Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Some things I liked some I did not.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Hearing a story in their class, a group of students seek out a cursed videotape of urban legend and after finding themselves under its curse try to alleviate the danger by introducing another local urban legend to counteract the effects of the curse leading the entities to battle each other.This was quite an overall enjoyable if slightly flawed entry. One of the finest aspects of this one is the fact that it manages to incorporate both aspects of the franchises pretty neatly. The fact that this one takes the atmosphere of the cursed house, ably captured in the opening moments of the attack at the house followed by the appearance of the ghost behind her, coupled with the urban legends featuring the adventures of the bullies in the house where they each encounter spirit in fine scenes from the initial scenes of them egging the kid on to his game inside the house followed up by the relentless and efficient manner in which they take out both the bullies and their other victim while inside. It leaves a great impression with the ability to feature such a strong implication of the storyline into this one. However, it's the other storyline here that really manages to get a lot to enjoy with this one. Not only does the setup for requiring the outdated form of technology in today's modern society come off rather nicely, but the series of isolated scenes to showcase this while playing through the idea of killing off those associated with the cursed videotape. Those scenes are incredibly fun, from the series of flashes to the ghost coming up on them unaware to finding clumps of hair in their hands or falling on them from above which are somewhat shocking while getting this one set-up for the other great scenes that emerge from this storyline including the fantastic exorcism scenes that relate closer to mythology in their country than a tradition scene. There's a nice sense of respect and continuity offered in these scenes with getting both storylines somewhat setup for the big final confrontation which could've been highly enjoyable and really had a lot to like but was just a slight disappointment which is the first flaw here. Both sides could've had plenty of chances to showcase their skills but instead, it's quite a rushed and slightly underwhelming series of scenes that could've had them clashing more than what goes on here that gives this a quite shallow ending. Likewise, the other problem with this one is the fact that this one takes way too long to get going because it severely shortchanges the screentime of one of the franchises, featuring plenty of chances for one while not so much the other and it doesn't really give itself enough to condense the two settings which leaves it a little lopsided. Otherwise, there's not much else wrong here.Rated Unrated/R: Violence and Language.

If you were to encounter a film titled 'Sadako Vs Kayako', I imagine you'd expect much of the film to be a death match between two of Japan's most renowned ghouls. Sadly, these famed frighteners only appear in the same room together in the final few scenes, the lead up to their encounter been unnecessarily long-winded.The film centres on two story lines, which gradually intersect. The first involves Suzuka (Tina Tamashiro), who enlists the help of her friend, Yuri (Mizuki Yamamoto) to drag her parents wedding video into the 21st century as an anniversary gift. Purchasing a used VCR to do the job, Yuri finds a tape inside. Three guesses who this tape belongs to.Suzuka happens to watch the tape, only to discover she now has 48 hours to live, rather than the stereotypical 7 days. Considering Sadako Vs Kayako rarely takes the time to honour its inspired source material, it's occasionally difficult to trust the filmmakers with the product. In fact, watching the legends that have been created around these known ghosts get torn down in exchange for unappreciated thrills is almost as painful as watching the film itself.Worried for the sake of her friend, Yuri enlists the help of Shinichi (Masahiro Komoto), a professor infatuated with Japanese urban legends, his knowledge of Sadako's tape been of use. Like most secondary characters however, Shinichi's role is only to progress the narrative, the lacking depth applied to all characters largely resulting in conversations that are plastic and one dimensional.If the film is hard to swallow before the arrival of natural exorcist Koyozo (Masanobu Ando), who can terrify away ghosts with a snap of his finger, and his young accomplice, the blind Tamao (Mai Kikuchi), the feature is incredibly difficult to digest after. Both look to be cosplayers who happened to step onto the set by accident, their total lack of empathy only making it more difficult to accept them as characters. Through Shinichi, Yuri is introduced to Koyozo, who is heralded as the last hope she has to save her friend.The second narrative taking place, which is only occasionally glimpsed, revolves around Natsumi (Aaimi Satsukawa), who happens to move in next door to Kayako, the deathly house frequently calling out to her.It is Sadako however that steals the show most of all, her silent, shambling movements constantly giving me goose bumps. When the feature embraces the subtlety of the horror franchises it is adopting, Sadako Vs Kayako works effectively, the ambiance evoking a sense of dread. Unfortunately, the feature typically opts for in-your-face violence, which is seldom scary or entertaining.Unlike Freddy Vs Jason before it which revelled in the homicidal bloodlust of its antagonists, Sadako Vs Kayako revels in its own absurdity. Though I am a fan of Ju-On and Ringu, I can't deny both franchises have overstayed their welcome, becoming mere shadows of what they once were, the filmmakers possibly aware of this, considering at times the feature appears to be making a joke at its own expense, resulting in a series of cheesy moments.Considering the number of unanswered questions which still exist as the credits roll, Sadako Vs Kyoko feels more like a television pilot than a complete film. Whether a sequel will answer these is anyone's guess. As for who wins the fight – you'll have to watch to find out...

So the Ring versus the Grudge? It may sound insane - well to be honest it kind of is. And the makers of this knew exactly that this was just too weird. And that's why this is not just horror, but also comedy. And it's intentional for sure. Of course that means that purists, who like their horror straight will have issues with the movie. But if you don't mind the fun stuff in between, dive into this.It's a weird experience and while it's not really necessary to have seen all the other movies that came before this, a little bit of knowledge will help you enjoy this a bit more. It does seem a bit muddled and you may lose track of certain things, what with this combining "myths" and all. But just the fact they did this is great. It's really a fun movie overall

So I finally got a chance to go and see this movie. I just want to say that I have always loved the Ring franchise, even the American version, and the Grudge franchise. I was so excited to hear that they were making a crossover 'versus' movie involving Kayako and Sadako. Unfortunately, this movie killed my hype and I have been very disappointed.The plot is actually very simple and exactly what the title says. A young Japanese woman watches the tape of Sadako and has a few days left to live. In order to prevent herself from dying, she takes the tape to the house of Kayako's. On the day Sadako is released from the tape, the two vengeful spirits will face off.In case you don't know who they both are, Sadako is from the Ring franchise. She is a cursed spirit who haunts a video tape and kills anybody who watches it in seven days, which is how long she was in the well and how long she survived for. Kayako is a deadly spirit who was in love with this guy and was murdered by her husband, who, in a fit of anger and sorrow, got her neck snapped and only allows her to growl. Her son also got killed by drowning by his own father for witnessing the murder and the two now haunt the house and kills whoever enters it. My thoughts on the movie was that it was bad writing and the script was awful. I only give it two points for the great effects and 1 point for the crossover idea. My suggestion, watch it when you have absolutely nothing else better to do.