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Spiral (1998 film)

January 04, 2023

This article is about the 1998 Japanese horror film. For other films and definitions, see Spiral (disambiguation).

Spiral (らせん, Rasen) is a 1998 Japanese film. It is a sequel to the 1998 film Ring. It is directed by Jōji Iida and is based on the novel of the same title by Koji Suzuki. It is titled The Spiral (stylized as the Spiral) in English on the Japanese poster and video packaging, and it was previously released in North America as Rasen (a transliteration of the Japanese title) and in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Philippines as The Spiral.[2]

Spiral
Japaneseらせん
HepburnRasen
Directed byGeorge Iida
Screenplay byGeorge Iida[1]
Based onSpiral
by Koji Suzuki
Produced by
  • Takashige Ichise
  • Shinya Kawai
  • Takenori Sento[1]
Starring
CinematographyMakoto Watanabe[1]
Edited byHirohide Abe[1]
Music byLa Finca[1]
Production
company
Ring/Spiral Production Committee Production[1]
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • January 31, 1998 (1998-01-31) (Japan)
Running time
98 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Ring and its sequel Spiral were released in Japan at the same time. The studio hoped this would increase revenues, because the Ring story was already a successful novel and television film. The two films shared a few cast members and had the same production team, but different directors and screenwriters; Spiral was written and directed by Jōji Iida whereas Ring was written by Hiroshi Takahashi and directed by Hideo Nakata. After their release, Ring became an enormous success while Spiral floundered, quickly becoming the "forgotten sequel".

Takahashi and Nakata were later recruited to produce another sequel, Ring 2, which replaced Spiral as the sequel to Ring, not based on Suzuki's works, and thus ultimately ignores the story of Spiral.

Plot

Following the events of Ring, the body of Ryūji Takayama, former husband of Reiko Asakawa and father of Yōichi Asakawa, is examined by his friend and rival, pathologist Mitsuo Andō. After he finds a cryptic note in Takayama's stomach, Reiko and Yōichi also turn up dead. Andō soon learns of a mysterious cursed videotape, haunted by the spirit of a murdered young woman. Rumor has it that anyone who watches the video will die exactly one week later. Despondent over the death of his own child, and believing that he is being guided by his rival's ghost, Andō decides to see the video for himself. After watching the tape, strange things begin to happen around him, and he soon discovers that the tape's restless spirit has different plans in store for him.

With the help of Takayama's student, Mai Takano, Andō finds out more about Ryūji's past as well as the mysterious young woman, Sadako Yamamura. Searching for the truth about why Ryūji and Yōichi died from the virus while Reiko did not leads him to her boss Yoshino. Yoshino lets Andō in on a secret: he has the wife's diary. She and Ryūji had been researching the cursed videotape. While Reiko had broken the curse, Ryūji died a week after watching the tape. Reiko believed that creating a copy would break the curse, but Yōichi died a week after watching the tape, just as his father had. Yoshino shows Andō both the tape and the diary.

When Andō tells Mai Takano what he has done, she is shocked and cannot understand why, since she felt from the start that it was the video that killed Takayama and his family. As they are talking, Yoshino calls Andō. He admits that he wishes that he had never been involved in Reiko's business. Andō believes that Yoshino had watched the video, but he denies it, saying that he was too scared to. However, Yoshino still dies.

Andō decides to destroy the videotapes and make sure that he will be the video's last victim. He then confides in Mai about his son's death, and they end up sleeping together. Andō asks Mai if she will be there with him when he dies, but Mai tells him that she is too scared. He understands and decides to try to find out more about the virus that killed Takayama and his son. He discovers that the virus that killed Yoshino was different from the one that killed the father and son. Andō asks for tests to be run on him.

