New Flix: Sadako vs. Kayako (2016)

After a number of 'VS' Films from Japan involving giant Monsters, how about some smaller and scarier ones?

In a Cold Open, a Lady goes to check on an older woman gone missing.  In a bit of misdirection, she's not in 'The Grudge' House, she has someone else waiting for her...

Now it seems that the infamous Curse Video is just an Urban Legend, despite all of those deaths in the other Films and it going online in the last 2 Films.

Continuity is hard.

In the B-Plot, a young woman and her family move into a new Home- the 'you'll die if you live there' home.

After more than 5 Films, why is it still on the Market?!?

In the main Plot, the Tape migrates from one House to another as our Heroines buy a VCR to help convert a Parent's Wedding Tape to DVD...only to find the Tape in it.

At this point, I would just like to point out that most VCR-DVD Recorder Combos are cheap and usually made in and around Japan.

As things get worse and worse (including random kid deaths!), fate (and some Psychics) bring the two Heroines together (eventually!).  What can they do?

Set up a conflict between the two titular Spirits, of course!  Who will win?  Who will die?

To find out, watch the Movie.  It only came out in June, so I'm not going to SPOIL more.

The Surprisingly-Straight Story.  After about 11 Films, where do you go with these Franchises?  You've already killed countless teens, taken over the World (in Rasen) and threatened the end of the World (Ju-On: The Final Curse).  Fun Fact: I got a Japanese DVD of Ringu (which works in Region 1 Players!) for $1 from a Thrift Store in Tampa.  Unrelated, but fun.  In any event, the actual Story for getting the two together is a bit strange.  The Tape somehow migrated to the same Town/Prefecture as the one in Ju-On/The Grudge.  The Tape now kills you in 2 days, not 7.  The whole 'Pass the Tape on to escape the Curse' thing is now just a 'Myth,' despite it working in previous Films.  The Tape needs to be leaked online (but going nowhere with it yet), despite already being online in a previous Film.  There are two notable things to address here.  One- the disconnect.  For the most part, you will get a Scene of the Ju-On Story and then one of the Ringu Story- although the ratio tends to favor the latter as far as volume is concerned.  While they eventually connect, this is dangerously-close to Godfrey Ho-levels of sewing a Film together.  Second- the pay-off.  While I obviously won't SPOIL the Ending or where it goes, I will say that the titular conflict is minimal at best.  Even in Freddy vs. Jason, they had conflicts before the fight at Crystal Lake!  In this one, it is only at the end.  It has some good, fun moments to it, but makes the whole Film feel like a tease.  All in all, Sadako vs. Kayako is a good Film...or at least 2 pretty good Films that come together at the end.  My favorite part: the possessed lady who somehow snapped her naked BACKWARDS.  Science!

Pretty by-the-numbers stuff that can't quite live up to the Title.  If you're a fan of either Franchise, however, you won't be disappointed.