King Kong vs. Godzilla. Freddy vs. Jason. Batman v Superman. Aside from the obvious, these battles all have one thing in common: a distinct lack of estrogen (Alien vs. Predator arguably has some whenever a queen shows up, but since the aliens nearly always lose, it’s hardly female empowerment, am I right?). It’s more than past time these cinematic smackdowns included a woman’s touch, and we don’t just mean letting Wonder Woman watch. Female icons must fight.
The problem is there just aren’t that many cinematic franchises centered on aggressive female characters, which is obviously something we need to work on; Lara Croft vs. Samus just isn’t the same if there hasn’t been a Metroid movie prior, for example. But Japan is way ahead of us–The Ring and The Grudge only managed lackluster sequels in the U.S., but the movie properties they were based on, Ju-On and Ringu, are still massive ongoing franchises in Asia. So what’s the obvious next step?
And fight they will, in Sadako vs. Kayako. Neither ghost has ever truly had a worthy opponent: Kayako’s grudge curse kills everyone who ever enters her house, no matter where they try to run; while Sadako can get you anywhere there’s a TV screen. Neither has any apparent weakness, save perhaps Sadako’s dependence on VHS tapes, which we can see Kayako menacingly crushing in the trailer. Kayako also has her son Toshio as backup, though he mostly just meows these days.
Who will win? And how? Let’s hear your thoughts on how this war of watery witches might play out.
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Image: YouTube/Kadokawa Pictures
