The Spiral
George Iida, 1998,
In this Ringu sequel, which was released at the same time as the first film, almost every noteworthy survivor of the previous installment is killed off pretty much right away, and we soon start to learn that the series’s cursed-videotape shtick is a lot more complicated than everyone thought. The nature of that complication is revealed, as Hemingway would say, gradually, then suddenly, and I won’t spoil the cuckoo left turn it takes in the final act, but I will tell you that it is profoundly stupid. Such a turn is hardly disqualifying on its face; many a lowly genre film has crafted a delightfully gonzo spectacle from utter nonsense. But not this one. Any remotely interesting visual potential its ridiculous denouement may have had is completely ignored in favor of a multipage supervillain monologue.
The Spiral was a critical and commercial disappointment, and it was retconned a year later by Ringu 2, but apparently The Spiral’s side of the story amassed enough supporters to eventually continue in several Sadako 3D films years later. That’s an audience I don’t expect to join. For better or worse, I’ll see my compulsive streak through with Ringu 2 and the prequel Ringu 0, but I think that’ll be the end of the Ringu road for me.
