Viewing Thread:
"Ring"

Horror films seem to be getting worse these days. Ok, so it’s a sweeping statement but the world of horror in director and screenwriter’s eyes these days seems to be made up of quick jumps and lots of blood. This, in my humble opinion, is what’s known as a ‘bad move’. I was reminded about this the other day when I had a chance to catch the showing of Ring and Ring 2 on Channel 4 over the last week. The first of these films is probably one of my most highly rated horror films of all time and its utter lack of reliance on blood and ‘jump’ scenes is a fresh and welcome experience.

Ring is a Japanese film by director Nakata Hideo and written by Takahashi Hiroshi. It is actually based on a famous book by Suzuki Koji, still unavailable in an English language translated version (this is apparently in progress though). It concerns an unmarked videotape which when watched can cause the viewer to die exactly one week afterwards in mysterious circumstances. The plot takes a little getting used to if you’ve been brought up on Western films as it caters for its own Eastern audiences, with only a few nudges towards the film-makers we are so comfortable with. The film is in Japanese with English Subtitles.

Plot Outline
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The plot centres around a reporter for a local newspaper called Asakawa Reiko, played by Matsushima Nanako. She is assigned to investigate what seems to be just another Japanese urban legend. College children are interviewed talking of a tape which, when watched, will cause the phone to ring and a woman’s voice telling the viewer that they will die in exactly 7 days. All of this is taken with a pinch of salt until Asakawa learns that her niece and 3 other friends have died in mysterious circumstances, all at the same time.

In a bid to get to a big story, despite being a single mother who seems to get all the back stories, she follows the last known steps of her niece, Tomoko, to a small cabin and while talking to the owner of the resort, spots a blank video tape that seems out of place with the others. Something inexplicably leads her to watch the tape and frightening, disjointed images confront her including a woman’s face in a mirror and a well. Not being fazed by having been cursed, or still not believing this to be true, she goes back to her ex-husband, a teacher called Takayama Ryuji, for help in solving the origin of the tape and the woman in the mirror. They trace the picture of the woman, via a newspaper cutting, back to a psychic who was reportedly heralded as a freak after killing some of the reporters who heckled her.

From here things get weirder as Reiko has to deal with her curse and then her son, Yoichi, watching the video too. As things are pieced together, the story becomes more inexplicable and it is soon apparent that Reiko is in extreme danger unless she can break the curse and escape from the strange figure with long hair covering her face.

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The strange images on the video in the movie can be viewed at: http://www.somrux.com/ringworld/ring.ram

As with most big films, America seems determinded to remake the film so that lazy Americans won't have to read subtitles. For an idea of the video images in the remake, there is a hidden section in Dreamworks own website, go to dreamworks.com and then click on the movies link. From here, move your mouse into the Road to Perdition and then to the blue area above the Dreamworks logo. The picture will be replaced by red. Scroll down into the flashing area and left click for a quick burst of the video images..

To be honest, I don't really hold out much hope of the remake being as good as the original. For a start, the Japanese style of storytelling and even the Asian feel of the actors is intrigal to the whole experience. To work it for an American audience (and, yes, they are now basing it in the USA) will take some of the atmosphere away from the production.

Ring still has an effect on me after watching it again on TV. It's a wonderful film and I hope SR sees fit to stock it soon, along with the sequel Ring 2 and later prequel Ring 0. If you like horror and are prepared to watch subtitles then I recommend that you rent this out (hopefully it should be available in Blockbusters or elsewhere) If SR starts selling it, of course, then buy it!

Sounds intriguing...

I prefer horror movies that are focused on the psychological effects than blood and guts. To be honest, years of sitting through formulaic horror films has in many ways desensitised me to what happens in screen. Essentially, it shocks me, because it is often gratuitous, but it never, ever, genuinely scares me, because I can detach myslef from what's happen on screen. But when a film is psychological rather than physical, makes you think rather than flinch, is when a film can truly be defined as scary. On your recommendation, I'll check it out (preferably the original).

I read somewhere that there is a ring 3, which is a prequel. The only problem is it’s more of a romantic film than a horror. It tells the story of Sadako and her mother, all that pre-history stuff. Even though it’s not primarily a horror film, I think it would be interesting to see more of the history behind the story of the first two films.

I missed this. I'm gonna blaim you, for not telling me about it. But, it was a great review, so I'll let you off.

Undead wrote:
> Sounds like a god film pb.
>
> One thing bothers me though; didn't you "build up" a certain
> Mothman film? One of the crappiest films to ever tarnish the silver
> screen? :D

Ah, a popular mothconception(!)

I didn't so much build up the film, I made it clear I hadn't even seen it. What I did was wax lyrically about the story behind the film, allegedly true stories about a giant moth creature which terrorised a town. As always, Hollywood intervened and turned it in to a story about Richard Gere seeing strange things, but no mothman in sight!

I did, however, point out in that thread that the film was said to be a bit rubbish once the reviewers had done their work. I, as yet, haven’t seen it yet.

I saw ring and ring 2, and thought they were excellent. They're the first properly scary films I've seen since the good old days of freddy and the thing.

Is Ring O any good?

Axel wrote:
> Ring was a great, original scary movie. Definately reccommend it.
>
> Arr, I missed Ring 2...

If you've got a DVD player that can play VCDs then you can get Ring 2 from www.dddhouse.com for the bargain price of HK$20 - that' £1.75 in our money!

Ring 2 is good but don't worry, its not as good as the first film.

Ring was a great, original scary movie. Definately reccommend it.

Arr, I missed Ring 2...

Sounds like a god film pb.

One thing bothers me though; didn't you "build up" a certain Mothman film? One of the crappiest films to ever tarnish the silver screen? :D

I thought it was rubbish.

Maybe that's just me though.