Kayako Saeki (in Japannese: 佐伯 伽椰子 Saeki Kayako, née Kawamata) (also known as: The Grudge) is the cursed soul of a dead woman and the titular primary antagonist of The Grudge.
Kayako is a housewife who was murdered by her husband after he discovered she had feelings for her son's teacher by reading her diary and thinking they had an affair. He later murdered their son Toshio Saeki because he had witnessed his mother's murder as well as his now-uncertain paternity.
After her death she and her son became vengeful spirits. She killed her husband in revenge causing him to become an evil spirit as well.
This led to them killing anybody that set foot in the house they lived in. The curse would spread after more people were killed and became evil spirits.
Biography
Kayako Kawamata was born to Nakagawa Kawamata, an exorcist (or Itako like they call it in Japan). Kayako's mother was specialized in removing evil spirits from people. But she had to leave the spirits somewhere, so she let Kayako 'eat' them, marking her for the rest of her life. Later Kayako attended university where she fell in love with a man named Peter Kirk. Later she married Takeo Saeki, the only friend she ever had and she gave birth to a son named Toshio Saeki.
Cheating and Death
A few years later 'Peter Kirk', the man Kayako fell in love with in university was revealed to be Toshio's teacher. Kayako falls in love with him again. But this time she became obsessed with him and followed him everywhere.
Kayako, a few moments before her death.
She wrote her feelings for him in a journal she has been writing in since her childhood. Her husband Takeo Saeki was an extremely jealous man and already becomes mad when Kayako says something good about a man she saw on TV. One day he found her journal when Kayako wasn't home and thought Kayako is cheating on him and might leave him for Peter (who was already married). And he got the idea that Toshio might not be his son but Peter's. When Kayako came home Takeo attacked her and sprained her ankle. Kayako tried to escape the house by crawling down the stair to the door. But Takeo grabbed her by her long hair, snapped her neck and crushed her throat, so the only sound she could make is a croaking noise. Toshio was watching the whole murder from the stairs so Takeo killed him to by drowning him and eventually killed Toshio's cat 'Mar'. And if that wasn't enough Kayako became an Onryo (Japanese ghost) because of the evil spirits her mother 'fed' her as a child. She then killed Takeo by hanging him with her hair, and after that incident Kayako, Takeo, Toshio and Mar haunted the house they lived in and Takeo and Kayako killed everyone who entered; Toshio and Mar, both being victims of the Grudge, tried to warn Takeo and Kayako's victims - usually just before it was too late.
Powers and Abilities
As an Onryö Kayako has a lot of abilities:
Teleport: Seen in every movie when she haunts the people who entered the house. She is capable of appearing out of every place possible, like in The Grudge she appears in a bus window, she also appears at the foot of a stairwell to Susan Williams and then moments after appears at the top of the stairwell trying to get through a door; and in The Grudge 2 she appears in a photograph, which turns into a reality portal, with Kayako climbing out of the photograph.
Illusions: She can make others hear sounds that aren't there like Matthews voice on the intercom of Susan's apartment to lure her. She even assumes Matthew's form; Matthew by this time being dead. In The Grudge 2 when she assumes Eason's form she also makes every photograph in his darkroom resemble her face. She makes more illusions throughout the series (most of them are from her past).
Reality-Control: In The Grudge she drags Susan into her own bed, she pulls her into the Underworld and thus Susan totally disappears. In The Grudge 2 she drags Miyuki into a mirror (see picture below).
Possession and Shapeshifting: Kayako can assume other human forms, usually those of her recent victims: i.e. she assumes the form of Matthew Williams just before killing his sister Susan, and she also possesses Trish Kimble in The Grudge 2.
Hair: Kayako's primary weapon is her hair. She used it to kill her husband after he killed her and she uses it to strangle, blind or bind others In the game she is also revealed to stab her victims with her hair.
Electricity control: In the house she sometimes make the lights switch. in The Grudge 2 she turns off the TV when Eason sees her on the TV. She also blacked out the card reader in The Grudge 3 so Dr. Sullivan couldn't escape her.
Paralysis: Most victims are paralyzed of fear when they see Kayako, making them unable to defend themselves.
Her other powers include Telepathy, possession (see above) and super-speed.
Time for panic!
Trivia
Her powers and behavior are similar to Pennywise, aka IT:
1. They both drive most of their victims insane by haunting them before they kill them.
2. They can both teleport and appear out of nowhere at any place.
3. They can create illusions for others and take on any form they want.
4. They kill their victims in ways that are so cruel, most of their kills are off screen.
Gallery
