Sadako vs. Kayako (2016)

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Hearing a story in their class, a group of students seek out a cursed videotape of urban legend and after finding themselves under its curse try to alleviate the danger by introducing another local urban legend to counteract the effects of the curse leading the entities to battle each other.This was quite an overall enjoyable if slightly flawed entry. One of the finest aspects of this one is the fact that it manages to incorporate both aspects of the franchises pretty neatly. The fact that this one takes the atmosphere of the cursed house, ably captured in the opening moments of the attack at the house followed by the appearance of the ghost behind her, coupled with the urban legends featuring the adventures of the bullies in the house where they each encounter spirit in fine scenes from the initial scenes of them egging the kid on to his game inside the house followed up by the relentless and efficient manner in which they take out both the bullies and their other victim while inside. It leaves a great impression with the ability to feature such a strong implication of the storyline into this one. However, it's the other storyline here that really manages to get a lot to enjoy with this one. Not only does the setup for requiring the outdated form of technology in today's modern society come off rather nicely, but the series of isolated scenes to showcase this while playing through the idea of killing off those associated with the cursed videotape. Those scenes are incredibly fun, from the series of flashes to the ghost coming up on them unaware to finding clumps of hair in their hands or falling on them from above which are somewhat shocking while getting this one set-up for the other great scenes that emerge from this storyline including the fantastic exorcism scenes that relate closer to mythology in their country than a tradition scene. There's a nice sense of respect and continuity offered in these scenes with getting both storylines somewhat setup for the big final confrontation which could've been highly enjoyable and really had a lot to like but was just a slight disappointment which is the first flaw here. Both sides could've had plenty of chances to showcase their skills but instead, it's quite a rushed and slightly underwhelming series of scenes that could've had them clashing more than what goes on here that gives this a quite shallow ending. Likewise, the other problem with this one is the fact that this one takes way too long to get going because it severely shortchanges the screentime of one of the franchises, featuring plenty of chances for one while not so much the other and it doesn't really give itself enough to condense the two settings which leaves it a little lopsided. Otherwise, there's not much else wrong here.Rated Unrated/R: Violence and Language.

If you were to encounter a film titled 'Sadako Vs Kayako', I imagine you'd expect much of the film to be a death match between two of Japan's most renowned ghouls. Sadly, these famed frighteners only appear in the same room together in the final few scenes, the lead up to their encounter been unnecessarily long-winded.The film centres on two story lines, which gradually intersect. The first involves Suzuka (Tina Tamashiro), who enlists the help of her friend, Yuri (Mizuki Yamamoto) to drag her parents wedding video into the 21st century as an anniversary gift. Purchasing a used VCR to do the job, Yuri finds a tape inside. Three guesses who this tape belongs to.Suzuka happens to watch the tape, only to discover she now has 48 hours to live, rather than the stereotypical 7 days. Considering Sadako Vs Kayako rarely takes the time to honour its inspired source material, it's occasionally difficult to trust the filmmakers with the product. In fact, watching the legends that have been created around these known ghosts get torn down in exchange for unappreciated thrills is almost as painful as watching the film itself.Worried for the sake of her friend, Yuri enlists the help of Shinichi (Masahiro Komoto), a professor infatuated with Japanese urban legends, his knowledge of Sadako's tape been of use. Like most secondary characters however, Shinichi's role is only to progress the narrative, the lacking depth applied to all characters largely resulting in conversations that are plastic and one dimensional.If the film is hard to swallow before the arrival of natural exorcist Koyozo (Masanobu Ando), who can terrify away ghosts with a snap of his finger, and his young accomplice, the blind Tamao (Mai Kikuchi), the feature is incredibly difficult to digest after. Both look to be cosplayers who happened to step onto the set by accident, their total lack of empathy only making it more difficult to accept them as characters. Through Shinichi, Yuri is introduced to Koyozo, who is heralded as the last hope she has to save her friend.The second narrative taking place, which is only occasionally glimpsed, revolves around Natsumi (Aaimi Satsukawa), who happens to move in next door to Kayako, the deathly house frequently calling out to her.It is Sadako however that steals the show most of all, her silent, shambling movements constantly giving me goose bumps. When the feature embraces the subtlety of the horror franchises it is adopting, Sadako Vs Kayako works effectively, the ambiance evoking a sense of dread. Unfortunately, the feature typically opts for in-your-face violence, which is seldom scary or entertaining.Unlike Freddy Vs Jason before it which revelled in the homicidal bloodlust of its antagonists, Sadako Vs Kayako revels in its own absurdity. Though I am a fan of Ju-On and Ringu, I can't deny both franchises have overstayed their welcome, becoming mere shadows of what they once were, the filmmakers possibly aware of this, considering at times the feature appears to be making a joke at its own expense, resulting in a series of cheesy moments.Considering the number of unanswered questions which still exist as the credits roll, Sadako Vs Kyoko feels more like a television pilot than a complete film. Whether a sequel will answer these is anyone's guess. As for who wins the fight – you'll have to watch to find out...

