(Released Exclusively on Shudder January 26, 2017)
Here's what the creatures had to say:
Here's what the creatures had to say:
Lord Battle - "Kôji Shiraishi is a name to fear, with films under his belt like Grotesque and my personal favorite Noroi: The Curse (which is the best Japanese found footage film!!). It quickly became obvious to me why I loved Sadako vs Kayako; pace, mood, and mythology were all handled masterfully in this clash of cultural curses. Don't expect these ghost girls to engage in a Marvel-esque slugfest, but rather enjoy the crossroads of two popular urban legends. I am very open about my deep enjoyment when it comes to Freddy vs Jason and also about my disgust with Aliens vs Predators. Both previous "VS" films had created human protagonists that merely ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time... except that they turn out to be heros and end up interfering with exactly what the audience paid to see. Now without spoiling anything I'll say that the human protagonist in Sadako vs Kayako are victims desperately seeking a way to break a curse. Sadako vs Kayako also feels paced much like Ringu, unlike FvJ or AvP, which felt like horror films conjured by a spell comprised of a gallon of Hollywood polish and the stench of Monster energy drinks." - 5 Stars
KillDozer - "Just when you though it was safe to watch VHS tapes and explore cursed houses!! Since the early days of horror cinema, monster kids around the world have waited to see their favorite icons collide in battle on the silver screen. We have been lucky enough to see this trend return in films like Alien vs Predator and with great excitement no matter how the finished product turned out. I was thrilled to hear rumors that 2 of the most iconic tortured and vengeful souls might be going head to head after a long hiatus. You can imagine the amount of nostalgia that took place as the first few minutes rolled on bringing us all back to the dark corners of weathered house in Japan where only a cat can be heard crying from inside, and not much later our eyes are wide, looking at a battered VHS tape whose curse is only known and feared by us, setting the stage for a battle of evil vs. evil. The story plays out beautifully in a way that both excites and entertains. The plot is straight forward but still throws something new into the mix by means of a "Constantine" like character and his sidekick. The look is classic and will make any fan of these franchises smile with delight as they watch these ghosts do what they do best, not only to the innocent but to each other as well. I was extremely glad to see the film was not dubbed in english and in my opinion did not cheat me out of the scares we know and love these franchises for. I believe this title will sit nicely in my collection next to Dracula vs Frankenstein and Freddy vs Jason." - 4 Stars (collection and franchise worthy!)
Dabbles - "As always I was scared and anxious but from what I saw this was awesome! It brought back all the feelings and anxiety from watching the original movies, and had the fun of a super fight round against heroes. It was a bit slow but the pay off was well worth it. Dabbles approved!" - 4 Stars
Trash - "I’ve seen my fair share of horror villain mash-up movies, and when I heard there was a new one pitting Ringu’s Sadako against Ju-on’s Kayako I was pumped. I’ve always been a big fan of Japanese ghost movies, as they tend to actually scare me and I love being scared. Yet bad guy v. bad guy films, albeit conceptually fun, rarely deliver the insanity you want from slapping two established characters together. Guess what? Sadako vs Kayako does it right and gives you everything you want from both the creepy Asian ghost genre and a horror mash-up. The smartest thing about this movie is the filmmakers know the stronger story is the cursed video tape. It’s not that Kayako is weak, so much as the mythology surround Sadako is more interesting. So, the movie focuses on the scares of the Ringu mythology, while giving the very unsettling Kayako and her Cat Boy the kills. And man, the dynamic could not work better. An extra layer of clever playfulness comes through its characters, between scenes of dense atmospheric eeriness they deliver hammy lines with the understanding that you already know this world. This extra spark keeps the movie fun, while it totally nails the tone. And man, the ending is weird and scary and exactly the level of crazy I was hoping for." - 4 Stars
Speed Demon - "Two evil cursed characters combined in one film, both extremely creepy in there own way. Damn what a great idea! The build up for their showdown was pretty impressive. Everything you would expect to happen happens though. You can basically call the movie play by play. Likable characters. Creepy awkward moments. Super fun atmosphere. Definitely worth a watch. I'm almost positive it will not disappoint you." - 4 Stars
