Reviews & Ratings for
Ring More at IMDbPro »Ringu (original title)

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

In a word, Incredible. In a sound 'AAAARGHHHH!'.

Author: Spinebreaker from Derbyshire, UK
8 October 2003

Simply put, THE BEST horror film in, well... In... Well, since the beginning of Film itself.

Personally, I found the recent Hollywood Remake terrible, (But not as appaling as I expected it to be... which was a surprise.)

Incredibly basic plot really...

Supposedly cursed video which, when viewed, leads to the viewees death.

There is simply nothing bad I can say about this film.

Do yourself a favour. Reserve and hour and a half or so this weekend and watch Ringu. Even if you've already seen it.

One hundred and eleven out of ten.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

One of the best horror movies ever made, if not the best!

Author: lv426asylum
21 September 2003

I watched this film during the day, not the sort of time you should be watching a horror film, their for night time. I was so glad I did, this is the scarest film I have ever seen, I serious I still cant look at an off TV with out thinking about Sadako!

FOrget the crapy American re make which so many people seem to like, I've watched and it sucks. This is a film that never needed to be re made, unless your highly intolerant of other cultures which holloywood seems to think America is.

The film being based on a book has a very intresting plot, perfectly adapted into movie format. Many mistorys are make by the end, the sequale exsplains some of them and makes some more.

For me the reason this film worked so well was because it was so un hollywood, it did not rely on cheap jumps and gore. Instead it relyed on tension and un ease, each scene took as long as it liked.

It never realy tryed to show you that much, it left alot up to your imagination. This is why its so scary because you have to visualise it, all the way throught I was wondering what she looked liked.

That sticks with, the ending is the best I have ever seen in any horror film ever. Forget the american version it will only spoil the end of this one, watch the two sequals as well.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Better than English Version

Author: nchashim from New Orleans, La
19 September 2003

I rented Ringu and The Ring over a weekend, giving me a chance to view them both in a short period of time. I found Ringu to be the superior movie. Like many remakes for American audiences, `The Ring' feels the necessity to explain far too much. There are masses of talk in that movie where the characters in `Ringu' are surrounded by stillness and thought. The quality of silence around the child in this movie reminds me the muteness of the child actor in `The Sixth Sense'.

The American version is sentimental-although not as sentimental as I feared it would be. For instance, we do not have the divorced couple falling into each other's arms at realization of their common fear. However, this version does attempt to come up with a psychological explanation of the impending horror that `Ringu' does not need. Ringu's terror is a force as explicable and relentless as nature.

The American movie shows the American couple desperately trying to solve their problem, to fight their way out of a box, to change nature. The Japanese couple also wants to avoid their common fate, but I am not left with people seeking to change nature. I am left with the image of people seeking to live within the natural world as it exists even as it seeks to destroy them.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Great Film

Author: portmanspad (portmans.pad@ntlworld.com) from Barking, England
7 September 2003

Good build up from the begining, however the last 10 to 15 minutes of the film will send shivers down your spine!! Acting was cool and the directing (although pretty dark in places) was very good. Haven't seen the US re-make yet, and I hope its as good as this. If you watch the DVD from tartan video, some of the sub titles fade into the background.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Good atmosphere for such type of movie, but nothing more

Author: bsb-1 from Manama, Bahrain
2 September 2003

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Lots of people argued about which movie is the better, is it the original-Japanese Ringu (1998)? Or the American re-make Ring (2002)? Before I give you my opinion, I have to say that viewing one of the two movies WILL affect your review of the other one. I guess most people knew about the two movies after the release of the American version [since it's more popular], although Ringu (1998) was popular in Japan but not everywhere else.

So, to get things straight, I'm one of those who first saw the American version: Ring (2002). And I'm saying this because it surely affected my opinion on Ringu (1998).

