A Invocação

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).

We live in times where VHS tapes are quite unpopular and idle, so of course a premise which focuses on a cursed VHS tape would not work anymore, as in scaring people who spend most of their times on their tablets, IPhones, Blu-Ray, Netflix etc. Then, through an insane worshiper, the curse reaches Internet, whereby Sadako's ghost searches from a supernaturally gifted host to occupy and live once again. This greatest plot ever thought to upgrade the "Ringu" premise is, unfortunately, misused in "Sadako 3D", which is surprising coming from the J-Horror genre full of such great films, "Ringu" itself included, that left Hollywood jealous and out of attention, forcing them to remake several Asian films.

"Sadako 3D" has a plausible plot for this high-tech times, but is visually absurd and spends most of its length focusing more on action and abusing of 3D effects, forgetting the new kind of thriller the story should provide. Basically, it turns out too much violent and noisy for a "Ringu" (or a J-Horror) film. Hopefully, this is an isolated case and won't happen to upcoming films, otherwise, be sure Japanese horror itself is cursed.

Set-up. Set-up. Sudden jump-scare!

Arbitrary poor character establishment scene.

Set-up. Set-up. Sudden dopey, gimmicky 3D jump-scare!

Boring, cliché plot-exposition scene.

Set-up. Set-up. Cheesy creature effect jump-scare!

Nonsensical filler fluff scene.

Set-up. Set-up. Another laughable 3D jump-scare that looks silly when viewed in 2D!

...that pretty much sums up "Sadako 3D', the 2012 film from director Tsutomu Hanabusa. Essentially an attempt to revive the much-beloved "Ringu" (aka "Ring") franchise in the modern internet age, this stinker is pretty much a dead-on-arrival thriller that is more likely to induce unintentional giggles and an occasional yawn than inspire chills in audiences.

I was actually fairly excited to hear this film was being released. I'm an enormous fan of master-director Hideo Nakata's original film, and I even enjoyed the various sequels, prequels and remakes to an extent. (Though I have sadly thus far been unable to read the original Koji Suzuki novels that inspired those films.) The prospect of a more modern take on the "Ring" mythos was intriguing... and to be honest, I didn't have a problem with the idea of the film being in 3D. Some of the iconography and famous images of the franchise would frankly lend itself well the added depth provided by modern 3D technology.

But alas, it wasn't to be. Director Hanabusa trades in the wonderful sense of pervasive dread that the original film oozed to make room for nonstop, effects-heavy scares that come off as wonky and funny due to the overly-gimmicky nature of the 3D. And it's all made even worse by the fact that... it's kinda hard to find a 3D copy of the film, meaning the obvious obligatory "3D Comin' at ya!" effects look all the cheaper and lazier when viewed in 2D.

The plot is a messy, forgettable affair. And I'm not joking. I watched the film about a year ago, and I couldn't really tell you what happened looking back on it. Something about a video released online that drives people to commit suicide, and an evil plot to resurrect the spirit of the dreaded Sadako. But trying to recollect specifics of the plot... it's just a blur of nonsensical imagery and flat characterizations. The prior films would stick with you. Even after a single viewing, you could vividly recall every major detail of the plot. Every twist of the story. Every single eerie moment. But this film leaves as little impact as the viral videos it seems to be drawing inspiration from. Like every supposedly "big" YouTube clip you've seen... you'll forget it within days once the "next big thing" comes along.

Although to give credit where it is due, there are a couple of stand- out moments. Including a fairly accomplished sequence involving a slew of genuinely disturbing spider-like "Sadakos" in a pretty suspenseful little sequence that makes good use of body-horror imagery. While it didn't contribute much to grand scheme of the film, it was a pretty zany, creepy sequence, and horror-fans who are disturbed by things like the alteration or unnatural changes of the human form should get a kick out of it.

But outside from that and a couple other moments that work, this is otherwise an enormous mess. The constant jumps get predictable to the point you'll be giggling in anticipation, and the plot is a thin excuse for nothing but special effect after special effect. And the fact it appears to have the production values of a low-budget TV-movie doesn't exactly help.

