Yukie Nakama was cast in the role of Sadako. After Nakama's friends had seen Ringu (1998), they teased her about her resemblance to Sadako. Nakama was later contacted by her agent who mentioned they were looking for actresses for the role of Sadako and tried out for the role. She received confirmation of her role in the next two weeks.
Producer Takasige Ichise offered Hideo Nakata the chance to direct who passed on the offer.
The film introduce the concept of Two Sadakos which is not present in the novel. After the ESP demonstration, Sadako split into two, the good and the bad.
Directorial debut of Norio Tsuruta. Tsuruta had previously worked on direct-to-video horror scripts such as Honto ni atta kowai hanashi (Scary True Stories) in 1991, and wrote and directed the sequel. After working on various television and direct-to-video works, Tsuruta got to work with screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi on the segment "The Curse" on the television special Haunted School F. Takahashi lobbied for Tsuruta to take on the film. Tsuruta referred to the film as "a tragedy" with a theme about "a young woman who is oppressed because she is different from everyone else. In Japan, there is great pressure not to stray too far from the norm."
The play performed by Sadako's acting troupe is an adaption of Eyes Without a Face, entitled "The Mask".
In one particular shot, Etsuko (played by Asou Kumiko) went backstage for a scene in which no other person should have been present. And yet, in this scene, one can plainly see a small hand poking out from behind one of the dresses.
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