Sadako (2019)

Sadako (2019)

Dir. Hideo Nakata

The Japanese Ring movies may be thematically similar but they aren't all part of the same in-world continuity. There's two separate lines, one that follows on from Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998), and one that follows from Jōji Iida's Rasen (1998). [1]

Naturally, Nakata's return to the franchise follows on from the one he established, which means it's advisable to have seen Ring and Ring 2 (1999) before seeing Sadako.

There's some parallels with the structure of the first film, although it won't be apparent for quite some time. But the story isn't memorable and the characters aren't very interesting. Its most accomplished scene is arguably a 'slow zoom with dialogue' moment that protagonist Mayu Akikawa (Elaiza Ikeda) shares with Masami Kurahashi (Hitomi Satô), the latter of whom is one of the few things that connects the work to Nakata's previous films.

It revolves around three people: Mayu and her brother Kazuma — a YouTuber desperate for an audience, but whose only 'talent' is being an asshole — and a young girl (Himeka Himejima), who we're told in the opening few minutes might be the reincarnation of Sadako Yamamura.

The scenes with the supernatural Sadako are occasionally effective, but her motivations are all over the place and she starts to feel like a parody of herself long before the end. I don't know if the similarity in movement to Kayako from Takashi Shimizu's Ju-On films was intentional, but I'm confident that the nods to Nakata's own Dark Water (2002) weren't coincidental. I didn't mind the DW ones, they were often more visually interesting than anything Ring related.

I've probably stressed this point at least once before over the years, but how 'family' is perceived in Japanese culture is vastly different to how it's perceived in much of western culture. Much of the human drama requires that understanding, otherwise it may feel flatter than it actually is.

Prior to watching Sadako, I held a glimmer of hope that the run of shit sequels might be at an end, that it could somehow wash away the memory of them. Alas, it wasn't to be. It's certainly not the worst of them, but it's still not something I felt was a productive use of time. It doesn't reinvigorate the franchise at all. It doesn't add anything compelling to the mythos. And it certainly doesn't provide anything definitive. I hope it's the last attempt, regardless.

[1] Ring's timeline: Ring (1998) / Ring 2 (1999) / Ring 0: Birthday (2000) / Sadako (2019); although it's debatable whether or not Ring 0 deserves to be there.

Rasen's timeline: Rasen (1998) / Sadako 3D (2012) / Sadako 3D 2 (2013).