Powerful

Memorable, crazy movie

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Major spoilers ahead, you've been warned.Now, I believe there are two kinds of people: those, who only wish to see the fight and do not care about anything else, and those, who will see the movie regardless, because they are fans of the franchises. Neither will be negatively affected by total spoiling, so let me break it down to you: if you thought Batman vs. Superman was bad in terms of actual duel length, this is downright pathetic. There is about a minute of the actual fight and, as it's expected, Sadako totally dominates Kayako, not that it has any solid effect, though, you can't physically kill spirits.Besides this keynote, the movie does have a couple of strong points - decent actors and premise. Compared to Alien vs Predator, you won't see as much artificial "bs" here, the monsters mostly stick to their roots, and the actors at least try, in their common Japanese manner.However, this is as far as the positive stuff goes. Because then you get entirely predictable plot, almost to the point of Godzilla's shameless "Let them fight" line, a lot of boring and unnecessary scenes. Why really bother with the boys? The store girl? What point did the teacher play, besides laying it out for you? Why go through that priestess, if it's entirely pointless? A good 10-20 mins of runtime could've been spared and devoted to the good stuff if the "stepping stones" were reduced.And the worst part of the movie - is the teasing of what it could be. You have two curses conveniently next to each other, you have actually managed to pull off the idea of internet-spreading the Cursed Video, you have two brilliant spirit hunters and even a teacher with weird backstory and uncanny interest in Sadako. There is SO MUCH to work with here, they should've just spent some 5-10 mins writing the two spirits tearing each other apart. I mean, come on, we see how Sadako oneshots Kayako with her Medusa Eye, among other things, but we don't see any action from Kayako, although it can definitely pack a punch. Yes, both of them would respawn, have respawned and it's about as meaningful as Superman smashing Zod into a building or vice versa, but... this is what the people want to see. Silly as it is, there is no further purpose. Canonizing the loss of one side, expectedly Kayako, would be a waste.Instead... we get an incredibly aimless plot. The teacher dies just like that, without really adding anything to the story or waiting for his due time. The spirit hunters die almost even sillier, despite shoving quite the psychic potential. Both of their plans backfire right away, without any explanation. It's not only weird to think a curse to devour a curse, and not to merge into a stronger one(as one would expect an experienced spiritist to know), but it's also shown that the well is deep and it can seal things. So why spend all that time preparing, if the seal is going to be broken like a pencil? Not even some extended attempts to break it, not even some stupid action from the protagonist. And the main spirit hunter dies just laughably. His last word "Good!", thinking that the backup plan worked, only to see the, ahem, backlash just oneshot him. Yes, he seems to try and protect his peers, but that's a couple of lines of script to fix, not something rational or necessary.And that's what we are left with. The entire cast is dead, the curses are merged and the Cursed Tape is spreading over the internet. So there is nobody to ever fight it again, there is no more "Versus"(unless they put this new "Sayako" against some Freddy Krueger or Insidious' Red Demon or even that Paranormal Activity Demon), there is just an April Fool's joke that became a joke of a movie...But, like I said, there are people, who will still watch it, and there isn't anything I have to say to stop you. It's not a complete abomination of a movie, so, by all means, indulge yourself, if you have nothing better to do.

