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A grainy, enigmatic videotape has the power to kill people seven days after they watch it. This brilliant premise fueled the 2002 Hollywood hitThe Ring, but before that it conquered Japan inRingu, Hideo Nakata's quietly unsettling study in terror. Fans of the U.S. version will find a less elaborate storyline and more primal fear in the original; the basic plot, however, still has a worried reporter (Nanako Matsushima) tracking down the meaning of the video--and, having watched it herself, she has only a week to work. The film's calm, economical style actually adds to the creeping sense of dread throughout, and the hair-curling set-pieces stand out in contrast. Like an old photograph of something evil,Ringuhas the strange-but-familiar power to unnerve. Guaranteed, its effect will linger for at least seven days. Longer... if you're lucky.--Robert Horton
Wow Wow Wow Forget any remake nonsense there is floating about - join the world cinema revolution and get your hands on these DVDS. This was the set that gave me my new love for world horror - I have never in my life been as afraid as I was when Sedako came crawling crab style out of the telly, from her blackened stumps of nails to the rolling eye that could stop a bus at 2o feet she is terror personified. Tastefully done and artfully crafted these are tales ultimately of woe and horror that beget all who come across the 'cursed video', in true asian style you will see lots of dark hair and half seen shadows in what became I think the gateway for many more world horror films to come through - welcome Sedako into your house - but beware, you have 7 days left to live!
Better than I remembered Like probably most of the people out there who've seen this film, I actually saw the American remake first. Personally, I prefer the American version, but the pairing of the two shows why remaking films can sometimes work out-- The existence of one film doesn't make the other one obsolete. They both work in their own way. Both are atmospheric horror films, but the remake is flashy and gaudy, whereas the original is far more sedate and generally lacked the motifs that defined the style of the remake. (i.e. water, horses, circles, the tree and a general emphasis on multiple meanings) Again, I think the former approach is more effective, overall, but both are definitely valid. I like the stylishness of the remake, but 'Ringu' proves that the core story and concepts are plenty powerful on their own.
This film was really made on the cheap, only a little over a million bucks, I hear. This makes it have a bleak, stark quality to it as it has little flash and the scenes are often poorly lit. Still, despite the low budget the seams never quite tear apart, as they so often do in low-budget stuff. (See the climax of Nakata's later 'Dark Water'.) The tape itself is fairly haunting, and the climax is exceedingly well done. The low budget is perhaps an asset there, as it forces ingenuity and keeps you from getting to fancy or elaborate. That, and the prominent imagery of that climactic scene is quite unforgettable, and it's easy to see why it caused such wide spread impact in Asian horror films over the next couple years. In the end, the impact of the film comes down to some intangible things. It just has such an oppressive, bleak mood to it, though it's tough to say specifically where it comes from. The film doesn't have very many out and out scare scenes, but it maintains an intensity thru out it all. This music is quite effective, largely just a lot of atonal rumbling. Nakata probably tries a little too hard with the sound at a few points, but it's definitely effective overall.
The film does have a few concerns. The two protagonists, Asakawa and Ryuji are fairly faceless and uninteresting. (This is an aspect where the remake improves on the original, as Noah is quite likable which helps in general, and particularly adds impact to the final scenes.) Now, having likable characters is not usually a huge concern in horror films, but here we actually follow to particular figures a lot more closely than we usually would, but we don't really find out all that much about them. Also, I think the film perhaps tips its hand a little too early and some of the explainations are a bit too mundane. Finally, there is a prominent flashback scene that occurs about an hour into the film which just doesn't quite work. I think it's a bit silly. (I know I'm being vague, but I don't wanna spoil anything for those who haven't seen it.)
Anyway, this is a fairly haunting film. Not terrifying, but unsettling. If you haven't seen any of the major Asian horror films of recent years, this is as good a place to start as any.
Grade: B+Watch it, and die Everyone has heard of "The Ring," a terrifying horror movie starring Naomi Watts. But before there was that film, there was "Ringu," a hair-raising ghost story where something as insignificant as a videotape can kill.
Four teenagers have died mysteriously, and another has gone mad. After finding that her niece was literally scared to death, Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) begins investigating the cabin where the four kids stayed. There she finds a strange videotape full of bizarre images. Then the phone rings. It fits the profile of the "cursed video" that has been circulating, which will kill the watcher after seven days.
Reiko is understandably terrified -- especially when her young son also watches it. She calls in her ex-husband Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada), who initially discounts her fears. But soon he begins to believe as well, and assists Reiko in investigating the origins of the tape, and the strange images on it. They find that the source of it is a young girl with monstrous psychic powers, who was murdered thirty years ago...
"Ringu" has become one of those rare films that are frequently ripped off (especially in Asian cinema), referenced, and remade (especially in Hollywood). Crawling ghosts with long drippy hair, slow-acting curses and all that.
But as we all know, the first is usually the best. There aren't any masked slashers or bloody bodies in this. Instead, there is an everyday item that happens to be cursed, and a jerky-limbed girl who can kill with a thought -- and even death can't stop her. (Interestingly, Sadako and her mother were based on real people)
Hideo Nakata did a magnificent job with a film that could have been incredibly tedious; much of "Ringu" is detective work, with the ghoulish Sadako only entering the picture at the end. Instead, it has suspense. Colours are muted, and the plot grows more taut and claustrophobic as the characters try to beat the clock. And the end is a terrifying twist that can't be seen in advance -- but which leaves us wondering what we would do in that situation.
Matsushima and Sanada are excellent leads for this movie; not only do they have excellent chemistry, but they seem like a plausible pair of exes. Reiko is played as a strong, smart woman who desperately wants to save her son, while Ryuji is insensitive and rather brusque, but cares as much for Reiko as he seems capable of.
With a quietly taut storyline and a terrifying demon-spawn villain, "Ringu" strips horror down to its bare bones, and lets the ordinary scare us silly. Outstanding.
