Don’t think that it’s just Hollywood studios who think that 3D is a way to add to a film’s box office take. Japanese studios are are starting to think that way too.
It has been announced that a new installment of the horror franchise Ringu, remade as The Ring series by Hollywood, will be given the 3D treatment. It will be titled Sadako 3D, after the villain of the franchise. There has been no word on any cast or crew having been hired for the film yet.
Based on a Japanese novel by Koji Suzuki, Ringu centered on a cursed video tape that, after being watched, will cause the viewer to die within a week. A huge hit for director Hideo Nakata, the film spawned two Japanese sequels and a prequel and a Korean remake in addition to the American remake and a sequel. It is also responsible for sparking a wave of creepy, atmospheric horror films in Japan and a wave of slightly watered-down, not as good English language remakes from Hollywood. Nakata would go on to direct the first Ringu sequel as well and the English language The Ring 2 as well as the original Japanese version of Dark Water.
Given that some of the original film’s creepiest imagery centers on Sadako crawling out of a television picture into the real world, a 3D version of the story certainly seems like a natural idea. I have to admit that after a while I had gotten a bit burned out on the J-horror cycle and even more quickly burned out on the cycle of sub-standard English remakes. But I think enough time has passed that anyone who felt likewise might be willing to give a new film like this a chance. The only problem is that I don’t really see this getting a big theatrical distribution in the United States, so only a fraction of fans of the Japanese franchise might get to see it on the big screen.
Last April, Paramount announced plans to create a 3D installment for the English Ring franchise though there has been no further news on the project.
Via Bleeding Cool.
