There are some franchises that just refuse to die no matter how many times they end up being given sequels, reboots, remakes, crossovers, spin-offs, video games, TV shows, and everything in between, for the sole reason that there’s clearly an audience out there ready to welcome new content. As a result, Sadako DX is almost certainly not the last we’ll see of the long-running Ringu series.
Kicking off with a made-for-television film that was remade as a feature, which then got a direct sequel and a Hollywood remake that got a sequel and eventually a reboot of its own, the fact the humble VHS has been obsolete for at least a decade and a half hasn’t done a damn thing to stop creatives from churning out fresh tales focusing on the infernal cursed videotape that simply won’t go away.
Sadako DX is itself the follow-up to Sadako, which in itself is only tangentially connected to Sadako 3D, Sadako 3D 2, and Sadako vs. Kayako, which marked The Ring‘s ultimate J-horror showdown when it cross-pollinated with The Grudge, to give you an indication of how convoluted things have become.
Fuka Koshiba stars as Ayaka Ichijo, a high school student who discovers her sister has seen the infamous tape the whole IP is predicated upon, with the new twist that it only takes 24 hours for the ominous entity to claim the life of the person who most recently laid eyes on it.
It’s not best The Ring has ever had to offer, nor is it the worst, but the fact FlixPatrol has named Sadako DX as the sixth most-watched title among Amazon subscribers around the world underlines that folks are going to keep checking them out regardless.