It was just over a week ago that I found myself writing with excitement about an upcoming installment into the long-running “Ring” or “Sadako” series of films, and this week we’re already seeing an all-new trailer. Uploaded to Kadokawa Movies’ official YouTube channel, the latest trailer gives us a better glimpse into just how services like YouTube will be used to further distribute the curse of Sadako in this social media age.
Set to crawl into theaters across Japan on May 24, 2019, the upcoming film is already seemingly making a number of well-placed moves including the inclusion of the original 1998 film’s director, Hideo Nakata. Overall the trailer paints a super solid moment of what could be, and even though it’s extremely difficult to replicate the actual horror-factor of a film’s scene, I’m pretty excited to see the moments that define the shots shown.
While the last trailer we saw only showed us a snippet of the film’s theme song, a rearrangement of the 1998 film’s theme song “feels like ‘HEAVEN’”, it’s hard to say the new version has the same impact. We got a bit more of a listen towards the end of this trailer, and there’s just a certain raspiness to the vocalist’s tone that feels more pop than it does horror, ultimately dragging you away from what could have been a better trailer otherwise.
That all being said, the trailer does highlight some solid moments, opening up with a YouTube clip uploaded by the protagonist Mayu Akigawa’s younger brother, Kazuma Akigawa. It’s in this clip where her brother can be seen exploring a burnt down apartment complex before discovering Sadako amongst the ruin.
Set to release in theaters across Japan on May 24, those interested in checking out further information on the upcoming Sadako film can head over to its official website.