I waited for the chance to view this film and today that chance came. When Sadako vs. Kayako's movie poster was first released, I didn't have any thoughts. I wasn't upset or happy. Its kind of like those complimentary glasses of water that you get in restaurants you didn't ask for but comes with the service. The film is the twelfth installment in both series and is directed by Shiraishi Koji. A cast of cute actresses, Yamamoto Mizuki and Tamashiro Tina also take the role of victims in this installment. Sadako and Kayako come from two different stories. One called the Grudge or Ju-on(Kayako) and the other called The Ring(Sadako). Both stories have seen several reboots over the years due to the high popularity of the originals. America has also done their own spin on the two tales with The Ring getting a brand new film released soon.
Both deadly violent ghost, Sadako and Kayako face off against each other due to their curses overlapping on the same girls. Two friends and a high school girl get pulled into the battle.
I didn't expect much at the start of watching Sadako vs Kayako but it turned out to be just another installment to both series. Everything starts off with the characters putting themselves in situations that could have been easily avoided. People never think about things until after the fact. All the warning signs are there but you decide to ignore them just because. What was even funnier, was how they took a class about hauntings and curses but couldn't see that they were heading right smack into one themselves. The plot takes more of the style of The Grudge's presentation but without introducing each character's name everytime its their storyline. Besides the two friends, Sadako vs. Kayako also plays out through the eyes of a high school girl who moved next door to the high that Kayako was murdered in.( See the original Ju-on for the full story. I'm not going into detail here.) The warning signs are there once again to tell people to stay away from this house but people do not. Once you go into the house, you will be cursed by Kayako and her son until they finally kill you. Sadako killings have to do with viewing her though a VCR tape. We don't have too worry much about her in this day and age. None uses VRCs anymore unless your collecting them as a hobby. The plot makes up a pretty valid excuse for Sadako's curse to be unleashed and its not a fun sight. Her curse run rapid through most of the duration of the film and it makes you wonder who's film is this really? Seems kind of like Sadako steals the spotlight while Kayako waits in her moldy house. Kayako does do her share of killing though which always freaked me out like no other. Just the way she moves with that freaky sounding noise she makes. I'm shivering. A big trait that I really loved about this film was that a character was put in that seemed like he knows how to hold his own against both ghosts. This character is played by veteran actor Masanobu Ando and he kicks ass to turn the tides more in humanity's favor. However, never get too cocky when dealing with the supernatural. These types of films never end well and if you have seen other installments of either one of these series, you know the endings are always like a punch to the gut. At least the acting was good enough to give a little bit of hope to viewers.
Its never too hard to act out these kind of films with a little bit of before hand coaching. Ando did well because his character isn't challenging. Nor did characters have a deep background or relate-ability to make you feel anything for them. I give props to all the actresses and young child actors who played Sadako, Kayako, and her son. They have to be on set, get their makeup done that probably takes hours, then they shoot with little to no clothes on. Sadako wears a dress but that long black wig must have been anoying. Kayako character has a weird way of walking when she not crawling that has to do with the way she was murdered. Only the original actress who played Kayako could do it right. Same with the child actor who played her son. The little actor used this time around creeped me out more than the original. It was more to do with his make up than the acting aspect but the surprise pop ups got me a few times too.
Shooting for the film still brings back that dark atmosphere feel. Even the day time shots are not protected from the dark spots where Kayako house resides. The shots also like kind of misty to me. Maybe its my imagination but certain scenes seems layered in a thick fog. We are watching a horror film here so the less light, the better. Tokyo sights are limited to a neighborhood with a narrow street, dorm rooms, and school life. Thats what happens when ghost who can't move around unless you come to them are involved. Lets not look at tapes that look old as hell or go into abandon houses folks.
Nothing was special about this film. If you like J-horror than this is for you. The script holds out the really great part of the film till toward the end and that could have been extended. I guess the two ghost couldn't meet earlier because of Kayako's circumstances. I enjoyed Sadako vs. Kayako like all the other installments since I don't take these films too seriously and take it for what it is.
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