Sadako vs. Kayako - A Small Rant (SPOILERS)
J-Horror's always been an entertaining subgenre for me, but I will admit it's not without its faults. The most prominent fault that comes to mind is pacing, as majority of the films I end up watching always take their time when getting to the horrific elements. The only time I felt a J-Horror film went straight to the point would be Tetsuo: The Iron Man. I bring this up because this will be mentioned more times during this particular film, Sadako vs. Kayako.
Sadako vs. Kayako is a 2016 J-Horror film that brings together two of the genre's most iconic characters, Sadako from Ringu and Kayako from Ju-on. In the U.S., they're primarily known as the ghosts from The Ring and The Grudge franchises. The main plot concerns the dilemma of three girls, Yuri, Natsumi and Suzuka. Yuri and Natsumi are close friends who unfortunately come across Sadako's cursed videotape, which is even more unfortunate considering tapes are now a rarity in the modern age of DVDs, Blu-Rays and the internet. Since Yuri was looking at her phone, Natsumi is left watching and afflicted with the curse, which will kill her in two days (in other films of this franchise, the victims are given 7 days). Yuri does all she can to help Natsumi, even trying to transfer the curse to her so that it will spare Natsumi (a trick used in all the films by creating copies of the tapes and giving it to someone new), but they learn that in their world, its a false rumor. Distraught, Natsumi stupidly uploads a DVD copy of the cursed film onto the internet and then attempts suicide, but Sadako comes for her earlier than expect, as she won't let anyone interfere. At the same time, Suzuka moves with her family to a nearby area right next door to Kayako's house, where she begins receiving ominous visions about a boy who went missing with others. Her helpful nature proves to be her downfall, as she ignores warnings and enters the house to search for the boy she thinks she saw. She's immediately cursed herself and loses her parents to Kayako and her son Toshio. Both Yuri and Suzuka cross paths when exorcist Keizo explains that the only option left to spare them (and now the people who've watched Sadako's video on the internet) would be to pit both spirits against each other in hopes the both of them will destroy themselves.
If the plot I've explained to you sounds like the whole movie, it pretty much is. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but for the most part this film only serves well in parts more than a whole. The parts with Sadako and Kayako going about their hauntings as usual works well, as in my opinion there are genuine scares, although don't expect them to be very original. Since it's a crossover film, I understand the filmmakers only using the bare bones plot of each franchise to get to the inevitable mashup, it helps move the action along. The problem is what I mentioned before, both stories are paced HORRIBLY.
It's also obvious that the makers favor Sadako more than Kayako, as the story revolving around her victims is longer and more fleshed out than Kayako's story. Poor Suzuka loses her family, which should be enough to garner sympathy, but unfortunately not enough time is spent on them. I will give the Kayako story some credit for attempting an anti bullying message. When a boy lures his bullies to the house by throwing rocks at them, Toshio does not attack him but disposes the bullies one by one. I probably would've been surprised if the boy had gotten out alive but unfortunately Kayako grabs him. In this sense, I'm still surprised because I'm not used to children getting killed in horror films.
And then the biggest issue I have with them film is the finale: for a movie called Sadako vs. Kayako and advertised as an epic battle, there isn't much fighting. This movie seems to have the opposite issue that Freddy vs. Jason had. While that movie had a memorable fight between the big bads, there wasn't much development or agency attached to the victims that were caught in the middle. In contrast, we spend too much time with the victims before a fight that can barely be called a fight. Long story short, Sadako sucks Toshi into her TV realm and attempts to attack both remaining girls, leading Kayako to intervene and slam Sadako down. Needless to say, as Sadako got more screen time, she always gains the upper hand on Kayako, making her disappear at one point. The only real offense Kayako truly does is destroy Sadako's tape, which is futile since her video's all over the internet.
It's also pretty dumb how the film resolves itself. Basically, Sadako and Kayako are somehow not able to cancel each other out, so the last resort Keizo has is to trap them both in a well but with one of the girls sacrificing themselves to keep them there. Yuri decides to be the sacrifice, as she feels the most guilt for showing Natsumi the tape in the first place. The plan seems to work, with Sadako and Kayako turning into a blob and falling down the well with Yuri. But in typical fashion, it fails miserably, with both ghosts merged into Yuri's body to create a new entity, Sadakaya. Toshio also returns behind Suzuka and Keizo's aid (oh yea, during the merging blast, Keizo died) and leaves the film on a cliffhanger. I would've liked it better if the film had decided for the seal on the well to actually work but have someone else dumb enough to open it later on and then reveal the Sadakaya merge.
