When Hideo Nakata's Ringu was released in Japanese cinemas in 1998, it did so as part of a double bill with Spiral, a sequel directed by Joji 'George' Iida (Another Heaven; co-writer of the original 1995 TV adaptation of Ringu) and based on Koji Suzuki's novel of the same name. Due to the film's mixed reception, it was superseded a year later when Nakata was hired to direct his own sequel, Ringu 2. Despite this, Spiral has retained a loyal following of its own, and spawned its own sequels, effectively resulting in two competing Ring timelines. In the aftermath of the events of Ringu, Reiko, her ex-husband Ryuji and their son Yoichi all turn up dead. After finding a cryptic note in Ryuji's stomach, pathologist Mitsuo Ando (Koichi Sato, New Battles Without Honour and Humanity) soon learns of the Ringu curse. Tormented by the death of his own son, Ando deliberately watches the notorious video, but soon finds out that Sadako's plans for him are different and altogether more terrifying than he could have predicted.