Japan’s most iconic ghost is set to come back to Japanese theaters. Sadako Yamamura, complete with her signature white dress and freakishly long hair, will be returning in the franchise’s latest film simply titled Sadako. A trailer was released just this week, which you can view below:
The film centers on psychologist Mayu Akikawa (Elaiza Ikeda) who is charged with observing a mysterious girl named Jinko (Himeka Himejima), whose presence sparks a series of inexplicable events in the hospital. Jinko has lost her memories and is taken in at the hospital Mayu works in under strict police custody. There is also Mayu’s younger brother Kazuma (Hiroya Shimizu) who is a Youtuber. He becomes involved with Sadako’s curse when, in an effort to drum up views for his channel, visited a burned-down building and catches the vengeful ghost herself in his camera.
The first movie adaptation of Koji Suzuki’s novel series Ringu was released in 1998. It has become a massive success since then, with Sadako becoming one of the most easily-recognizable horror genre characters of this generation. Ringu has spawned five films, a string of American remakes, and a crossover film with the Ju-on franchise Sadako vs Kayako. Ringu is also largely credited for the rise of the J-Horror genre, which resulted in other iconic Japanese horror films such as The Grudge and Dark Water.
Sadako is based on Koji Suzuki’s 2013 novel Tide, the sixth and latest installment in his Ringu novel series. It will be directed by Hideo Nakata, the director of the first two movies in the franchise. The movie is set for a May 24 release in Japan.
Source: Anime News Network