Now, don't misunderstand my criticisms to mean that I hated the film. I still loved it with all its flaws, and I would dare say its better at suspense than most of the American sequels that have been made (even including the upcoming Rings film, which I predict will be terrible). It also has a sense of humor in certain areas, including a professor of Yuri's who wants to see Sadako so badly he doesn't care that he'll die, and the fact that Keizo reprimands the girls on their stupid actions. I would recommend the film as something to see instead of Rings, but at the moment the film is only available on the streaming service Shudder. If you haven't subscribed before, it's only 4.99 a month and if you only want to see the film, a week trial is offered.
If the plot I've explained to you sounds like the whole movie, it pretty much is. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but for the most part this film only serves well in parts more than a whole. The parts with Sadako and Kayako going about their hauntings as usual works well, as in my opinion there are genuine scares, although don't expect them to be very original. Since it's a crossover film, I understand the filmmakers only using the bare bones plot of each franchise to get to the inevitable mashup, it helps move the action along. The problem is what I mentioned before, both stories are paced HORRIBLY.
It's also obvious that the makers favor Sadako more than Kayako, as the story revolving around her victims is longer and more fleshed out than Kayako's story. Poor Suzuka loses her family, which should be enough to garner sympathy, but unfortunately not enough time is spent on them. I will give the Kayako story some credit for attempting an anti bullying message. When a boy lures his bullies to the house by throwing rocks at them, Toshio does not attack him but disposes the bullies one by one. I probably would've been surprised if the boy had gotten out alive but unfortunately Kayako grabs him. In this sense, I'm still surprised because I'm not used to children getting killed in horror films.
And then the biggest issue I have with them film is the finale: for a movie called Sadako vs. Kayako and advertised as an epic battle, there isn't much fighting. This movie seems to have the opposite issue that Freddy vs. Jason had. While that movie had a memorable fight between the big bads, there wasn't much development or agency attached to the victims that were caught in the middle. In contrast, we spend too much time with the victims before a fight that can barely be called a fight. Long story short, Sadako sucks Toshi into her TV realm and attempts to attack both remaining girls, leading Kayako to intervene and slam Sadako down. Needless to say, as Sadako got more screen time, she always gains the upper hand on Kayako, making her disappear at one point. The only real offense Kayako truly does is destroy Sadako's tape, which is futile since her video's all over the internet.
It's also pretty dumb how the film resolves itself. Basically, Sadako and Kayako are somehow not able to cancel each other out, so the last resort Keizo has is to trap them both in a well but with one of the girls sacrificing themselves to keep them there. Yuri decides to be the sacrifice, as she feels the most guilt for showing Natsumi the tape in the first place. The plan seems to work, with Sadako and Kayako turning into a blob and falling down the well with Yuri. But in typical fashion, it fails miserably, with both ghosts merged into Yuri's body to create a new entity, Sadakaya. Toshio also returns behind Suzuka and Keizo's aid (oh yea, during the merging blast, Keizo died) and leaves the film on a cliffhanger. I would've liked it better if the film had decided for the seal on the well to actually work but have someone else dumb enough to open it later on and then reveal the Sadakaya merge.
Now, don't misunderstand my criticisms to mean that I hated the film. I still loved it with all its flaws, and I would dare say its better at suspense than most of the American sequels that have been made (even including the upcoming Rings film, which I predict will be terrible). It also has a sense of humor in certain areas, including a professor of Yuri's who wants to see Sadako so badly he doesn't care that he'll die, and the fact that Keizo reprimands the girls on their stupid actions. I would recommend the film as something to see instead of Rings, but at the moment the film is only available on the streaming service Shudder. If you haven't subscribed before, it's only 4.99 a month and if you only want to see the film, a week trial is offered.
Sounds kooky! I'll be sure to check it out! ^_^
ReplyDelete