It's odd. I've been wanting to review this for some time now. But I could never quite put together the words to describe it. And I realized that's the big problem for me... there just isn't much to say about it. It's an underwhelming follow-up/light-reboot that adds nothing to the "Ring" franchise, outside of stylistic betrayals of the prior films.

And that's about it.

I'm giving "Sadako 3D" a weak 3 out of 10. It's not the worst horror film ever made. But it's a shocking fall from grace given how good the franchise was in its prime.

The Ringu franchise gets a 21st century update in this fourth instalment of the classic horror series. Coming over a decade after Ring 0, Sadako 3D was a real chance to kickstart the ailing series and give renewed life to Koji Suzuki's classic story. Sadly, although the film starts well and manages to update key elements of the Sadako folklore, it is ultimately let down by a bizarre finale and its completely pointless use of 3D. We are left to wonder whether Sadako should have perhaps stayed down the well.

The film begins with the suicide of a disgraced artist, broadcast via webcam to a handful of people on a video sharing website. Although the video is promptly deleted, it soon becomes notorious throughout Japan as "the cursed video" after rumours emerge that all who watch it take their own lives shortly thereafter. The legend is particularly popular among teenagers, who scour the net 24/7 trying to find a working link among the '404 not found' error pages.

The film's protagonist, Akane, is a high school teacher drawn into the legend after one of her students apparently commits suicide while watching the clip. As more and more of her class expose themselves to the danger, Akane learns of a connection between the suicidal artist and the notorious Sadako legend from a decade earlier. Could Sadako be behind this latest cursed video? If so, what does she want this time? And how can she be stopped?

For fans of American horror, Sadako 3D is to Ringu what Scream 4 was to Scream: a reimagining of the original story, transferred to a modern setting with modern technology, and with characters who are aware of the previous films' events. Where Scream 4 failed was in trying to merge the original premise – of teenagers being isolated and stalked in a small town – with the modern setting, never really answering the question of how a 21st century teenager can ever be 'isolated' in an era of smartphones and mobile internet. By contrast, the writers of Sadako 3D recognise that the original film's premise would seem dated today, and use advances in technology to their advantage.

For starters, Sadako no longer needs a television set to wreak her revenge: the creepy long-haired girl appears from smartphones, laptops and even electronic advertising boards. It's a useful ploy that means characters are never really safe wherever they are, and it works well. What also succeeds is the uncertainty of the 'cursed video': instead of a tape that characters either watch (and be damned, exactly seven days later) or don't watch (and be safe), the video is an online stream that moves about the internet, appearing at random on computers or smartphones that have previously searched for it. This means you are never really sure when (or if) a character will be next, giving a breath of fresh air to what could have been considered, by now, a tired concept.

All of that, though, is completely undermined by the final act, where the director (for some inexplicable reason) decides to crossover a decent paranormal ghost story with a creature feature – with predictably terrible results. Without spoiling the full details in this review, nuances from the Sadako legend are reduced to Silent Hill-like zombie creatures, almost leaving the viewer unsure if they're still watching the same film. Of course, genre crossovers are popular in Asian cinema and can be done successfully (see, e.g., Spellbound), but this just fails miserably. Things do get back on track somewhat for the ultimate finale, which satisfies to a point, but the damage has already been done by that stage.

Mention must also be made of the 3D effects. Although often a gimmick at the best of times, the extra dimension serves no purpose whatsoever here, being restricted to shots of Sadako's hand emerging from screens of various sizes – and that's about it. Moreover, since most of the (modest) budget appears to have been spent on the 3D apparatus, the film looks decidedly low-budget when watched in 2D, with some truly laughable CGI effects. I appreciate that the 3D 'gimmick' may have been required to get this film made at all, but I do wonder whether the final act would have strayed so far from the Ringu folklore had the director not being able to cheat his way out of proper storytelling with the cheap, gimmicky effect.

Ultimately, then, we are left with the feeling of what could have been. With its decent overall premise and its intelligent use of technology to update the original story, this could have been the refreshing reboot needed to kickstart the Ringu franchise. As it is, Sadako 3D is a mere curiosity; worth a watch (for the first hour at least) if you enjoy the original films, but more likely (in the final act) to alienate existing fans than win over new ones.

5 out of 10 – disappointing.

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.