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 Anyone who thinks that the ...American version was better than the original needs to answer yes to my question. That piece of dung that Hollywood made is nothing compared to the original. Ringu will be my purchase on March 4th, Hollywood can keep their paltry remake. The original is creepier and the acting is even better. The major disappointment in that car wreck of a remake was that they showed her eyes, which ruined the overall creepiness. Avoid the remake at all costs and see the original. As is in most cases, the original is far superior.Also, people who know nothing of film, like the ones praising the remake over the original, should not be writing reviews and take some lessons in film by whatever means neccessary. Thank you.
Welcome to the world of Japanese New Horror (JNH), a concerted attempt by a number of Japanese filmmakers to get away from the excesses of Hideshi Hino and his Guinea Pig films on one side and the emotional manipulation that passes for drama on the other. JNH filmmakers want to do nothing but tell good, solid, scary stories. As a result of stripping away the other layers, such things as emotional manipulation are cast to the wind, leaving spare frameworks within which the directors can weave what artistry they have. Because there have now been remakes from two countries (Korea and the United States), Ringu towers over other JNH films in terms of worldwide popularity. And while it may best serve as a gateway into the neophyte who wants to discover the world of JNH, it serves that purpose well. The basic story is simple: an urban legend exists that there is a videotape which will kill you seven days after you see it. A reporter whose cousin died under very mysterious circumstances discovers that the urban legend is real, and the tape seems to have killed her cousin; she then sees it herself, and comes to the conclusion that deciphering the dadaesque series of images on the tape will keep her alive past the seven-day deadline. Nakata does his job exceptionally well. The casting is perfect, and the characters are astoundingly believable, given that the premise itself has enough holes in it to rival a five-pound block of swiss cheese. This isnıt about realism, though, as much as it is about artistry; the realism herein is injected solely by the characters, and they do a pretty fine job of it. Nakata breaks the JNH mold slightly by beginning the film with something of a teaser, but then slips right back into lockstep with his fellow directors by laying off the horror angle and concentrating on the story of the reporter and her quest to solve the mystery. The story has enough of its own dramatic tension, and so (like many other brilliant films miscategorized as horror) Ringu ends up coming off as more of a straight mystery than it does a horror film for the first hour and a quarter of its existence. Again, as with every JNH film Iıve seen, however, once the horror starts, itıs Katy-bar-the-door. The last few scenes of Ringu are not necessarily as explicit as the storied excesses of Hinoıs movies, but theyıre more graphic than most things youıre going to see in modern gore films (and because the horrific aspects have less to do with fountains of blood and weaponry and more with subtle touches of makeup, the nastiness in Ringu is definitely of the creep-out factor type, rather than the ıoh, boy, hereıs a guy in a mask chopping up teens againı). Special mention must be made of the subject of the film itself, the videotape known in film circles as ıthe curse film.ı It is a nightmarish, dada masterpiece, a series of short gut-punches that are about the closest thing film has to an actual successor to Bunuel and Daliıs Un Chien Andalou, but an Andlusian dog worked on as well by Guillaume Apollinaire and Rene Char. Ringu is worth tracking down and seeing just to catch the repeated viewings of the curse film. Ringu is a wonderfully crafted little gem, and certainly deserving of its worldwide success. (Not to say that many other JNH films arenıt; hopefully, theyıll make it across the pond in the same way Ringu and Audition have.) Well worth the extra time it will require to track down for fans of atmospheric horror tales, but be warned: there are more than a few shocks awaiting you once the film builds to its climax. **** ½ |
Ringu was nothing like I expected. I have seen The Ring many times before, and I saw it before Ringu. I'd heard how Ringu was supposed to be a lot scarier than The Ring. I was quite dissapointed when I watched it - my friend and I kept dozing off, it was getting so boring! To us it looked like a cheap remake compared to The Ring. It's a good movie, but definately not as good as The Ring.
The only reason why I give this movie 2 stars is just the fact that some great person actually came up with this awesome idea. The concept of the Ring is soooo good, so i have to give them credit for that but its nothing compared to the American version. This a really really cheap version. It only cost 1 million to make and BARBERSHOP cost 10 million. That has got to tell u something....The story is different in the Japenese. It is a lot worse. Who ever said the Japenese version was way scarier than the America has something way wrong! Go rent or buy the America Ring! Its soooo good compared to this ...
Ringu is a good example to use for any argument on why the US shouldn't remake foreign movies. After watching Ringu, I was left wondering why they didn't play this movie in American theaters as compared to the numerous theaters that The Ring was played in. Big budget and CGI effects are all well and good... but even though The Ring was scary... Ringu was much more so!
