BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

IkhwanArif Arguably, the film that catapulted the Asian Horror genre to international audience. Ringu is certainly not without its flaws. Despite that, Ringu manages to age well after 20 years, despite the premise being a cursed video cassette. The film relies heavily on Shinto religion and superstition, hence, Western audience might cringe at some of its folklore. But Asian audience including South East, will immediately relate to the vengeful spirit of a supernatural source.It's simple really, a few teenagers died one week after watching a mysterious video cassette of unknown origin, spurred a reporter to investigate. Having watched the video herself, the reporter races against time to uncover the secrets of the cursed tape.By my account, Ringu is a mediocre horror film. It has a good story, the build-up is too long and too slow, the editing is sloppy and tremulous, the acting is mediocre, the script is choppy an incongruent. The first 30 minutes had too many unnecessary scenes that could have been excluded from the final cut. It also took 85 minutes of build up to reach Sadako. It wouldn't be too bad, except that there was 60 minutes in between the first death, with very few and unsuccessful attempts to hold your suspense.Sadako itself was a anti-climatic, and the ending is rather disappointing.What is good is the cinematography and direction. Despite major flaws of the film, Hideo Nakata was able to make the film coherent. And though he fails to keep things suspenseful, he does a job at creating an air of mystery that manages to make gauge your interest to the very end. Meanwhile, the cinematography by Junichiro Hayashi and music by Kenji Kawai was able to provide the sense of drama where the story and acting were sorely lacking.I really wanted to like this film, but there are other Asian horror films that are better.

CinemaClown A downright creepy, cleverly paced & patiently narrated chiller whose success spawned a trend of Hollywood remakes of Asian horror flicks, Ring (also known as Ringu) doesn't rely on conventional tricks like jump scares or blood-filled gore to frighten its viewers but allows their imagination to do the required job, and lets its ominous atmosphere act as a catalyst.The story of Ring revolves around a videotape that is fabled to bear a jinx that kills its viewers after 7 days. The plot follows a TV reporter who conducts her own investigation, when her niece & her 3 other friends die under mysterious circumstances, and ultimately stumbles upon the ill-fated video herself. With limited time on her hands, she attempts to find a way to lift the curse.Directed by Hideo Nakata, an aura of mystery & menace permeates every frame of this feature and the controlled manner in which its events transpire allows those elements to ingrain itself in the viewers' subconscious. The haunting, surreal & disturbing imagery that make up the contents of the cursed tape carries a mystical power of its own, and manages to deliver the chills despite not revealing much.The entire picture is encapsulated with a grim tone & overcast ambiance, each scene unfolds as if there's a clue hidden somewhere in every frame, and the cold colour palette adds more layers of bleakness to it. Editing is expertly carried out, for it keeps the narrative tightly-wrapped and allows it to unfurl at its own pace. And the cast does a commendable job in their given roles, and play their part with utmost sincerity.On an overall scale, Ring makes each & every one of its aspects work in favour of its story and remains one of the finest horror films to come out of Japanese film industry. Shrouded in complete mystery, effectively sustaining its sinister mood for the entirety of its runtime, and wrapping itself up with an unforeseen twist, Ring may not be scary on a visceral scale but its eerie element will still be an onslaught on the viewers' psyche.

David Arnold After a young girl by the name of Tomoko Ôishi dies in mysteries circumstances, her aunt, Reiko Asakawa, who is an investigative journalist, starts to look into the strange accounts in which Tomoko died. Reiko learns of three other teens who died the exact same way and at the exact same time as Tomoko. She also finds out that they all watched a strange video tape a week earlier which upon finishing, they received a phone call. Reiko's investigation takes her to a cabin that the teens were staying in and it's here she finds the mysterious tape. She watches it and, low and behold, she receives a phone call. Not knowing what to do, she calls her ex-husband, Ryûji, for some help. Ryûji views the video tape but unfortunately, a few days later, so does their son, Yōichi. Learning that it is real, it now becomes a matter of time to try and figure out how to lift the curse...if possible.Ring (Ringu) is one of the original Japanese movies of this genre, and it's still, to this day, one of the best. I have actually seen much scarier movies than Ring, but it's the originality & delivery of the story that keeps it good. That and the scares of course.As a side note, I'd just like to say that there's absolutely nothing wrong with the American remake, and that is still a good, creepy movie, but this original version is just that bit better. The story does get a bit slow in places but it doesn't ever get to the point where it just drags on. It keeps you involved and interested as it unfolds, and there's no unnecessary scares or "plot fillers" just for the sake of it.It's well written, it's well filmed and it keeps you watching right up to the climactic ending.Definitely recommended.

Cameron McLeod Either I'm stupid, the Japanese are stupid, or something was lost in translation. This was such a mixed bucket.Built around the weird and upsetting, Ringu combines supernatural elements with it's own original tape-horror aesthetic. It's unfortunate that the film is riddled with silliness, dumb character decisions, and chuckle-out-loud(?) conversations. Hell, it's also filled with quite a few incredibly eerie moments (I mean so eerie as to make me get up, turn on the lights, refill my tea, then sit down and hold on) that can make you forget it's earlier transgressions.Eerie is key here, it's not terrifying, but definitely a scary experience. I'm sure it was scarier when you actually watched the movie on VHS or with one sitting back at home. Now it's hard to make a connection. I mean, my blu-ray would NEVER do such a thing (his name is Franklin)!What brings most people to the film is it's touching on our collective anxiety with these newfangled VHS machines ( too cynical?). And it still applies to Franklin. I can't say much on this that hasn't already been said, but I can agree that the film tapped into a collective feeling, whether consciously or not, I'm sure the Japanese ( being the techno- infused cyberpunks they are) feel more than I ever will.Either way, give it a look. It's an hour-and-a-half well spent.