Sadako vs. Kayako
Sadako v Kayako(The Ring v The Grudge) won’t win over the uninitiated, but fans of both franchises should have a good time with this crossover.
When university scholarly person Natsumi Ueno ( Aimi Satsukawa ) necessitate to transfer her parent ' wedding video from VHS to DVD as an anniversary nowadays , she enlists the helper of her technologically savvy friend Yuri Kurahashi ( Mizuki Yamamoto ) . The two girls discover an honest-to-goodness tape measure player at a shop class , and when they bring it home , they discover that a tape is inside the VCR . Watching it out of wonder , Natsumi is horror-struck to learn that the tape in interrogative is the ill-famed " Cursed Video , " and she is marked by the devil Sadako , who ( consort to the legend ) will kill whoever watches the tape recording in two days . Natsumi and Yuri go to their college prof Morishige ( Masahiro Komoto ) , who has a great pastime in the history of Sadako , to see if there ’s a agency to save Natsumi ’s life .
Meanwhile , Suzuka Takagi ( Tina Tamashiro ) actuate to a new neighborhood with her family . She is draw and quarter to the mysterious house next room access , which is lock up and abandoned . Suzuka learns at school that this house is haunt , after a slaying - suicide took position there . Whoever enters the home is killed by Kayako . However , Kayako may be the key to rid Natsumi from Sadako ’s curse , setting the stage for a collision course of epic proportionality .
Released in Japan last twelvemonth , Sadako Phoebe Kayakois a repulsion mash - up movie that combines the mythology ofThe RingandThe Grudge(two J - horror prop that accomplish far-flung popularity in the other 2000s ) , wonder what would happen if the two personnel met . in the first place announced as an April Fools ' put-on in 2015 , the Leslie Townes Hope was that it could be a fun treat for fans of the literary genre , swear out up enough scare along the fashion . On that front , the team is mostly successful . Sadako v Kayako(The Ring v The Grudge ) wo n’t win over the naive , but fans of both franchise should have a in force time with this crossing .
The movie is pen and train by Kōji Shiraishi , advantageously known for directing several Japanese horror picture show , includingThe Curse . From a proficient stand , he proves to be the correct man for the job . Shiraishi is able to craft a number of spooky and creepy set pieces , including one standout sequence involving four young boys make their way through the obsessed house . Most of these example will depart viewers on the bound of their hindquarters , but it ’s worth noting that they ’re toy mostly for the pulpy merriment of embracing an absurd assumption , rather than the gritty , grounded threat of the original filmsSadako Phoebe Kayakofollows . Still , they ’re very much effective and some consultation members will be scared by what they see .
Where Shiraishi struggles is the screenplay , as he fails to feel a proper balance between theRingandGrudgesubplots of the film . Most of the time is spent with Yuri and Natsumi learning about the Cursed Video , and the Kayako aspects fall across as a disassociated sidebar until the third act . Unfortunately , when the two parallel storylines finally do intertwine , the end resultant is more anticlimactical than compelling . After an intriguing ( and admittedly bonkers ) gear up - up , Sadako v Kayakofizzles out , and the finale is in spades not what longtime fan go for for when the film was first revealed . It also does n’t assist matters that both devil are simply one - note killers , stripping their showdown of any gravitas that ’d be there if they were more interesting characters . The film mainly exists to play out an amusing " what if ? " scenario than anything else .
execution wise , the leads do a fairly good occupation , peculiarly Satsukawa , who convincingly sell the despair of Natsumi as she looks for a way of life to block off the condemnation ( and descends further into insaneness ) . Perhaps the biggest standout is Masanobu Ando as Keizo , a man with psychic king who comes to the assistance of Yuri and Natsumi . Ando does an entertaining riff on a authoritative horror movie archetype , playing the part with a magnetic authority . He has a outstanding moral force with Mai Kikuchi , who present Keizo ’s blind assistant , the young nipper Tamao . The two are entertaining to watch as they plot ways to assist their clients . For many , they will be the good characters in the film and deserve their own spinoff . That said , none of the role here have all that much depth ; the greatest victim in that respect is Tamashiro , who does n’t have much to do except respond to expo and look scared when approached by demons . Granted , Sadako v Kayakoisn’t meant to be a type subject , so the thin authorship does n’t anguish ittoomuch . Still , that produce it toilsome to commend to those who are n’t repugnance fans .
For whatever shortcomings the handwriting has , Shiraishi deserves citation for finding the correct approach . Sadako v Kayakonever go down into the lying in wait of becoming overly self - serious and run mostly as a windy ride for its short running fourth dimension . That ’s not to say it ever turns into a comedy , but the movie maker keep their tongues in cheek , knowing what they ’re working with is cockamamie at the outset . And while established fans will get the most out of it , Shiraishi does make an endeavor to appeal to the newcomer , pop the question truncated origin tale for its two entity to bring everyone up to speed . This realize the movie more approachable , as it is somewhat welcoming to fooling audiences who only have passing noesis of the former movies . It ’s something of a subsequence , but works as a standalone entity .
In the end , Sadako v Kayakomakes for a superficially entertaining horror film , though it ultimately is a mixed bag . For long stretch , it palpate like it ’s two separate movies combined into one output , and all the build - up amounts to minimal takings that will leave some impression foiled . For citizenry who know what they ’re getting into , it ’s worth a lookout . If nothing else , it ’s a good primer forRings , which off theaters next workweek .
Trailer
Sadako v Kayakois now streaming on Shudder . It runs 98 minutes and is unrated ( though , the content is in spades not for younger viewers ) .
Sadako vs. Kayako is a crossover voter cinema between the Japanese franchise The Ring and The Grudge . Originally believed to be an April Fools Day prank , Sadako vs. Kayako ended up being a real film and was release in June 2016 in Japan and later in January 2017 in the United States via the streaming service Shudder .
Aimi Satsukawa and Mizuki Yamamoto in Sadako v Kayako
Tina Tamashiro in Sadako v Kayako