Meanwhile, Mai Takano goes missing and Andō apparently survives the curse. He starts to feel that the story was just a myth and he is relieved when Mai turns up, but is shocked to find out that she has been found dead, having given birth with no sign of a baby. Andō goes back to work and sees "Mai" there and finds out that she is none other than Sadako Yamamura, reborn and claiming to be "perfectly dual-gendered". He then learns that Takayama was not helping Andō stop Sadako – instead, he was helping Sadako. Yoshino, Andō's friend Miyashita and many others were not killed by a virus or the video, but rather Reiko's diary. Sadako promises to help resurrect Andō's son in exchange for his help.

In the end, Andō brings Takayama and his son back to life with help from Sadako. Just as Ryūji leaves, he tells Andō: "Many years will pass before our world will be at peace".

Cast

Release

Spiral was released theatrically in Japan on January 31, 1998 where it was distributed by Toho.[1] In the Philippines, the film was given a limited release as The Spiral on February 25, 2004.[3]

The film was released directly to DVD by DreamWorks in the United States on August 23, 2005, under the transliterated title Rasen.[1]

It was released in high definition on Blu-ray Disc and video on demand in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland by Arrow Films under their Arrow Video imprint, under the title Spiral.[2] Spiral was also included in Arrow Video's Ring Collection Blu-ray box set.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Galbraith IV 2008, p. 402.
  2. ^ a b "Rasen (1998)". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Opens Today! Exclusively at SM Manila & Glorietta 4". Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. February 25, 2004. p. B9. Retrieved September 12, 2022. Just when you thought it was safe to put on a video again...
  4. ^ https://www.arrowfilms.com/blu-ray/the-ring-collection/12182614.html

