Sadako 3D 2 Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: Sadako somehow has a daughter, or something, and the zany antics that ensue.

Review: What the hell is this? Remember when "Ringu" was considered, by many, to be the scariest movie of all time? At this point, Sadako has been reduced to the likes of Freddy, Jason, etc. Sadako's not scary anymore, she's essentially an actress in a dress and wig, her motives make no sense, and there are no longer explanations regarding how she keeps coming back. I'd like to say this movie is worse than the last entry, but in some ways it's better; however, this film is still loaded with plot holes, continuity errors, shenanigans, and flat out stupidity galore. Plus, I still don't know if this is supposed to be a reboot or if the past entries matter in the continuity? Obviously the whole VHS idea went out the window a long time ago. Regardless, as with the last entry, watching the other films in this series does not matter (not even "Ringu"), and you could probably still get by without watching "Sadako 3D" truth be told.

I guess I'll begin with the improvements, because there are only a handful. When compared to the last movie, there are a lot more scares and they are done better. "Sadako 3D" seriously was like "oh shit, Sadako's hand coming out of a computer aaaahhh so scary" then repeat that same scene five times over. This movie is filled with cheap, jump scares too, like Sadako pointlessly appearing and coming at the screen for no discernible reason, but there are cool moments like the psychiatrist blending in with the wall, Fuko's mom in the bathtub, and Takanori suddenly transforming into a monster; on the other hand, the better scares don't happen until the movie is at least half over. This time the story takes itself more seriously, for better or worse, and tries to present dramatic moments accompanied by scares rather than the over the top, borderline, action scenes in the last movie. The effects felt traditional, with less shitty CGI (although it is still present), and, thus, had me rolling my eyes less. Lastly, there was this indescribable sense that the production values were increased or the cinematography was better. I word it like this because the production value could have gone down, but they appeared to make better use of their money or used superior camera trickery; things just looked more aesthetically pleasing and fitting of the tone of previous entries.

On to the downside...I hardly know where to begin. First off, the story makes no sense. If you recall, Takanori and Akane somehow defeated Sadako in the last movie and now they suddenly have a kid and it has half of Sadako's spirit or some bullshit like that. I honestly don't know. Akane has contained the other half of Sadako within her body, and they don't want the two to reunite because it will magically bring Sadako back. What? How? What exactly are the limitations and parameters of Sadako's powers?! If this wasn't dumb enough, this entire plot is made irrelevant, because there's another kid out there that is supposed to be Sadako's daughter. Huh? Okay forget everything--how the fuck is Sadako even getting one person pregnant let alone two? What exactly is Sadako hoping to accomplish? I thought she wanted to possess Akane? Connected to this stupidity is the fact that Takanori and Akane are barely in the movie, which sucks, because Satomi Ishihara was like the best part of "Sadako 3D;" Akane apparently has spent five years in some room looking like a cross between sleeping beauty and rapunzel--isn't she supposed to be as powerful as Sadako? The new lead, Fuko, is okay, but she's got nothing on Ms. Ishihara--and what's up with this drama with a suicidal mom? I don't remember Takanori ever mentioning this fact which he would have considering Akane almost committed suicide! Why are characters we thought were dead alive? Seriously, that little bitch boy who allegedly brought back Sadako--how and why would he be alive? Didn't we see Sadako kill him? Wasn't the whole point of the idiotic "cursed video file" was that it showed his suicide at the hands of Sadako? Well, he's back and magically knows everything that's going on. Yeah, okay. Remember that dumb detective who died the moment they went to Sadako's well? He's back too! All he does is explain things to a different detective (that this detective should have figured out on his own) and then he dies anyway two minutes later! But then again, maybe he'll be back for part 3! Yeah, that's right, this movie tries to pull a fucking "Halloween 5" and set up some mysterious character lurking in the background that will segue into, what I hope will be titled, "Sadako 3DD." In this movie you have people committing suicide similarly to "Sadako 3D," but there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to how the victims are chosen since the video file is gone. It has something to do with the other Sadako daughter, but, still, how does that explain the random appearances of Sadako's classic form and the occasional person inexplicably possessed by Sadako? Another thing that annoyed me was reused sets. We see what has to be the bridge from "Occult" and definitely that spiral staircase from "Tormented 3D" and "Shock Labyrinth 3D." What the hell? It wouldn't be a big deal if these settings weren't crucial to those movies' plots yet trivialized in this film. Finally, I was bored a lot more compared to the last movie. As I said, it takes half the movie for the plot to get rolling, and at that point I'm already too annoyed with the plot holes, continuity errors, contrivances, and sheer shenanigans of the premise.

I don't know what to make of this. Everything that made "Ringu" great has been completely sucked out--the well has run dry (pun intended). I can appreciate pure lameness when a franchise is milked to death, but they better tie up the loose ends in a damn good way for part 3. As it stands, nothing makes sense and they couldn't even offer up a reasonable explanation as to why Sadako is still a threat. I mean, if she was out of commission for a decade, until some bitch boy offered up dead bodies in the well to somehow resurrect her, how does she come back this easily and can impregnate people? I know Kayako was inspired by Sadako, but now the roles have reversed...and it didn't make sense in "The Grudge" franchise either. Even though I'm rating them the same, I think the last entry was technically better and more entertaining; if you're looking for mediocrity, this may be the movie for you. I suppose if you liked "Sadako 3D," and are interested in the idea of further entries, this movie shouldn't disappoint since it's more of the same and pretty much establishes a part 3 to boot.

Notable Moment: When Fuko envisions her mom dead in the bathtub for the first time. It's quite sudden and she looked decently scary.

Final Rating: 5/10