ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - June 18th
"SADAKO VS. KAYAKO" premieres in 2016 (Today!)
Japanese films are no stranger to movie crossovers, what with their reputation for Kaiju mashups, King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), and almost every film (other than the first film) in the Gamera franchise! Now they bring the ultimate Onryō match-up with two of J-horror's most frightening cinematic horror icons - Sadako Yamamura (Ringu/The Ring) and Kayako Saeki (Ju-On/The Grudge) together for the first time!
A university student Yuri Kurahashi (Mizuki Yamamoto) watches the cursed video with her friend, and both are doomed to die within two days under Sadako Yamamura’s curse; meanwhile, a high school girl Suzuka Takagi (Tina Tamashiro) feels inexplicably drawn towards the Saeki house and thus steps into the bounds of Kayako Saeki’s curse. The two girls later meet through a psychic Keizo Tokiwa (Masanobu Ando), who has a crazy plan to expunge both curses by pitting the two evil spirits against each other!
Watch the Sadako vs. Kayako Trailer!
The film was first teased as an April Fools' joke on April 1, 2015, but was later confirmed in December to be a real production; being the 12th film in both franchises. Veteran J-horror director Kōji Shiraishi (The Curse and the Teketeke films) was tapped to direct, with filming beginning early in 2016. Despite a rumor about Takako Fuji reprising her role as Kayako in this crossover, the actress stated several times on Twitter that she was not playing this representation of the character. Masaki Saisho, who played Kayako in Ju-on : Beginning of the End and Ju-on : The Final Curse, is not appearing in the film either, making the actress playing Kayako in Sadako vs Kayako the fourth one to do so (counting Aiko Horiuchi who starred in The Grudge 3).
Promotions for Sadako vs. Kayako have been primarily targetted at social media: on Twitter, users can vote for either Sadako or Kayako as their favorite horror icon; two videos, one for Sadako and one for Kayako and Toshio, were uploaded on Youtube also to appeal to the voters; and in June, a baseball match featuring the Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Yakult Swallows was interrupted by Sadako, Kayako and Toshio who staged the first pit ceremony!
While no announcement has been made about a possible western release, IHdb will be waiting less-than-patiently for the Bluray/DVD to be launched!
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