Bibliography

External links

January 04, 2023
spiral, 1998, film, this, article, about, 1998, japanese, horror, film, other, films, definitions, spiral, disambiguation, this, article, consists, almost, entirely, plot, summary, should, expanded, provide, more, balanced, coverage, that, includes, real, worl. This article is about the 1998 Japanese horror film For other films and definitions see Spiral disambiguation This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary It should be expanded to provide more balanced coverage that includes real world context Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot August 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Spiral らせん Rasen is a 1998 Japanese film It is a sequel to the 1998 film Ring It is directed by Jōji Iida and is based on the novel of the same title by Koji Suzuki It is titled The Spiral stylized as the Spiral in English on the Japanese poster and video packaging and it was previously released in North America as Rasen a transliteration of the Japanese title and in the United Kingdom Ireland and the Philippines as The Spiral 2 SpiralJapaneseらせんHepburnRasenDirected byGeorge IidaScreenplay byGeorge Iida 1 Based onSpiralby Koji SuzukiProduced byTakashige Ichise Shinya Kawai Takenori Sento 1 StarringKōichi Satō Miki Nakatani Shingo Tsurumi Hinako Saeki Hiroyuki SanadaCinematographyMakoto Watanabe 1 Edited byHirohide Abe 1 Music byLa Finca 1 ProductioncompanyRing Spiral Production Committee Production 1 Distributed byTohoRelease dateJanuary 31 1998 1998 01 31 Japan Running time98 minutes 1 CountryJapanLanguageJapaneseRing and its sequel Spiral were released in Japan at the same time The studio hoped this would increase revenues because the Ring story was already a successful novel and television film The two films shared a few cast members and had the same production team but different directors and screenwriters Spiral was written and directed by Jōji Iida whereas Ring was written by Hiroshi Takahashi and directed by Hideo Nakata After their release Ring became an enormous success while Spiral floundered quickly becoming the forgotten sequel Takahashi and Nakata were later recruited to produce another sequel Ring 2 which replaced Spiral as the sequel to Ring not based on Suzuki s works and thus ultimately ignores the story of Spiral Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Release 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Bibliography 6 External linksPlot EditFollowing the events of Ring the body of Ryuji Takayama former husband of Reiko Asakawa and father of Yōichi Asakawa is examined by his friend and rival pathologist Mitsuo Andō After he finds a cryptic note in Takayama s stomach Reiko and Yōichi also turn up dead Andō soon learns of a mysterious cursed videotape haunted by the spirit of a murdered young woman Rumor has it that anyone who watches the video will die exactly one week later Despondent over the death of his own child and believing that he is being guided by his rival s ghost Andō decides to see the video for himself After watching the tape strange things begin to happen around him and he soon discovers that the tape s restless spirit has different plans in store for him With the help of Takayama s student Mai Takano Andō finds out more about Ryuji s past as well as the mysterious young woman Sadako Yamamura Searching for the truth about why Ryuji and Yōichi died from the virus while Reiko did not leads him to her boss Yoshino Yoshino lets Andō in on a secret he has the wife s diary She and Ryuji had been researching the cursed videotape While Reiko had broken the curse Ryuji died a week after watching the tape Reiko believed that creating a copy would break the curse but Yōichi died a week after watching the tape just as his father had Yoshino shows Andō both the tape and the diary When Andō tells Mai Takano what he has done she is shocked and cannot understand why since she felt from the start that it was the video that killed Takayama and his family As they are talking Yoshino calls Andō He admits that he wishes that he had never been involved in Reiko s business Andō believes that Yoshino had watched the video but he denies it saying that he was too scared to However Yoshino still dies Andō decides to destroy the videotapes and make sure that he will be the video s last victim He then confides in Mai about his son s death and they end up sleeping together Andō asks Mai if she will be there with him when he dies but Mai tells him that she is too scared He understands and decides to try to find out more about the virus that killed Takayama and his son He discovers that the virus that killed Yoshino was different from the one that killed the father and son Andō asks for tests to be run on him Meanwhile Mai Takano goes missing and Andō apparently survives the curse He starts to feel that the story was just a myth and he is relieved when Mai turns up but is shocked to find out that she has been found dead having given birth with no sign of a baby Andō goes back to work and sees Mai there and finds out that she is none other than Sadako Yamamura reborn and claiming to be perfectly dual gendered He then learns that Takayama was not helping Andō stop Sadako instead he was helping Sadako Yoshino Andō s friend Miyashita and many others were not killed by a virus or the video but rather Reiko s diary Sadako promises to help resurrect Andō s son in exchange for his help In the end Andō brings Takayama and his son back to life with help from Sadako Just as Ryuji leaves he tells Andō Many years will pass before our world will be at peace Cast EditKōichi Satō as Mitsuo Andō Miki Nakatani as Mai Takano Hinako Saeki as Sadako Yamamura Shingo Tsurumi as Miyashita Shigemitsu Ogi as Maekawa Keibuho Yutaka Matsushige as Yoshino Daisuke Ban as Heihachiro Ikuma Naoaki Manabe as Kobayashi Hiroyuki Sanada as Ryuji TakayamaRelease EditSpiral was released theatrically in Japan on January 31 1998 where it was distributed by Toho 1 In the Philippines the film was given a limited release as The Spiral on February 25 2004 3 The film was released directly to DVD by DreamWorks in the United States on August 23 2005 under the transliterated title Rasen 1 It was released in high definition on Blu ray Disc and video on demand in the United States Canada the United Kingdom and Ireland by Arrow Films under their Arrow Video imprint under the title Spiral 2 Spiral was also included in Arrow Video s Ring Collection Blu ray box set 4 See also EditList of Japanese films of 1998 List of horror films of 1998References Edit a b c d e f g h i Galbraith IV 2008 p 402 a b Rasen 1998 Blu ray com Retrieved 6 November 2019 Opens Today Exclusively at SM Manila amp Glorietta 4 Philippine Daily Inquirer The Philippine Daily Inquirer Inc February 25 2004 p B9 Retrieved September 12 2022 Just when you thought it was safe to put on a video again https www arrowfilms com blu ray the ring collection 12182614 html Bibliography Edit Galbraith IV Stuart 2008 The Toho Studios Story A History and Complete Filmography Scarecrow Press ISBN 978 1461673743 Kalat David 2007 J horror The Definitive Guide to The Ring The Grudge and Beyond Vertical ISBN 978 1932234084 External links EditSpiral at IMDb Spiral at AllMovie Rasen at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Spiral 1998 film amp oldid 1120497384, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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