Sadako vs. Kayako
| Sadako vs. Kayako | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| 貞子 vs. 伽椰子 | |
| Directed by | Kōji Shiraishi |
| Written by | Kōji Shiraishi |
| Based on | Ring Trilogy and Ju-On by Koji Suzuki and Takashi Shimizu |
| Starring | Mizuki Yamamoto Tina Tamashiro |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | $8,385,267[1] |
Sadako vs. Kayako (貞子 vs. 伽椰子?) is a 2016 Japanese supernatural horror film directed by Kōji Shiraishi. It is a crossover of the Ju-on and the Ring series of horror films. The film was first teased as an April Fools' joke on April 1, 2015, but was later confirmed on December 10, 2015 to be a real production.[2] It was released on June 18, 2016 in Japan, with a North American release on January 26, 2017 on streaming site Shudder.[3]
Plot[edit]
A social worker visits the residence of a woman only to find her dead in front of her television set. The video player plays the cursed footage. As the social worker watches, Sadako Yamamura manifests behind her.
The video player is later bought by university students Yuri Kurahashi and Natsumi Ueno, who want to use it to burn a copy of Natsumi's parents' wedding tape onto a DVD. When they find the cursed videotape inside the player, a curious Yuri plays it. Yuri is then distracted by her phone, so she ends up not watching the footage - only a horrified Natsumi does. The girls return to the shop where they bought the video player, only to learn that a worker and the social worker from before both died two days after watching the same videotape.
Desperate, the girls go to Morishige, their professor and an author on urban legends. Morishige is obsessed with the idea of meeting Sadako - when Yuri gives him the tape, he becomes ecstatic and immediately watches it, although the girls are less than thrilled, as Natsumi only has a day to live. Morishige takes the girls to an exorcist in the hopes that she can save Natsumi. However, Sadako possesses Natsumi and kills Morishige and the exorcist for interfering. In her dying breath, the exorcist tells the girls that a man with psychic powers, Keizo Tokiwa, is on his way to help them.
When a despondent Natsumi blames Yuri for her condition, Yuri watches the tape, hoping that this will pass the curse on to her and Natsumi will be spared. However, Keizo arrives, accompanied by a blind psychic girl, Tamao, who tells Yuri that she has just unnecessarily cursed herself - the curse cannot be passed on that way. The only way to permanently expunge it is to pit Sadako against another vengeful spirit so both obliterate the other. Natsumi tries to commit suicide to escape a violent death, but Sadako appears before she can and kills her. Keizo and Tamao target Kayako Saeki to be the rival spirit.
Meanwhile, high school student Suzuka Takagi starts having dreams of the haunted Saeki house after moving in nearby with her family. She later runs into Keizo and Tamao, who states that the house beckons to Suzuka. Keizo warns her not to enter or she will be killed. That night, Suzuka thinks she sees a schoolboy who was killed inside the Saeki house, and goes inside herself. She sees Toshio and her screams prompt her parents to rush in, only to be killed by Toshio and Kayako. Keizo saves Suzuka, although she is already cursed. Yuri and Suzuka team up for Keizo’s plan: Together, they enter the Saeki house, so that Suzuka can watch the cursed videotape inside and Yuri can see Kayako, thus becoming afflicted with both curses. Keizo hopes this will make Sadako and Kayako fight over the girls. Sadako and Kayako appear and attack one another, though neither entity seems to gain any advantage. Keizo yells for the girls to flee, the plan having failed.
Keizo reveals his last resort: one of the girls has to lure both ghosts into the well so they can be sealed inside. Yuri chooses to sacrifice herself, jumping into the well as Sadako and Kayako rush toward her, colliding into a contorting mass of flesh and hair. The mass possesses Yuri, while Suzuka seals the well. Keizo dies after shielding Tamao from the ghosts' collision. This last resort does not work either: Yuri, who has Sadako's appearance, crawls out, emitting Kayako’s death rattle; both Sadako's and Kayako's curses have combined, and Sadako and Kayako have now become a single entity – Sadakaya. Sadakaya approaches a screaming Suzuka while Toshio appears behind Tamao. Their fates are left unknown.
In a post-credits scene, Sadakaya is shown in the videotape footage, now croaking and body contorting as she moves toward the screen.