"Sadako v Kayako" was a disappointing crossover. I've read fan fiction with better writing than this film. "Ju-on:The Grudge" and "Ringu" individually were superior to this. Go watch those instead, and read a fan fiction if you want a well-written mashup. Before I start tearing into this rushed cash grab, I want to acknowledge that there are some good things in this film.Sadako and Kayako's costumes are spectacular and their 2 minute "face- off" was okay...Now that that's out of the way, let's get right into the review.1.) The Technical - This film is very dark...No, really, it's so dark that I had to squint and turn off all of the lights in my room just to see what was happening on the screen. I haven't seen this much dark-blue tinting since the first Twilight film.2.)The Story/Characters - The characters are about as simplistic they come. We follow the story of Yuri Kurahashi and Suzuka Takagi who have been afflicted by Sadako and Kayako's curses, to save themselves, they enlist the help of a priestess and her crew, after she attempts to perform an exorcism on Natsumi( A friend of Yuri), Sadako emerges and brutally murders the priestess and her crew.When this fails, the girls contact a "famous" exorcist by the name of Kyozo and his mysterious blind and psychic "associate" Tamao. These characters are never developed or elaborated. Kyozo seems to have the magic ability to wave his fingers in the air and repel Sadako and Kayako's abilities. How can he do this? Never explained. Why is Tamao psychic? Never explained. How did they become such renowned supernatural investigators? Never explained. They are famous exorcists who know Sadako and Kayako from head to toe and you just need to accept that.3.)The Ending - The ending was probably the worst part of the film.It was so surreal, uncalled for and detached from reality that I had to re- watch it about three times to truly comprehend it. As horrendous as it is, I want you to experience it for yourself, I'll warn you right now, keep your mouth closed or else you'll catch flies."Sadako v Kayako" is something I would only watch again with friends for laughs. Otherwise, I wouldn't waste my time.

Not bad at all. Fans of Japanese horror should be satisfied. To say the truth, I didn't expect anything good. The latest movies about Kayako were so-so, and the latest movies about Sadako were even worse. I thought the Japanese had lost their fantasy, the theme had been completely explored. And here is this promise – Sadako vs Kayako. Must be a silly trash. I was pleasantly surprised. The Japanese produced a serious well-built film. Of course, I don't mean that it's like the original "Ringu". From the point of view of the style it's more like "The Grudge" franchise – a horror with frequent scary scenes. Apart from it, as it often happens in Japanese films, there are some interesting original ideas, the main heroines are cute (I mean the girls that get cursed, not the onryos (this type of Japanese ghosts)). The fight between Kayako and Sadako is also good. Only it's too short. Minuses. First of all, there are "minuses" – I mean things that narrow-minded people dislike in Japanese movies. It has one static atmosphere, perhaps slowly or evenly paced. I so understand that some people find it boring, as other Japanese films are often criticised for it. Also some moments can seem strange to a western viewer. So I think that those who don't typically like Japanese horror movies, would not like this one. If to add some objective criticism, there is little new in the film. It doesn't repeat one to one moments from the previous films, and yet the onryos do the same familiar tricks. I wonder if there will be a sequel. The film has an unexpected ending, which may lead to new and interesting beginning.