A new chapter in The Ring franchise is on the way as the first posters and teaser for Sadako are here. The title of this latest movie refers to the franchise's iconic, long-haired creepy well-dwelling figure, Sadako Yamamura. This marks her return following 2016's Sadako vs. Kayako, which saw The Ring and The Grudge franchises crossing over. This time around, it looks like she's going to be back up to her old tricks.
The teaser is very brief, but effectively creepy. It takes the found footage approach and sees someone with a handheld camera walking around in a dark, dank and spooky cave. They eventually come upon a small pocket of water and then the footage cuts to some familiar imagery to those who have dabbled with either the American or the Japanese version of the franchise. Viewers are then directed to a Japanese website for the movie before an unsettling chorus of oddly poppy voices chime in.
Sadako centers on Mayu Akigawa (Elaiza Ikeda), a psychology counselor who gets involved in an incident with Yusuke Ishida (Takashi Tsukamoto). Mayu's younger broker Kazuma Akigawa (Hiroya Shimizu), meanwhile, becomes a YouTuber to try and awaken Sadako's curse. Based on what we see in the teaser, it looks like he does a fine job with that. Jinko (Himeka Himejima), also has a part to play as a mysterious girl who lost her memory and is taken in at the hospital Mayu works at. Renn Kiriyama also stars as Mayu's colleague Minori Fujii.
This entire franchise is based on Koji Suzuki's Ring novel series, which initially kicked off in 1991. Since then, it's blossomed to include six novels, eight Japanese movies, three American movies and two TV shows, to go along with several other international remakes, video games and manga adaptations. The most recent American entry was 2017's Rings, which had a long, troubled production and ultimately arrived with something of a thud when it was finally released. The movies, and most of the material, revolve around a videotape that kills anyone who watches it seven days later. As far as the movies go, the first Japanese entry, Ringu, was released in 1998 and helped birth the American fondness for Japanese horror, which was a major staple in the early 2000s. The American remake The Ring was released in 2002 and went on to become a huge hit.
The first poster features a familiar image, with some long black hair trailing out of a dark well, signaling the arrival of the titular horror icon. The second sees our protagonist sensing that something, or someone, is behind her and, unfortunately for her, she's right. Sadako is set to hit theaters in Japan on May 24. There is no word currently on an American release, but it will surely make its way stateside at some point, be it as a limited theatrical release or via a streaming service. Be sure to check out the teaser and poster from the official Sadako Twitter account below.
