is a 1998 Japanese film. It is a sequel to the 1998 film ''
Ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
''. It is directed by
Jōji Iida and is based on
the novel of the same title by
Koji Suzuki
is a Japanese writer, who was born in Hamamatsu and lives in Tokyo. Suzuki is the author of the ''Ring'' novels, which have been adapted into other formats, including films, manga, TV series and video games. He has written several books on th ...
. It is titled ''The Spiral'' (stylized as ''the Spiral'') in English on the Japanese poster and video packaging, and it was previously released in North America as ''Rasen'' (a transliteration of the Japanese title) and in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Philippines as ''The Spiral''.
''Ring'' and its sequel ''Spiral'' were released in Japan at the same time. The studio hoped this would increase revenues, because the ''Ring'' story was already a successful novel and television film. The two films shared a few cast members and had the same production team, but different directors and screenwriters; ''Spiral'' was written and directed by Jōji Iida whereas ''Ring'' was written by Hiroshi Takahashi and directed by Hideo Nakata. After their release, ''Ring'' became an enormous success while ''Spiral'' floundered, quickly becoming the "forgotten sequel".
Takahashi and Nakata were later recruited to produce another sequel, ''
Ring 2
is a 1999 Japanese supernatural horror film, directed by Hideo Nakata and serves as a sequel to '' Ring''.
''Ring'' was originally a novel written by Koji Suzuki; its sequel, ''Rasen'' (a.k.a. ''Spiral''), was also adapted into a film as the ...
'', which replaced ''Spiral'' as the sequel to ''Ring'', not based on Suzuki's works, and thus ultimately ignores the story of ''Spiral''.
Plot
Following the events of ''Ring'', the body of
Ryūji Takayama, former husband of
Reiko Asakawa
This article lists the characters who have appeared in the Japanese ''Ring'' films, based on a series of novels written by Koji Suzuki. The series is made up of ''Ring'', '' Rasen'', ''Ring 2'', '' Ring 0: Birthday'' and ''Sadako 3D''. The films ...
and father of
Yōichi Asakawa, is examined by his friend and rival, pathologist Mitsuo Andō. After he finds a cryptic note in Takayama's stomach, Reiko and Yōichi also turn up dead. Andō soon learns of a mysterious cursed videotape, haunted by the spirit of a murdered young woman. Rumor has it that anyone who watches the video will die exactly one week later. Despondent over the death of his own child, and believing that he is being guided by his rival's ghost, Andō decides to see the video for himself. After watching the tape, strange things begin to happen around him, and he soon discovers that the tape's
restless spirit
In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crem ...
has different plans in store for him.
With the help of Takayama's student, Mai Takano, Andō finds out more about Ryūji's past as well as the mysterious young woman,
Sadako Yamamura
, also known as Park Eun-suh () and Samara Morgan, is the main antagonist of Koji Suzuki's ''Ring'' novel series and the film franchise of the same name. Sadako's fictional history alternates between continuities, but all depict her as the ven ...
. Searching for the truth about why Ryūji and Yōichi died from the virus while Reiko did not leads him to her boss Yoshino. Yoshino lets Andō in on a secret: he has the wife's diary. She and Ryūji had been researching the cursed videotape. While Reiko had broken the curse, Ryūji died a week after watching the tape. Reiko believed that creating a copy would break the curse, but Yōichi died a week after watching the tape, just as his father had. Yoshino shows Andō both the tape and the diary.
When Andō tells Mai Takano what he has done, she is shocked and cannot understand why, since she felt from the start that it was the video that killed Takayama and his family. As they are talking, Yoshino calls Andō. He admits that he wishes that he had never been involved in Reiko's business. Andō believes that Yoshino had watched the video, but he denies it, saying that he was too scared to. However, Yoshino still dies.
Andō decides to destroy the videotapes and make sure that he will be the video's last victim. He then confides in Mai about his son's death, and they end up sleeping together. Andō asks Mai if she will be there with him when he dies, but Mai tells him that she is too scared. He understands and decides to try to find out more about the virus that killed Takayama and his son. He discovers that the virus that killed Yoshino was different from the one that killed the father and son. Andō asks for tests to be run on him.