Great movie with lots of excitement and thriller View sadako vs kayako It was obvious the director favored sadako as she mostly won the battle with kayako and the scenes for kayako were too short and limited to the house alone. Still a great movie but would have preferred equal fight capabilities.ith Japan's two most famous fright franchises having squeezed sequels or remakes dry and needing to be spliced together like a human centipede, the result can only be the J-horror to end all J-horrors. Director-writer Koji Shiraishi ("Carved: The Split Mouth Girl") knows that self-parody is the only way to go with "Sadako vs. Kayako," contriving a goofy way to make the vengeful spirits from "Ringu" (a.k.a. The Ring) and "Ju-on: The Grudge" cross paths for a twisty- crawly smack-down. Ingenious marketing has created buzz since the two characters made a side-splitting ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game in Hokkaido. The film boasts long, jerky festival legs and will be a jamboree for audiences when it screens at Toronto's Midnight Madness section. Shudder, AMC Digital Networks' streaming service, holds North American rights.Shiraishi, a B-horror-making machine, has a knack for deadpan spoofs, as seen in "Shirome" — a clever mockumentary that nails the infantile tone of celebrity reality TV and idol bands, and "Paranormal Phenomenon," a send-up of "Paranormal Activity" and the whole found- footage genre. Both "Ringu" and "Ju-on" have spawned so many sequels and knockoffs that the premise no longer shocks, and Shiraishi has the sense of humor to trigger laughter from the familiar, such as Sadako and Kayako's contorted gaits, influenced by kabuki and butoh.The problem with reviving Sadako in the digital age is that videos are now a rarer species than ghouls (let alone Pokemon monsters). But the film has found a solution by having college student Yuri (Mizuki Yamamoto) buy a VHS player from a second-hand shop to help classmate Natsumi (Aimi Satsukawa) transfer her parents' wedding video onto DVD. The girls find a videotape inside the player, with clumps of hair poking out. Still, Natsumi watches the video and gets the obligatory ringtone of doom, telling her she's got two days to live.Sadako and Kayoko participate in a bizarre first-pitch ceremony at the ballgameYuri consults her anthropology professor Morishige (Masahiro Komoto), who has written a book on urban legends. His elated reaction reveals he's been (literally) dying to meet Sadako. He eagerly asks Natsumi to pass him the video, then enlists the help of a weird Shinto priestess, Horyu. The resulting exorcism is pure farce, with Horyu soliciting donations for the temple even in the throes of a possession, while Morishage gushes with fanboy excitement. Shiraishi also gets comic mileage from Sadako's Rapunzel-like hair, which turns up just about everywhere in gross-out scenarios.The shenanigans are intercut with an adjacent, blander plot that involves high-school student Suzuka (Tina Tamashiro, "Chasuke's Journey"), who moves into a nondescript neighborhood with her parents. The house next door, whose gates are sealed by yellow duct tape, and which bears the sign "Entry Forbidden," piques her curiosity. She learns that it was the infamous home of Takeo Saeki, who murdered his wife Kayako (Rina Endo) and son Toshio (Rintaro Shibamoto). She becomes troubled by strange vibes, especially after a boy who's forced by school bullies to enter the house as a dare, goes missing. The haunted house sucks intruders into every available storage space, which isn't near as funny as it sounds, and doesn't lampoon the "Ju- on" template very well. Toshio, the ghost boy with heavy mascara, prances around, but his apparition is neither as creepy nor, in this film, as gag-worthy as Sadako.The parallel tales remain unrelated until a linking device finally arrives in the form of Kyozo (Masanobu Ando), an onmyoji (shaman), and his pint-sized sidekick — blind psychic Tamao (Maiko Kikuchi). Summoned by Horyu at the eleventh hour, the duo sense the house calling to Suzuka, and a plan is devised to cancel out all the protagonists' curses in one fell swoop. How Shiraishi contrives to bring the two grumpy fiends under one roof certainly takes some warped imagination, and the resulting rumble is supremely silly yet undeniably fun.The cast carries off the cheeky tone, and never takes itself seriously. Usually, J-horror is inundated with idols mugging fear with whiny voices and gormless stares, but Yamamoto, Satsukawa and Tamashiro display self-control and even a bit of welcome meanness. Ando, one- time soulful teen star of "Kids Return" (1996), hams it up big time. Endo's Kayako, who never makes a full appearance until the end, does so with grotesque aplomb.Tech credits are adequate in an average budget. Playing along with the retro feel, the visual effects remain low key till the finale, which boasts glossy-looking CGI.

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.

This movie is overloaded with cheap thrills,clichés ,had some bad dialogue and the ending was so silly. One really weird and crazy scene of the movie is when the two ghosts(this is a massive spoiler) merge together and start attacking the protagonist.The characters make all sorts of dumb decisions.A few scenes make you sigh as you know where they are going. The fight scene made the whole audience members laugh.But,the atmosphere was well done. The special effects were pretty good. Some of the scares were over-the-top and comical. In one scene, both of a woman's legs vanish without a trace,leaving her with two bloody stumps. That scene made many people burst into laughter.I felt a little bored at all the cheap thrills in the middle of the movie and was tempted to leave. Overall, it is a mediocre movie.