Chad

Chad

Additional Posters Part 2:

clckworang

I guess it's unpopular opinion time. I think this film is OK but far from scary. It always sort of surprised me how popular this series was. And since I'm being really honest here, this was my first time watching the original, but I saw the remake when it first came out on DVD.

While it has been a really long time since I saw the remake, it seems like it is one of the more faithful adaptations. I seem to recall the tape itself was scarier in the remake, but this was the better version of the story overall. But while I can admire the filmmaking and appreciate the impact, something about it just leaves me a little cold.

Mike86

I tried to watch this and bought the Blu-ray but couldn’t get into it.

Undeadcow

My favorite part of Ringu is the existential dread – the immediate feeling of impending death and struggle to live effectively. The only way to live is to share with others. Ringu is a fatally economical film and it feels like much of the development is the reporter tripping over clue after clue – open a newspaper to the relevant headline, happen on a key photo shop receipt, look a video shelf to see the pivotal video, pull out the videotape to see it’s labelled ‘Copy,’ etc etc (it could have done with more suspense, irony, or even red herrings). The ‘negative exposure’ death effect looks cheap and is distracting but even if Ringu feels inferior to the remake Samara crawling out of the TV and staring into her eye is chilling. Even the phone calls feel unassuming and matter of fact ('Seven days...'). I love the trope of 'forbidden knowledge' but here it's awfully superficial - that it's not some brain scorching ethereal but it's the simple story of a psych girl in a well; but the idea of Samara living on and not being forgotten is rich. I like Ringu a lot more as an idea than as a film.

story

I saw The Ring first, then I rented Ringu a little while later.

I remember The Ring really sacred me, though I wasn't interested enough to watch the sequels.

As for Ringu, I remember appreciating it for what it is, but also recognizing it's a different storytelling pace, different kind of acting and shooting style, and I wasn't as interested in it as it went along.

However.

That one scene. You know the one. With the thing that isn't right? Which is spoiled in the poster in the (thankfully) spoiler-contained post of posters? Yeah, that thing.

That scared me so much that I am terrified to experience it again.

I didn't see that coming at all. And I'm haunted by it to this day. Well played, Ringu.

mallratcal

Haven't seen this in years but I thought it held up pretty well.

Kurt D

Set and setting. I had heard rumblings about this movie from Fangoria etc. (I am a lifelong horror fan) so when my then wife was working for a couple months in Tokyo, and I was home alone, in 2002, I decided to check it out.

I rented up a copy from the world's greatest video store, it was most likely a VHS dupe made by Video Search of Miami, which only added to the effect.

So, I waited until after dark, had a couple of lubricants, turned out every light in the house, and paid very close attention. By the putative climax, I was so keyed up, it was fantastic. As the movie then trundled on to the actual ending, I was sitting up on the back of my couch, peering out from behind a pillow. Good times!

I relish those times when something actually scares me.

Spiderbite

So glad I am not the only one.

I have never understood the love for this series or the American remake. Why people list the American version as consistently one of the scariest movies they have ever seen always astounds me. I saw it when it came out and have seen it another time or two since just to try to understand...what am I missing? Why do so many people love this movie, and it does nothing at all for me? I still don't understand it.

I was hoping that rewatching the original tonight (yes...I saw it many years ago after trying to understand the appeal of The Ring) and it left me just as bored and non-scared as before. What the fuck am I missing here?

I understood the love for The Grudge and that series. It was at least creepy. Other than hairy creepy girl, who is more dreary than creepy, there is nothing in this movie that gets my gears going.

My rating: * out of *****

story

...Please... please, why are you telling us this?!...

Kurt D

😂

you know ... the beer variety ...

Spiderbite

story's mind is in the gutter...as usual.
Pastors...man...



Just messing with you, story!

DaveyJoe

I love J-Horror from this era, they excel at atmosphere and dread, which are two of my favorite vibes of a horror film. I like moody slow burns and this film along with Pulse, Ju-On, Dark Water, etc. really deliver. I love Ringu because it's existential horror, it's all about the terror of knowing that we're going to die and the concept of going through your own stages of grief in a short amount of time. One thing I noticed this time is how little attention the protagonists pay to their own child, as if parenthood is a burden getting in the way of enjoying life. The concept of Sadako wanting the curse to be spread is a brilliant way to end of the film, especially when taking the film's themes into consideration.

This may be a bit dark, but I think the film is a metaphor for life itself being a curse that we spread as a coping mechanism. It's no coincidence that the drama at the center of the film is about a broken family attempting to reconnect as a way to stop the curse. Mom, dad, and the child are all afflicted with the curse throughout the movie. We're the only creatures on earth that understand death is inevitable, and that's a heavy burden to bear. You can see the parents go through different levels of anguish as they feel hopeless to stop the curse. The coping method is spending what little time they have left with each other. Is life a gift or a burden? Nobody chooses to be born, yet the most effective way to deal with the challenging aspects of life seems to be creating a family to share experiences with, which itself is ensuring the continuation of the gift/curse; however you want to look at it.

I think the end of the film raises some really interesting questions that the sequels don't really explore, however I liked Spiral the most because it seemed to be in tune with the somber concept of life/curse spreading throughout humanity.

Kurt D

Interesting take; I like it!

WillieMLF

I typically will write something before reading the comments here, but I couldn't help myself this time and y'all are cracking me up.

I'm completely on the same page as clckworang. I've seen the Ringu several times, but my introduction to this series was from the American remake. I'm thinking that the remake is better at unsettling imagery. Hiroyuki Sanada is one of my favorite actors ever, and I completely forget that he is in this movie.

Obi-Wanma

I watched this last night. I saw the American remake when it came out, never saw this version until now. I was still a little scared of horror movies back then, not so much now. Nothing in my viewing last night gave me chills, but I was surprised to see how similar it was, even though it was nearly a half hour shorter. The "oh, by they way, I'm a telepath too" moment that was never previously mentioned was goofy and was a deus ex machina that was used only to quickly convey backstory that they otherwise couldn't have known. It's very Japanese, and taking this element out and learning the backstory more traditionally is mainly what extends the runtime in the US version.

Anyway, this was pretty good, but I think I still prefer the US version, and I may need to re-watch it to see if it holds up, been a long time since I've seen it.