Ogawa Shinji was the production assistant for Ring 2 and the producer for Ring Ø. The following interview, which originally appeared in the deluxe movie guide The Sadako, has been translated from Japanese.

Spoiler warning!

Note that throughout the interview "Sadako A" is used to refer Nakama Yukie's character, while "Sadako B" references her dwarfish, evil twin.

Why did Shizuko go crazy?

As a matter of fact, screenwriter Takahashi Hiroshi had this idea for a scene involving the moment of Sadako’s separation: One stormy night, one of the maidservants from Yamamura Villa comes running up, calling for Yamamura Takashi and Ikuma Heihachiro. They return to the villa [Shizuko in tow], and when Shizuko sees that Sadako has split into two separate halves she becomes half-crazed on the spot. It was a great scene that just wasn’t possible because of budgetary concerns, and because it couldn’t fit into our 90 minute timeframe.

Who is Sadako’s real father?

The story that Sadako's old teacher Ms. Sudou told, about Sadako predicting those kids would drown in the sea, went a ways towards hinting at the identity of Sadako's father. Her father is that unknown presence that we call the sea. This also reinforces the message Shoumon bakkari shite iru to boukon ga kuru zo ("If you keep playing in the water, the monster will come for you") that came from the videotape in the first Ring.

Why did Sadako come back to life?

OK, the reason for her reviving after having been lynched is this: While Sadako B was physically confined to her lead room in Ikuma's house, her spirit had [left the room and] coiled itself around the Sadako played by Nakama Yukie. If the two Sadakos ever came in proximity of one another they would rejoin and become a being of terrible power. That's the reason for Ikuma's line when Miyaji and the members of the acting troupe show up on his doorstep: "My God, you didn’t bring Sadako here?!"

Ikuma was aware of what would happen, which is why he sent Sadako A to live in Tokyo and entrusted her to the care of Dr. Hisano, his former pupil. The Sadakos were originally two halves of the same whole, though, so even if they merged the personality of Sadako A would remain.

Will the mysteries [of these movies] remain mysteries, then?

There are clues inside the movies that shed some light on these mysteries, so we'd like for people to come up with their own interpretations. I don’t think movies that spell everything out for you are all that interesting. I mean, there's such a thing as "dream logic," isn't there? Even dreams where everything doesn't quite add up seem to make sense while you're inside the dream. We'd like for our audience to think in this same way.

Return