Sadako 3D (2012)
Brief review: Do you remember Gore Verbinski's horror masterpiece "The Ring", and the equally as sinister original Japanese version it was based on, called "Ringu"? Well, Tsutomu Hanabusa's "Sadako 3D" is sort of a sequel to the latter, but sadly, an unnecessary and terrible one. Although it wears the title of "Ringu"'s central character, this film reveals absolutely nothing about the origin of Sadako - there's no back story, no proper explanation, nothing... just a dumb, heavily contrived plot that makes no sense at all, and tons of cheesy CGIs. It plays more like an "updated" version of "Ringu" rather than trying to be creative, and bring something new to the table. And no more TVs and VHSs, guys! Sadako is more contemporary now, and she comes out of LCD monitors, plasma screens and iPhones. Sure, over the last ten years, technology has developed tremendously, so this "update" is understandable, but the whole 'cursed video' story got lamer and way less effective. Having said that, the worst thing about "Sadako 3D" is not the flat storyline, or that the film is lacking in scares big time, but the fact that the creators dared to destroy arguable the creepiest character in history of horror, by taking away all of the skin-crawling creepiness out of Sadako, and presenting her as your average ghost seeking for revenge. Hanabusa's direction is amateurish at best, the cinematography is bland, and that combined with the lame, made-for-3D special effects gives the film a dull look.
Overall summary: Daft, contrived, sensationally un-scary, but above all completely unnecessary, "Sadako 3D" is J-horror at its worst, not only because of its ridiculously cheap execution, but mainly because it ruins one of the creepiest characters ever, and makes it look lame.
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