Rasen (Theatrical) - 1998. 98 minutes.

DIRECTOR: Iida Joji. SCREENPLAY: Iida Joji.

In an unusual move, Asmik Ace Entertainment hired two separate crews to produce Ring and its sequel Rasen, and then released both films simultaneously. The thinking was that if audiences enjoyed one movie, they would watch the other to see how the stories interconnected. Whereas people flocked to see Ring, however, Rasen quickly faded to become the black sheep of the series.

This film is a tough one to love. For years, my review described it as "a merciless 98 minutes of wooden characters and tepid dialogue," an opinion formulated after no less than three viewings. But something happened recently, when I was working on the subtitles for the film: I discovered that Rasen actually has some things to offer.

First thing's first, though: as with Ring Ø, watching Rasen means having to forget the "feel" of its predecessor. Directorially speaking, Nakata and Iida have completely different styles; whereas Nakata puts both color and camera angle to good use, Iida prefers a much more minimalist approach. Colors are drained, and some shots continue for minutes on end with nothing more than a slow pan to break the monotony. Add to this the fact that Rasen (in keeping true to the novel) stresses the scientific far more than the supernatural and it's little wonder that the film has been lambasted by those enamored with Nakata's vision of techno-horror.

Rasen is a virtual exercise in minimalism, which means you'll really have to dig for your enjoyment. But it's there, if you have the patience to look for it. Sato Koichi (protagonist Ando Mitsuo) seems to actually improve his acting as the film moves along. Earlier scenes showing him suicidal but too afraid to die merely ring hollow, while later snippets of him standing on the shoreline sobbing are quite emotionally powerful. About three-quarters into the movie, Sato's performance suddenly takes a rather maudlin turn, but this can be chalked up to an unfortunate deviation from the novel's storyline rather than a breakdown of his acting chops.

Then there's Miyashita, played by Tsurumi Shingo. The man has phenomenal talent and is sadly under-recognized, as are most character actors. Watching Miyashita and Ando together, you can believe that we're seeing longtime friends interact and joke with one another. Toward the end of the movie, Tsurumi gets to show off some of his more serious acting skills, and I was impressed with the consistent level of plausibility he gave to his performance.

The other thing that's good about the film is Saeki Hinako. Her persona of the wicked, grinning seductress has far too little screen time. She is Sadako.

Still, my opinion on one thing regarding Rasen remains unchanged: Ando Mitsuo and Takano Mai (Nakatani Miki) do not a good onscreen couple make. Nakatani spends much of their time together looking thoroughly bored, and only really comes alive toward the end of the movie (when her character undergoes a dramatic change -- see the spoiler section below). Aside from this brief respite, her entire repertoire consists of being doe-eyed and pouty. She spends so much time looking at the ground, you'll start wondering if that's where George Clooney gets his acting style.

So, in a nutshell, what is Rasen? If Nakata Hideo's Ring is a classic Twilight Zone that ends with a bang, Iida's Rasen is a Tales from the Darkside that just sort of...ends. It has a story to tell, and it's a shame it wasn't done with more care to the source material (see below). But after years of lashing out at the film, I've come to realize that even Rasen has something to offer: for all its flaws, it's an attempt at a fairly faithful adaptation of author Suzuki Koji's work, and a glimpse of the Ring franchise that could have been.

2 stars.

Cast - ANDO MITSUO: Sato Koichi. MIYASHITA: Tsurumi Shingo. TAKANO MAI: Nakatani Miki. TAKAYAMA RYUJI: Sanada Hiroyuki. YAMAMURA SADAKO: Saeki Hinako.

Story - Pathologist Ando Mitsuo is shocked to learn that the latest body on his cutting table is Takayama Ryuji, his classmate from medical school. He is even more shocked when he discovers a suspicious-looking tumor in Ryuji's neck, as well as a message written in code sitting undigested in his stomach. As Ando and his partner Miyashita look for clues regarding Takayama's death, they learn that four teens had recently died under suspicious circumstances, and that the bodies of both the teens and Takayama Ryuji contain the same unusual virus. The virus would seem the obvious cause of death, but then a reporter named Yoshino shows up with information about a girl named Yamamura Sadako, and a videotape that supposedly kills its viewers. Ando watches the tape for himself, suddenly facing the very real threat that the long-dead Sadako still poses...and he must wrestle with a decision that could usher in humanity's extinction.

Spoilers!

OK, let's backtrack a little. If you've read the FAQ you know the real story behind the videotape, namely that the above-mentioned virus is in fact 7 parts smallpox, 3 parts DNA -- Sadako's DNA. Thus, a successful "impregnation" at the hands of the virus results in the death of the host and the birth of a duplicate Sadako.

You should also know that in Rasen, Takano Mai is the first victim to successfully give birth to Sadako in this way. This being said, my question to director Iida is why on God's green Earth does the Sadako born of Takano Mai look like Mai?! If the body of the host acts as an incubator, with no genetic material added to the Sadako embryo, it just makes no damn sense. Unfortunately, the idea of duplicate Sadakos being born looking like their hosts was also used in the Rasen TV series.

The novelized Rasen is an intelligent medical thriller that both explains and expounds upon the supernatural aspects of the Ring, making it all the more unfortunate that Iida chose to tamper with so many of the scientific aspects of the story. The manga version of Rasen, however, is simply outstanding, and is an excellent companion piece to the movies. Be sure to check out our exclusive translation of this manga, available here.

Trivia - Rasen is also known as Spiral, its literal translation into English, and in Taiwan as Seven Nights' Strange Talk 2. It is sometimes confusingly referred to as Ring 2.

More trivia - Look out for the scene where Ando goes to the amusement park and sees a smiling father riding a mini-train along with his wife and daughter. This would be none other than Ring author Suzuki Koji.

Special thanks to Far East DVD for providing me with an excellent copy of the Rasen DVD.