I suppose this movie faced some high expectations, with the director being the same person who did the first and second movie back in the late 90's. What those some people may not know, however, is that this director also made the second American version.
That's right. The Ring 2 from 2005 was made by a Japanese director, the same man who directed the original which is considered a well loved classic. But as you might be aware of, The Ring 2 isn't very well loved at all. And it doesn't have a very good score on IMDB either.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, not everything that Hideo Nakata has touched so far, Ring wise, has been gold. So to see him make Sadako and find it less than stellar, perhaps shouldn't be such a big shock to everybody. It's not like when Ridley Scott came back to direct Prometheus after not having touched the Alien franchise for 30 years, only to make a really divisive film with some obvious flaws. Now that was shocking.
This movie has its moments. There is one particular scene where Sadako comes out from underneath the bed, that I thought was really well done. It doesn't rely too much on jumpscares, although there are a few. The original is such a slow burn, with its greatest strength being the gradual build of suspense, all working up to that final iconic scene where Sadako comes out of the TV. This is not that kind of film. It follows more of a modern horror format, with scares being spread more evenly throughout.
What irks me most about Sadako (2019) is that there was a brilliant opportunity to take this franchise into the age of the internet but its very poorly developed. Merely a sketch of what it could have been. It hints at how Sadako's curse is carried through a youtube video of some kind, but as to how this actually works and the details of how it spreads, we are none the wiser.
Let's face it, part of the audience for this movie won't even know what a VHS tape is, and well, when they wait for the phone call that comes after the tape ends, they might just mute it. Send me a Whatsapp in stead, Sadako, thank you very much. But they might know about cursed video's. About creepy pasta's. "Send this video to at least ten people, or you will have 10 years of bad luck". That sort of thing.
This is vaguely hinted at in one scene, but then quickly abandoned. In stead, we go gallivanting around a hospital, watching a young girl who is somehow the reincarnation of Sadako without us ever learning why. Then off to the cave where Sadako was born. Even though this is a cool setting, we've seen that place before. We already know Sadako doesn't need you to come to her cave for her to get you, so why is it such a focus in the story?
In stead, we should have seen more of the curse carried throughout the internet. Just think how much faster it could spread, how many more people would be affected. I imagine whole cities wiped out, a Sadako induced genocide. But none of that happens.
Another issue is the character of the protagonists brother. He is deeply annoying and immature, a guy with some bloated sense of a mission of becoming a social media star, like it's the most important thing in the world. He very disrepectfully goes to the scene of a crime, just for views. When he eventually goes missing, I couldn't care less. Good riddance. Were we really supposed to be invested in this character? He is the main emotional connection for the protagonist, but since he's not remotely interesting or likeable, this hurts her character as well.
All in all, I found this movie to be entertaining, and scary at times. There's some nice nods to Ringu 1 and 2. I guess you could call it fan service. The plot is defintely less confusing and far fetched than those of Rasen (Spiral) or Ring 0 (the prequel). That being said, it is essentially more of the same.
That's right. The Ring 2 from 2005 was made by a Japanese director, the same man who directed the original which is considered a well loved classic. But as you might be aware of, The Ring 2 isn't very well loved at all. And it doesn't have a very good score on IMDB either.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, not everything that Hideo Nakata has touched so far, Ring wise, has been gold. So to see him make Sadako and find it less than stellar, perhaps shouldn't be such a big shock to everybody. It's not like when Ridley Scott came back to direct Prometheus after not having touched the Alien franchise for 30 years, only to make a really divisive film with some obvious flaws. Now that was shocking.
This movie has its moments. There is one particular scene where Sadako comes out from underneath the bed, that I thought was really well done. It doesn't rely too much on jumpscares, although there are a few. The original is such a slow burn, with its greatest strength being the gradual build of suspense, all working up to that final iconic scene where Sadako comes out of the TV. This is not that kind of film. It follows more of a modern horror format, with scares being spread more evenly throughout.
What irks me most about Sadako (2019) is that there was a brilliant opportunity to take this franchise into the age of the internet but its very poorly developed. Merely a sketch of what it could have been. It hints at how Sadako's curse is carried through a youtube video of some kind, but as to how this actually works and the details of how it spreads, we are none the wiser.
Let's face it, part of the audience for this movie won't even know what a VHS tape is, and well, when they wait for the phone call that comes after the tape ends, they might just mute it. Send me a Whatsapp in stead, Sadako, thank you very much. But they might know about cursed video's. About creepy pasta's. "Send this video to at least ten people, or you will have 10 years of bad luck". That sort of thing.
This is vaguely hinted at in one scene, but then quickly abandoned. In stead, we go gallivanting around a hospital, watching a young girl who is somehow the reincarnation of Sadako without us ever learning why. Then off to the cave where Sadako was born. Even though this is a cool setting, we've seen that place before. We already know Sadako doesn't need you to come to her cave for her to get you, so why is it such a focus in the story?
In stead, we should have seen more of the curse carried throughout the internet. Just think how much faster it could spread, how many more people would be affected. I imagine whole cities wiped out, a Sadako induced genocide. But none of that happens.
Another issue is the character of the protagonists brother. He is deeply annoying and immature, a guy with some bloated sense of a mission of becoming a social media star, like it's the most important thing in the world. He very disrepectfully goes to the scene of a crime, just for views. When he eventually goes missing, I couldn't care less. Good riddance. Were we really supposed to be invested in this character? He is the main emotional connection for the protagonist, but since he's not remotely interesting or likeable, this hurts her character as well.
All in all, I found this movie to be entertaining, and scary at times. There's some nice nods to Ringu 1 and 2. I guess you could call it fan service. The plot is defintely less confusing and far fetched than those of Rasen (Spiral) or Ring 0 (the prequel). That being said, it is essentially more of the same.