigation.

  Detective Muldoon goes to the house, discovers William's corpse, and continues researching the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

Story Analysis

A detective investigates a cursed house and discovers that destroying its physical form cannot end the supernatural cycle.

Plot Progression

1. The Curse Crosses The Ocean — A supernatural curse follows a disturbed nurse from Tokyo to Pennsylvania. New deaths begin around a house connected to the curse.
2. Victims Behind Closed Doors — A vulnerable couple moves into the house and calls for professional assistance. The household collapses into murder, fear, and another supernatural death.
3. The Detectives Learn The Pattern — Detective Muldoon investigates the latest death with Goodman. Evidence from the house and an asylum warning reveals that every visitor may become a victim.
4. Fire Cannot End The Curse — Muldoon learns the curse's origin and tries to destroy the house with gasoline. Although the house burns, an apparition deceives her and the curse claims another victim.