Sadako

Ugh, another cash-in on the a franchise that was great back in the days of 1998 and a few years onward. Yet, I opted to sit down and watch the 2019 "Sadako" movie from writer Noriaki Sugihara and director Hideo Nakata on the odd chance that this might actually be a worthwhile addition to "The Ring" legacy and franchise.

But no. Well, while "Sadako" was a watchable movie, it was by no means an outstanding horror movie. Nor was it a particularly scary one, not even by accounts of Japanese horror standards. "Sadako" felt like a watered down rendering of the origin story of Sadako, the girl that terrorized people in "The Ring".

The storyline told in this 2019 movie was a bit too boring and bland. There was nothing scary to be had here throughout the course of the entire movie. Well, unless you are Asian I suppose. But for a seasoned horror veteran such as myself, then "Sadako" was not a scary movie and offered only slight entertainment. It felt like writer Noriaki Sugihara wasn't really sure in which direction to take the story, so it felt like it was a bit all over the place and sort of lacking a red coherent thread.

I managed to sit through the entire movie, but this was not a movie that tickled me in all the right places. Sure, it was watchable for the less than mediocre thing it turned out to be. But this is hardly a Japanese horror movie that managed to make itself stand out in the genre. And it is not a movie that warrants more than a single viewing.

The acting in the movie was adequate, despite the fact that the actors and actresses were hard pressed with having not much of a solid and complete script and storyline to work with.

I am rating the 2019 "Sadako" movie a less than mediocre four out of ten stars. Sometimes it is better to let sleeping corpses lie...

A girl is spending her life locked into a closet by her mother. She only has two friends, a doll and a long-haired woman.

After an incident, the girl ends up in a hospital, under the care of doctor Mayu (Ikeda Elaiza). Meanwhile, Mayu's brother Kazuma (Shimizu Hiroya) works as a vlogger comedian. After a tip from his older colleague Yusuke (Tsukamoto Takashi), he starts investigating haunted places and publishing videos of them online. Of course, more incidents soon follow.

Even though the movie title does not contain a number, it is yet another sequel to the classical horror movie Ringu. As such, it will give you exactly what you expect. That said, absolutely watch Ringu first.

Compared to Ringu, it lacks the eerie atmosphere and symbolism. Instead it has a modern, well-polished feel. It has at least one memorable horror scene, and some that were too cliché.

A few pieces of background story are added to the lore. The curse also works differently, and a new, interesting theme is introduced.

Of the actors, Ikeda Elaiza was brilliant of course, expressing all levels of emotion from concern to horror. Shimizu Hiroya is ridiculous, but for a comedian it is not out of character. Also there was a female patient and some children in the hospital that were pretty funny. The girl played well for a child actor.

This movie is hardly of interest to anyone except for fans of the original movie. For those fans it might be a small but nice addition to the legend of Sadako.

So my biggest problem is the movie is it's not scary and why it's not scary is very individual. I am not scared of women or of small children. So that is maybe why and it didn't help this movie was way too lit up so I could see what was going on all time.

God damn this movie was too bright most of the time it hurt my eyes because this screen was so bright. We just maybe one of the reasons why I just begin to get and headache.

And the characters are just boring, not any simpleism in any kind of things going on in them. I like how to woman dressed. It was cute and she looked good in it, but most of the time. I was just like am I supposed to connect these hollow Shields of characters.

And the only fun part of the movie was making fun of it with one of my friends with a glass of wine in my hand. It's just so weird Who is this movie for?, the only people I can think of, are people who want more history behind the ring movie.

And I don't even think those people are interested because it doesn't give anything.

All and all , waste of time only enjoyable with friends.

Reinvent the wheel again and again, actually I was not so fond of the ring , it was a mess and boring, but famous for one scene of course that makes the whole movie, but that scene only work one time and instead of having one great scene worth to remember, they use it in every possible way , even when it dont fit in

This is a boring movie aswell, it has no charm , its no heart in it , like everyone in the filmcrew are tired , I give it 4 kind points because the production is well done and acting is ok , and story work ,, but its a boring movie and not sure if this scare anyone since it just so lame.

You would think with eight films in the Japanese series already, including crossing over with The Grudge ghost Kayako, that The Ring series may be reaching a level of overexposure. With the original director of the first two films returning for Sadako, one might think that there is some hope for the latest addition to the series.

This was... a very average film. There wasn't anything special about it that made it stand out; it didn't add anything new to the series. It's just Sadako haunting another bunch of people with a new plot line. That being said; average for the ninth film in a franchise isn't so bad. At this point, looking at other franchise, it should be pulling a low average of one to three. A four out of ten is relatively decent for this point in the franchise's life span.

Sadako has very good tense moment that had me glancing away from my screen uneasily, feeling anxious and getting my heart racing. The suspense is still something that remains strong throughout the franchise and I feel that is partly due to Nakata Hideo returning to direct this. With a mix of an urban legend mixed with a curse-ghost haunting plot line, this is really the only thing that stands up against it. Hideo continues to prove he's a master of suspense and, honestly, it's the only reason I'd think about watching this again - for the few moments that Hideo provides us that makes the heart race. With a ending worthy of the cringe-worthy award, especially with the final two moments, Sadako doesn't really hold up to the legacy that the Ring franchise has held for so long. I kind of wish they'd let Sadako haunt her well in peace and let her be at this point.

With a slightly underwhelming ninth film, it's definitely time to exorcise Sadako, let her move on from her cursed state, and throw the towel in with this one. Sadako barely holds up - a tenth would be physically incapable of holding up anything else.