Cast[edit]
- Mizuki Yamamoto as Yūri Kurahashi/Sadakaya
- Tina Tamashiro as Suzuka Takagi
- Aimi Satsukawa as Natsumi Ueno
- Masahiro Komoto as Shin'ichi Morishige
- Masanobu Ando as Keizō Tokiwa
- Mai Kikuchi as Tamao
- Misato Tanaka as Fumiko Takagi
- Masayoshi Matsushima as Sukeru Takagi
- Ichiruko Domen as Hōryū
- Runa Endo as Kayako Saeki
- Elly Nanami as Sadako Yamamura
- Rintaro Shibamoto as Toshio Saeki
Production[edit]
Despite a rumour about Takako Fuji reprising her role as Kayako in this crossover, the actress stated several times on Twitter that she was not playing this representation of the character.[4] Masaki Saisho, who played Kayako in Ju-On: The Beginning of the End and Ju-On: The Final Curse, does not appear in the film either.[5] This makes Runa Endo the fourth actress to play Kayako (counting Aiko Horiuchi, who starred in The Grudge 3).
As for Sadako, Elly Nanami is the seventh actress to play the role, after Rie Inō (Ring, Ring 2), Hinako Saeki (Rasen), Ayane Miura (Ring: Kanzenban), Tae Kimura (Ring: The Final Chapter, Rasen), Yukie Nakama (Ring 0: Birthday) and Ai Hashimoto (Sadako 3D) (excluding Samara Morgan's and Park Eun-Suh's incarnations from The Ring and The Ring Virus respectively).
Promotion and marketing[edit]
A certain number of events were held for the promotion of the movie. On Twitter, users can vote for either Sadako or Kayako as their favorite horror icon. The end of the vote were scheduled for the 17th of June.[6] Two videos, one for Sadako and one for Kayako and Toshio, were uploaded on YouTube to appeal on the voters. Sadako won. In the end of May, a press conference was held to promote the movie. As it happened before for previous Ju-on movies, Sadako, Kayako and Toshio were present, in costumes, and stayed true to their roles.[7] In the beginning of June, a baseball match featuring the Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Yakult Swallows was interrupted by Sadako, Kayako and Toshio who staged the first pit ceremony.[8] A couple of other videos were released at the same time, featuring the ghosts of the movie teaching theater etiquette, such as not bringing recording devices or avoiding to take minors to see the movie.[9] Social media was also heavily used to promote the movie. A Twitter account created for Sadako (as a promotion for the Sadako 3D movie) was reused.[10] An Instagram account was created for Kayako and Toshio, depicting humorous, everyday life situation with the two ghosts.[11] As for the marketing part, some goodies playing on the cute aspect regularly used in Japan were released, such as cup hangers,[12] beauty masks[13] and even a collaboration with the Hello Kitty brand.[14] Other goodies were more traditional, such as T-shirts, key rings and doorknob hangers.[15]
References[edit]
- ^ "Japan Yearly Box Office" (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/japan/yearly/). Box Office Mojo. Accessed 10 August 2016.
- ^ "Sadako vs. Kayako Film Brings Together Ring, Ju-On Franchises". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
- ^ "Christmas has come early...". Facebook. December 23, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
- ^ "藤貴ĺ? on Twitter: "@aoleos No,I'm not."". Twitter. 2016-04-29. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ^ "最所美咲 on Twitter: "@akb48755 电影导演不同。 藤贵子是第一代。 我是第3代。 现在的伽椰子是第4代。"". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ^ "Sadako & Kayako want your vote for the ghost with the most | RocketNews24". En.rocketnews24.com. 2016-05-14. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ^ "映画『貞子VS伽椰子』完成記念イベント". YouTube. 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ^ Bieler, Des. "Creepy first pitch features characters from 'The Ring' and 'The Grudge'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ^ By MrDisgusting on May 1, 2016 (2016-05-01). "'Sadako vs. Kayako' Promos Teach Theater Etiquette". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ^ "貞ĺ? (@sadako3d)". Twitter. 2016-06-07. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ^ "伽椰子と俊雄のほのぼの親子日記 (@kayakowithtoshio) • Instagram photos and videos". Instagram.com. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ^ "Sadako vs. Kayako Cup Hangers — White Rabbit Express". Cms.whiterabbitexpress.com. 2013-08-28. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ^ "Get Scary Good Looks With Sadako And Kayako Beauty Masks For Their Epic Horror Crossover – grape". Grapee.jp. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ^ "Hello Kitty and Friends Cosplay as Characters from "Sadako vs Kayako"". Crunchyroll.com. 2016-05-27. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
- ^ "映画『貞子vs伽椰子』限定グッズ！". Ckec.jp. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
