Sadako 3D

This film starts with a man named "Seija Kashiwada" (Yusuke Yamamoto) throwing the body of a young woman into a well. The scene then shifts to a high school teacher named "Akane Ayukawa" (Satomi Isohara), who confiscates a cellphone used by one of her students, which prevents her from watching a mysterious video linked to recent deaths. Yet even though Akane temporarily prevented her student from accessing the streaming video, she couldn't stop her from doing so after school. The next day, Akane learns that the student has committed suicide. Shocked, another student named "Lisa Kitayama" (Hikari Takara) decides to investigate the video herself, but is saved when Akane arrives just in time. The problem is that the spirit named "Sadako Yamamura" (Ai Hashimoto), released by Seiji, is not only intent on killing Lisa but also wants to take over Akane's body because Akane has powers Sadako needs to complete her mission of killing every person on Earth. For those unfamiliar, this film is part of a series that began with the 1998 movie "Ringu," followed by two sequels, the first being "Spiral" that same year. Unfortunately, "Spiral" didn't perform well at the box office, and a different sequel called "Rungu 2" was produced in 1999, which then spawned another sequel the next year. As for this particular movie, it picks up where "Spiral" left off, even though it's been around 13 years since then. That said, the film acknowledges the passage of time a couple of times, but it doesn't mention any characters from the previous films except Sadako. So, you don't need to watch the earlier movies to understand what's happening. I should also note that although this film was made in 3D, I wasn't able to see it in that format, so I can't say how much better it was than the version I saw. Hopefully, the 3D effects were impressive because the 2D version didn't add much over the previous films in the series, with the excessive reliance on CGI toward the end being a particularly poor choice. Regardless, I don't think this was a bad movie necessarily, but I was somewhat disappointed overall, and I have rated it accordingly.

Being a big fan of the Japanese originals as well as the American remakes, I'm always in for more of this franchise it seems. That being said, I'll be the first to admit that this movie is extremely far removed from its source material. Both the books and the movies. It is just completely bonkers, in a way that only a Japanese movie can be, being such a bizarre mix of a seriously attempted plot and obviously ridiculous things, that you constantly keep wondering what you're actually looking at. If you're in the right mood, that can be very entertaining.

This movie is many things. Silly, bizarre, creative, over the top, but never boring. It takes the basic concept of Sadako and that's about it. Yes, there is a cursed video, but gone is the 7 days requirement and all the suspense it brings. Gone is her backstory as well. This Sadako doesn't follow many rules, and has as many faces and forms as all the other movies in the franchise combined. Some of them were so crazy I just had to respect the creativity of it. I mean, wow. It's a lot. Most of it wasn't actually scary, but certainly memorable.

This movie really makes me see Sadako (2019) in a different light. I think the original director returned just to remind people that Sadako 3D is not what the franchise is about. 2019 had some silly aspects, but Sadako 3D makes it look almost gritty and realistic with its utter ridiculousness, almost like an attempt at 'return to form'. It shows just how far a franchise can derail if it runs long enough.

If you want a serious suspenseful horror film like the original Ringu, nothing to see here. Me personally, I'm used to seeing long running franchises go completely off the rails (Alien and Godzilla come to mind), so seeing an interation of Sadako this crazy isn't all that surprising. Go in with an open mind, and you might have fun with it.

"The Ring" ("Ringu") was groundbreaking and innovative back in its time, and the following movies - read parts 2 and 0, as well as the Korean version, but not the American version (which was just beyond awful) - were great. And in the spirit of the previous Japanese movies, I was thrilled when I happened to fall across "Sadako 3D" by sheer luck. Preparing for a good old fashioned Japanese scarefest, I settled in on the couch to watch "Sadako 3D".

And now that the end credits have finished, I sit here with a very, very empty feeling and a rather bad taste in my mouth. This movie was quite far from the original trilogy, both in plot and in scares. Not to mention the 3D effects were not particularly impressive.

For a Japanese horror movie then "Sadako 3D" was frightfully lacking spooks and scary moments. And a poorly animated CGI version of Sadako didn't really help the movie along in any great way. Nor did it help when she came out of the well and had strangely mutated legs. Or when there were several of those creatures crawling around. It was just horrible to witness.

The acting throughout the movie was adequate, despite the actor and actresses had very little to work with. And Satomi Ishihara (playing Akane) did carry the movie all by herself actually. Without her in the movie, it would have been even more gut-wrenching to sit through.

At 96 minutes, you get very little worth for your money. The movie is lacking that tradition dark sense of foreboding doom and horror that usually permeates the Japanese horror movies. "Sadako 3D" was too much of a re-shined attempt to cash in on an otherwise great series and try to brighten it up with 3D effects.

Having seen "Sadako 3D", I am somewhat hesitant about sitting down to watch "Sadako 2 3D". Why? Well, aside from the lack of creativity in the title, then from the fear that it will turn out just as dull, lifeless and boring as the first "Sadako" movie was.

"Sadako 3D" is more of a slap in the face of fans of the original "Ring" movies than it is a well-worthy addition to the legacy.

This piece of rat-infested dog poop is simply not worth watching. Almost everything about this film is just wrong. The onryo ghost, which I personally find to be a very chilling entity, is included in a variety of laughably stupid sequences. The way the horror scenes were constructed is grade D filmmaking at its worst. We're talking head-slapping stupidity. For example, Sadako is "controlled" by a young dude with an oh-so-lame Japanese rockstar fashion sense who is played by an actor who should not be working. Right from the opening scene, this guy is an absolute embarrassment with his terribly acted "evil laugh." Imagine if Michael Cera tried to be scary, and this is what you'd get. Sadako just friggin' pops out everywhere, like some mentally challenged CGI jack-in-the-box. There's no emphasis on creepiness or atmosphere at all. The storyline is also haphazard and totally boring. There's literally no talent behind or in front of the camera here. Everyone involved in this travesty should be thrown down a well.

If you're looking for good recent Japanese horror, check out "Tormented" (2011), "X Game" (2010), "Tomie Unlimited" (2011), "Kaidan Horror Classics 1-4" (2010), and "Gomenasai" (2011).

From the original Ringu series that is. It might try to come up with something fresh and original, but it doesn't really succeed. The main actress is really beautiful and she may be able to act, but it's not like she has to in this movie. Many people will also have issues with CGI, but it's not about the CGI itself, but the fact that it is poor CGI, added to make the 3D thing "work".

I only watched the 2D version, but it's crystal clear, where the 3D is supposed to kick in. Even the version I watched is "comin' at you"! But that does not warrant watching this movie. At least not on my watch. But somehow they seem to have managed to make enough money to actually be able to do a sequel to this (according to IMDb) ... I'm not holding my breath (sorry for the pun).