Yoko (洋子, Yōko) is a supporting character from The Grudge, portrayed by Yoko Maki. Yoko is a social worker hired by the Williams family to take care of Emma, a dementia-ridden elderly woman.
Yoko had taken over for Fiona Landers, the previous caretaker, to care for Emma after she left to return to the United States after having been frightened by what she saw in the house, but wouldn’t reveal what it was. Yoko was also the last social worker to watch Emma before Karen Davis.
Biography[]
Encounter at the Saeki House[]
Yoko encounters the ghostly figure
One morning, Yoko went to the Williams’ newest house and found Emma alone, in the middle of a complete mess. While cleaning the place and talking on the phone, Yoko went upstairs and was attracted by thumps coming from the attic. Already scared, Yoko climbed there to check what was causing such noises, and was surprised by a ghostly figure, who grabbed and pulled her while Yoko screamed.
Aftermath[]
Yoko returns to haunt Alex.
Yoko was reported missing and replaced by her employer Alex with Karen Davis. Karen went to the house and found the phone missing and Yoko's bicycle left outside. Karen called Alex and informed him about a boy she had found trapped inside an upper closet. Alex went to the house, unknowingly becoming cursed, and found the bicycle, Emma's dead body and Karen paralyzed in fear. He was later interrogated by Detective Nakagawa, who followed the phone's message sound and was led to the closet, where the phone was, with some dark hair strands. In the attic, Nakagawa and Igarashi found Yoko's ripped jaw.
Later, Alex was haunted by Toshio Saeki and then by Yoko in a bloody, gruesome look, snapping her neck and with a pendulum tongue.
Etymology[]
- The name Yoko means "ocean" (洋) (yo) and "child" (子) (ko).
Trivia[]
The "Yoko" prop used in the film.
- If counting Peter Kirk, Yoko is the second victim of the curse seen on screen in the Grudge films (It is implied that Peter commits suicide due to guilt rather than a consequence of the curse).
- Yoko's fate is reminiscent of Kanna's. The scene in which Yoko lights her lighter in the attic and is surprised by Kayako's ghost mirrors Yuki's scene in Ju-on: The Curse.
- Yoko is the second character in both Ju-on and The Grudge films to have her jaw ripped.
- Yoko in her infamous gruesome look is parodied in Scary Movie 4, where The Grudge is one of the main spoofs.
- In an alternative sequence unused in the film, Yoko is forced to enter the closet as she is haunted by a dark wraith that becomes Mar. She climbs to the attic and is then taken by Kayako's ghost, a recreation of an identical scene with Yuki in Ju-on: The Curse.
- This would suggest that Yoko is afraid of cats.
- In the Unrated Extended Director's Cut of The Grudge, Yoko takes a blood smeared reel of adhesive tape from Emma as she meets her in the house.
- Yoko's apparition scene is several seconds longer in the Unrated Extended Director's Cut of the film. Her bloodied jaw in the attic also appears for more time in this version.
- Her male counterpart in Ju-on was a man named Takashi who was assigned to take care of Sachie but was taken by the curse. However, Yoko's background is significantly larger and she has a bigger role in the plot. Her character is also a composite of the aforementioned Yuki and Kanna.
- Yoko shares a name with Yoko Toyama from Ju-on: The Grudge. The naming is coincidental however, as the role was written specifically for the actress Yoko Maki in mind, with the part bearing her name.
- A prosthetic replica of Yoko Maki’s head was created for the scene where her Jawless ghost attacks and kills Alex.
Gallery[]
-large-picture_(1111111).jpg "Still-of-ted-raimi-in-the-grudge-(2004)-large-picture (1111111).jpg (327 KB)")