Meanwhile, Mai Takano goes missing and Andō apparently survives the curse. He starts to feel that the story was just a myth and he is relieved when Mai turns up, but is shocked to find out that she has been found dead, having given birth with no sign of a baby. Andō goes back to work and sees "Mai" there and finds out that she is none other than Sadako Yamamura, reborn and claiming to be "perfectly dual-gendered". He then learns that Takayama was not helping Andō ''stop'' Sadako – instead, he was ''helping'' Sadako. Yoshino, Andō's friend Miyashita and many others were not killed by a virus or the video, but rather Reiko's diary. Sadako promises to help resurrect Andō's son in exchange for his help.
In the end, Andō brings Takayama and his son back to life with help from Sadako. Just as Ryūji leaves, he tells Andō: "Many years will pass before our world will be at peace".
Cast
*
Kōichi Satō as Mitsuo Andō
*
Miki Nakatani
is a Japanese actress and singer. She began her career as a member of the girl group Sakurakko Club from 1991 to 1993, wherein she formed the duo Key West Club with member Keiko Azuma.
Nakatani focused on acting after her departure, making he ...
as Mai Takano
*
Hinako Saeki
is a Japanese actress who was born on February 16, 1977 in Nara, Japan. Probably her best-known role was as Sadako Yamamura in '' Rasen'', the 1998 sequel to the horror film ''Ring''.
She has also appeared in a handful of other popular Japanese ...
as
Sadako Yamamura
, also known as Park Eun-suh () and Samara Morgan, is the main antagonist of Koji Suzuki's ''Ring'' novel series and the film franchise of the same name. Sadako's fictional history alternates between continuities, but all depict her as the ven ...
*
Shingo Tsurumi
is a Japanese actor.
Career
Shingo Tsurumi has appeared in the films such as Katsuhito Ishii's '' Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl'', Hideo Nakata's '' L: Change the World'', and Tak Sakaguchi's ''Yakuza Weapon''.
Filmography
Films
* ''Tonda ...
as Miyashita
*Shigemitsu Ogi as Maekawa Keibuho
*
Yutaka Matsushige
is a Japanese actor.
Career
Matsushige has appeared in the films such as '' EM Embalming'', ''Adrenaline Drive'', ''Last Life in the Universe'', and ''Outrage Beyond''.
He won the award for best supporting actor at the 31st Yokohama Film Festi ...
as Yoshino
*
Daisuke Ban
, born , is a Japanese actor. He was born on May 5, 1947 in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo. He is best known for portraying several heroic roles in tokusatsu, including Jiro in '' Android Kikaider'' and Goro Watari in ''Inazuman''.
Life
Ban ...
as Heihachiro Ikuma
*Naoaki Manabe as Kobayashi
*
Hiroyuki Sanada
is a Japanese actor and martial artist. He is best known to international audiences for his roles as Genbu in ''Ninja in the Dragon's Den'' (1982), Ryuji Takayama in '' Ring'' (1998), Seibei Iguchi in ''The Twilight Samurai'' (2002), Ujio in ' ...
as
Ryūji Takayama
Release
''Spiral'' was released theatrically in Japan on January 31, 1998 where it was distributed by
Toho
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
. In the Philippines, the film was given a limited release as ''The Spiral'' on February 25, 2004.
The film was released directly to DVD by
DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to:
* DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin
** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio
** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...
in the United States on August 23, 2005, under the transliterated title ''Rasen''.
It was released in high definition on
Blu-ray Disc and
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland by
Arrow Films
Arrow Films is a British independent film distributor and restorer specialising in world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films. It sells Ultra HD Blu-rays, Blu-rays and DVDs online, and also operates its own subscription video on-d ...
under their Arrow Video imprint, under the title ''Spiral''.
''Spiral'' was also included in Arrow Video's ''Ring Collection'' Blu-ray box set.
[https://www.arrowfilms.com/blu-ray/the-ring-collection/12182614.html]
See also
*
List of Japanese films of 1998
Highest-grossing films
List of films
A list of films released in Japan in 1998 (see 1998 in film).
See also
* 1998 in Japan
* 1998 in Japanese television
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
Japanese films of 1998at t ...
*
List of horror films of 1998
A list of horror films released in 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidenc ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{The Ring
1998 films
1990s Japanese-language films
1998 horror films
Films scored by Yoshihiro Ike
Japanese ghost films
Japanese horror films
Japanese sequel films
Japanese supernatural horror films
The Ring (franchise)
Toho films
1990s Japanese films