They're still making Ringu? Wow. The original film came out in 1995 (and the novels in 1991) and this is the franchise's sixteenth screen instalment, including Japanese, English and Korean. (Also, that total excludes rip-offs like Hikiko-san vs. Sadako, although Sadako vs. Kayako is an official franchise instalment. It's also good fun.) Anyway, this one's interesting, because:

1. It's directed by Hideo Nakata, who directed the original (and others).

2. It's one of the good ones. The best Ringu sequels, for me, are the ones that humanise Sadako. I like Ringu 0: Birthday (a prequel in which she's not dead yet), while this film does something not dissimilar. Sadako's been reincarnated. Possibly. Perhaps. There are unclear subtleties in the relationship between living-Sadako and undead-Sadako. The latter's still a long-haired J-horror ghost who climbs out of televisions and attacks people who watch pirated videos. The former, though, is a little girl. Her psychic mother understood what she was and kept her locked in a closet surrounded by magical seals... which sounds like a suicidal mistake to me. Personally, if I thought my daughter was the reincarnation of a J-horror ghost, I'd treat her like glass and try to give her absolutely no reason to dislike me. Not this lady. Whoops. Result: five people dead and the now-orphaned daughter being sent to a psychiatric hospital, with strong interest from the police.

However, she's not just Damien from The Omen. She's bad at getting on with people, but it's possible to earn her trust. Anyone who dies in this film has usually done something she doesn't like, although it's not quite that simple. She's protective. Underneath, she's a sympathetic girl with a horrible upbringing. Besides, the original Sadako was a child who'd been abandoned by her mother (through suicide). Abandoned children are what this film's about.

The Ringu videos have been updated. Our heroine, Mayu Akikawa (played by Elaiza Ikeda), has an idiot brother who wants to be a YouTuber and has quit his computer programming training course to follow his dream. (His sister had already paid his fees.) You'll have no patience for him... until later we learn something that sheds new light on his desire to entertain. Nonetheless, the video he shoots in that burnt out Sadako-apartment after five deaths is certainly: (a) exploring new frontiers of bad taste, (b) suicidal, and (c) the heart of this film. I also like the movie's exploration of different kinds of video. It made me nervous about dumb YouTubers, for instance. "This video is unavailable."

This film is more empathic and restrained than I'd been expecting. People have complained that it's not scary, which to be honest is a fair criticism. It's relatively understated as horror and has the lowest body count of any Ringu movie. It's not heading for an apocalypse or anything. Personally, though, I liked it and I'd be interested in a sequel that continued the story of this little, living Sadako. That probably won't happen, mind you. Ringu sequels often ignore each other and the next one in 2022 will in my opinion have killed the franchise. But never mind. I enjoyed this one, anyway.