PopHorror Let's Get Scared
The battle that horror fans have been waiting for has finally arrived! In this corner, we have Sadako, the vengeful spirit that spreads her killing curse through a video tape. In that corner, we have Kayako, the hostile entity that curses and kills anyone who enters her house. This should be a movie battle for the ages! Did Sadako Vs Kayako bring us the throw down we’ve always wanted?
(Synopsis provided by IMDb.com):
After viewing a legendary cursed video tape, Natsumi (Aimi Satsukawa) and Yuri (Mizuki Yamamoto) realize they only have two days before they will be killed by the demonic entity known as Sadako (Elly Nanami). The only way to break the curse: pitting Sadako against Kayako (Runa Endo), an accused spirit possessing a haunted house where everyone who enters disappears.
Sadako Vs Kayako brought the best aspects of both the Ju-On and Ring franchises. However, this film was viewed with high expectations and fell short.
What Works
Sadako Vs Kayako definitely get points on the creep factor. The actresses that portrayed them did a fantastic job. I think Toshio (Rinta Shibamoto), Kayako’s son, was the scariest out of all of them. His dark eyes and literal cat-calling always sends chills down my spine.
The characters were probably my favorite thing about this film. Yuri was a true best friend and I was really rooting for her. The two mediums, Kyozo and Tamao, were my absolute favorite characters! They were nothing but sheer bad-asses that also brought the laughs. The actors that portrayed them worked really well together and had great chemistry. They were just fun to watch!
What Doesn’t Work
In all honesty, this was barely a playground scuffle. The build-up took forever and left the battle to the last fifteen minutes. Also, the film spent most of the buildup focused on Sadako’s side and Kayako barely had any scenes. When it comes to a crossover film, there has to be some give and take in order for it to work.
All of the deaths scenes were over the top and it completely killed the atmosphere. It’s hard to take a character’s death seriously when a head-butt turns them into a lizard-human hybrid. The scene started out eerie and ended with me laughing my ass off. The other death scenes weren’t as hilarious but they were certainly odd.
The ending just left me unsatisfied. I expected more from the final showdown. But, once again, the build-up took to long then ended abruptly.
Final Thoughts
As flawed as it was, I just can’t hate this movie. Sadako Vs Kayako was a really fun film! Let us know what you thought of the film in the comments!
