What happens when you combine one of the cutest, most beloved mascot characters in the world with one of the most terrifying characters in modern Japanese fiction and cinema? You get “Sadako Kitty”, or Kitty dressed up as Sadako, the character from the hit Japanese horror series “The Ring”. Of course, it’s Hello Kitty, so she’s still cute, but she does look quite different from her usual self.

For those of you not familiar with Sadako, she appears in the popular Japanese horror novel “Ring” written by Koji Suzuki as a terrifying character with supernatural psychic powers that turn into a deadly curse after her death. The novel was made into a movie in Japan in 1988 and also remade in Hollywood in 2002 as a film starring Naomi Watts. Many viewers of the Japanese film were thoroughly terrified by the image of Sadako with her dark long hair covering her face coming out of a television set.

Now a new Ring movie, “Sadako 3D”, has been made based on an original story written by Koji Suzuki himself. And yes, this time Sadako comes out full force in 3D!

Designed as a collaborative effort between Sanrio and the new Ring movie, Sadako Kitty’s appearance combines Sadako’s trademark dress and long black hair with Hello Kitty’s ribbons. Items such as clear plastic folders, notebooks, hand towels, cups, ball-point pens and holographic stickers featuring Sadako Kitty will become available next month and will be sold at theaters showing the new movie. You can also pre-order the Sadako Kitty goods on the chara-ani.com website at a price of 4,600 yen (approximately $57) for a set of 10 different items.

If you’re a Hello Kitty fan, you may not want to miss this unusual scary side of the lovable kitten! The movie Sadako 3D premiers in theaters around Japan on May 12th.

Sources: Cinema Cafe.net (Japanese), chara-ani.com (Japanese)