Rasen (1998)

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Aka. The Spiral

Director: Jôji Iida

Screenplay: Jôji Iida

Based on a novel by Kôji Suzuki

Cast: Hiroyuki Sanada as Ryûji Takayama; Kôichi Satô as Mitsuo Andô; Miki Nakatani as Mai Takano; Hinako Saeki as Sadako Yamamura; Shingo Tsurumi as Miyashita; Shigemitsu Ogi as Maekawa Keibuho

A Night of the Thousand Horror Movies #121

[Major Plot Spoilers Throughout for Rasen and Ringu]

Before Hideo Nakata followed up his legendary 1998 film Ringu with a 1999 sequel, there was an experiment in which the cinematic adaptations of Kôji Suzuki's novel Ringu and its sequel Rasen would be released theatrically on the same day. Nakata adapted the original book RIngu, creating a monumental film in Japanese horror that influenced how the country's horror cinema would be perceived as outside its country as well as inside it. The adaptation of Rasen was by Jôji Iida, director of Battle Heater (1990) and Another Heaven (2000) (reviewed HERE), was forgotten and proves to be a confusing creative decision in terms of an immediate sequel to the other. Drastically changes to Rasen's lore compared to Ringu's was likely why the experiment was ultimatelly doomed for one of the films, one hand not knowing what the other was doing in spite of sharing actors and the same production team. Nakata's own sequel, whilst involving a curious motif of water and Sadako inexplicably wanting to possess children, still felt like an actual sequel. Rasen's changes from the start of the series is the kind of birthing of a convoluted chronology that really takes some curious directions.

Cast members from the other film appears, noticeably Hiroyuki Sanada as Ryûji Takayama, the husband of the original film's heroine who has a major part of Rasen's plot despite being dead for most of it already. A friend of his from college days, pathologist Mitsuo Andō (Kôichi Satô), is the one who has to perform his autopsy and eventually gets dragged into the mystery of a cursed videotape when the cause of death is inexplicable. A suicidal figure already, grieving from the loss of his son at some point, Mitsuo immediately brings a different tone to the film in contrast to its "prequel", the heroine from the first completely written off in a fatal car crash and with Mai Takano boosted from a minor side character in Ringu to a major role, with Miki Nakatani playing her in both films, Mai formerly Ryûji's student and lover who now emotionally connects to Mitsuo due to the mystery they are involved with and also becoming lovers.

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And from here, the story of Rasen once it's set up immediately turns the film into both a curiosity but also a baffling concoction. The franchise, before it actually qualified as one, had already a fascinating through line because of the existence of Ring: Kanzenban (1995), a TV adaptation of Kôji Suzuki's work which Jôji Iida wrote the script for, already with its own drastic differences in tone and plot from the later films. In fact, arguably, its Hideo Nakata's own Ringu which has always been the odd one out as its left material (like Sadako being a hermaphrodite in the book) out of its own narrative, material drawn upon in other entries which complicates things greatly as it (and its American remake films) are the most popular of the whole franchise. With Rasen, being an immediate sequel to Ringu released at the same time in cinemas was where the issues start. If this had been Jôji Iida's own original story, or an alternative take on the material released later, it would've been helped it considerably. Ringu, whilst dressed in modern day dress involving videotapes and urban legends, was an old fashion ghost tale. Rasen in vast contrast switches genre and also rewrites key aspects of the original film, becoming contradictory as a result.

A large part of it actually qualifies as sci-fi horror, turning the curse abruptly from an actual hex to a virus which infects people digitally with real smallpox marks and wounds. As a result as well, the videotape which became a symbol within Ringu sadly becomes pointless to have, including the same footage from it briefly re-seen in this film, squandering its existence being making it an unnecessary plot object. As drastic as well is how Sadako is interpreted, making the experience of Ringu and Rasen being put together almost a great teaching tool of how directors can drastically change the tone of their material. Before Sadako was a ghastly figure only seen under lanky, black hair with jerky, Butoh-like movements. Here, Sadako is shown as a beautiful succubus like figure (played by Hinako Saeki) who forgoes her original pattern of cursing people with Mitsuo, immediately after he sees the contents of the tape curling out of the television on top of his, lovingly caressing him and licking his face erotically, with the plan in this plot for him to help her be reborn.

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Stepping away from its awkward connections to the original film, it has things to admire. There are still significant issues in terms of pace, Iida having a terrible tendency (as Another Heaven showed in its final scenes) for really bland dramatic scenes. Large portions of Rasen are slow in terms of having a mystery plot which feel unimportant, more so if you were one of the baffled patrons who went to see this immediately after Ringu. Ideas do stand out in terms of where the original lore could go, as there are alternative ways for the curse to infect people which predates Hideo Nakata's own sequel, including by sexual transmission in an unconventional plot point. When Rasen does get interesting as a whole is its final act, hence the huge spoiler warning at the top of the review if you haven't stopped reading already. A nihilistic one where Mitsuo actually helps Sadako for his own emotional gains, thus betraying humanity. The entire final sequence on a cold, disquieting beach actually redeems Rasen for some of its flaws for having a melancholic gut punch, an existential fall out which you get to see the best depictions of in a lot of Japanese horror. It sooths over the teething issues with what was frankly on odd endeavour, one which really in need of being its own film with no connective tissue. Instead Hideo Nakata made his own sequel to his Ringu, thus forcing Rasen to the tragic place of obscurity. In some ways it was understandable why, but at the same time it's a film for the Ringu series obsessive to witness. Certainly not the only time before and after where this franchise's timeline has lurches in unexpected directions. Even Hideo Nakata's own Ringu 2, as mentioned, had some peculiar creative decisions of its own so Rasen was merely one example of how horror sequels can do hundred and eighty degree spins in tone.

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