Clark Little - "Overall, I enjoyed this story. Compelling new characters thrown into an all too familiar world. The big selling point here is humor. Funny and peculiar moments propel this film forward more than the scares. However, the film's title is slightly misleading. Yes, we get a match between the two. Kind of. But the journey to get there was far longer than the payoff. An interesting and entertaining film that I will probably never see again." - 3 Stars
The Ascendant - "Looking back at Hideo Nakata's (ground-breaking) 1998 film, Ringu, it's impossible to ignore the sheer influence it had on horror filmmaking in Japan, as well as in surrounding countries. Nineteen years later, its murky fingerprints can be seen in a myriad of films that followed it such as Inner Senses (2002), The Eye (2002), One Missed Call (2003), Pulse (2001) and Dark Water (2002). Not to be outdone, Takeshi Shimizu's Ju-On: The Curse (2000) and its sequel Ju-On: The Curse 2 were Direct-To-Video successes, spawning 7 sequels and 2 American remakes in a nineteen year time-frame. Helmed by Koji Shiraishi (Grotesque), Sadako vs Kayako (2016) plays directly to both fans of J-Horror as well as those faintly familiar with the tropes Nakata & Shimizu's films unleashed onto world years ago. Oddly enough, Shiraishi's film felt the strongest when it had the audience (deep) in the mix with its slew of silly characters such as a College Professor obsessed with Urban Legends (Masahiro Komoto), an Exorcist with psychic powers (Masanobu Ando) and his trusty blind sidekick (Mai Kikuchi). This alone changes the experience of the film, making it a little more cohesive, compared to a film like Freddy vs Jason (2003). Sadako & Kayako's curses are always around the corner but at least we as an audience possess some level of care about what happens in between. Although the entire film's plot is a (hilarious) lesson in conveniences, the only (real) issue I had with the film stems from how Sadako, Kayako & Toshio are portrayed visually. Although multiple actresses & actors have played the characters through each of their respective series', I feel incredibly attached to their visual iterations in Ringu (1998) & Ju-On: The Grudge (2002). Their iterations here feel just a hair above cosplay. Sorry Rintaro Shibamoto, you are #notmycatkid. Not a bad way to spend 98 minutes. Stay for the (nutty) finale." - 3 Stars
Huntress - "Sadako vs Kayako managed to incorporate just about everything I like in my horror movies into one awesome final product! It went from lighthearted to intense in a graceful instant so the progression felt natural and compelling. The characters were all great - even the ones who weren't great people - and a lot of the shots totally creeped me out. Nothing felt rushed and the fight couple have gone either way for me, but I absolutely loved how the movie ended! I love it more the more I think about it!" -4.5 Stars
The Overlook Theatre Final Rating*
(Below is for after you've seen the film)
Sadako vs Kayako couldn't feel less like Freddy vs Jason or Alien vs Predator but with the insane marketing Japan did to build hype for this feature, you would have guessed it to be a shallow slugfest of ghastly proportions. Below I've selected my 5 favorite related videos to the phenomenon that is when 2 curses collide. If you enjoy these videos jump into YouTube and fall down the very deep rabbit hole or check our Facebook in a couple days and I'll share the playlist I'm currently creating.
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This first video is my personal favorite as Sadako and Kayako bring the grudge match to the diamond in Hokkaido. The best part of this video is how they were intro'd.
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Midnight Madness at TIFF has always angered me by having amazing screening/after shows and the Q&A for Sadako vs Kayako is no different as the ghosts actually participate...
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Now this one is a little tough to understand (especially if you don't speak Japanese) but if you turn on the Japanese subtitles and then turn on auto translation, you'll at least get the jist of these 5 commercials.
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With every respectable horror movie release comes awesome pranks and even though this video wasn't exactly made for Sadako vs Kayako, it's still too good to miss!
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Not as elaborate as its Ringu counterpart posted above, this Ju-on prank still seems to work... or maybe it's just a cultural thing.
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-Lord Battle
The Overlook Theatre materialized in a residence for a special screening on 1/24/2016
*Based on the star ratings turned in by character reviewers, others viewed and got to "Dislike" or "Like" but that does not affect the rating.
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