Lots and lots of people are going crazy about Ringu (1998), saying it's the better one, and it's the original [yeah blah blah], and the most importantly, more scarier. I even heard [someone acclaimed] that the tape itself looks scarier too [now I found out that wasn't true at all]. From the very beginning you wait to get scared but nothing. Having seen Ring (2002) made me feel like this is not scary at all. To be honest, there was only two or three shots that I felt could be scary, but still not that much scary [and I'm telling you that I get scary easily plus that I find the-very-underrated-horror-movie What Lies Beneath (2000) is the best I've seen in scaring-me-by-the-mood genre]. When comparing Ringu (1998) to Ring (2002), the American version was much better to me. I find the American version as one of my best 5 horror movies. I know that there are people saying this movie wasn't scary, but I don't care. It was scary as hell to me.

The best thing about Ringu (1998) is the soundtrack. The music sets the mood, the atmosphere and it's the only thing that proves this as a horror movie. There's a scene where Yoichi Asakawa [son of Ms. Reiko Asakawa] goes upstairs, that was nice. The directing is very good but not all the time. The Cinematography was good and was a big support for the movie. The acting here is good, although nothing special, but at least Nanako Matsushima [Reiko] did a well job. The story was very good, but can be confusing. Some people even didn't understand it either here nor in the American version, but the American version was quite more understandable. There are some differences in the story [for example there are no horses in the Japanese version]. I liked the American-version's story more, because this one [Ringu (1998)] sounds more extraordinary. The best thing about Ringu (1998) against Ring (2002), that Ringu (1998) sets the mood in the entire feature, which is really great to me. The best horror movies should always set the mood for enough length of time. A great example of setting the mood is Signs (2002). I don't think the American version laked this, since it kinda does set the mood somehow, it didn't leave a space for me to feel a need to have my mood set. I still have to give 4 stars out of 5 for setting the mood. Here is a high-suspense movie in which you even feel something scary was going to happen [almost] every moment in the process. The thing is that there almost weren't any scary scenes to hold up to that great atmosphere and mood [SPOILERS: at least that scene near the end with the TV was great]. Check out What Lies Beneath (2000) & The Sixth Sense (1999) to understand what I mean. I have three points to raise here: 1- The Japanese language which I'm sure most of you don't understand it so you will waste your time reading the subtitles [instead of watching the movie] just trying to keep up with the dialogue. 2- The cultural differences which we are again unfamiliar with. 3- The whole new-American-movie-generation thing meaning we became unable to wait for something to happen for so long. We want stuff to happen, we want it now and we want a lot of it! [Aliens (1986)] In addition, Spielberg once said that if he made [the masterpiece] Jaws (1975) now after more than 25 years people won't get excited to it, because we learned to become impatient [and I believe he's right]. One last thing, is that everybody says low-budget never necessarily means bad, so why does high-budget [Ring (2002)] means bad this time?

Bottom line: Someone said a theory that says: "Everyone who saw Ring (2002) first seems to have liked it more than Ringu (1998) and vise versa". So, to you, I guess you should see Ringu (1998) before Ring (2002). To me, I choose Ring (2002).

3.5/5.0

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Runs Rings Around The Ring

Author: ejwells from USA
1 September 2003

This 1998 Japanese film's American release was delayed due to plans for an english version remake, which showed up (as we know) earlier this year.Ringu is the most successfull Japanese horror film EVER, and has already spawned a prequel (Ringu 0: Baasudei), and a sequel (Ringu 2). Both, of course, are said to be vastly inferior to this fine, eerie gem from director Hideo Nakata (The Sleeping Bride, Chaos). Unlike the Americanized remake, this one actually makes some sense, and with about 1/3 the "explaining" used in the Seattle lensed clone. Great photography, solid performances, and some truly scary scenes earn this tight little shocker 3.5 stars from this humble reviewer.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Superior inspiration for the American remake

Author: SilencioDrive from Schenectady, NY
25 August 2003

I saw Ringu first, which puts the American remake to shame in countless ways. Ringu is dripping in atmosphere and doesn't come laden with moronic pro-family moralizing. A woman investigating her niece's death comes across a video tape that might have been the cause of her demise and ends up, unintentionally, putting the lives of her son and ex-husband in jeopardy in the process. Subtle and intelligent, which is exactly what the American remake was short of. 8/10

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

pointless comparison

Author: huntgoddess from Fairfield
23 August 2003

I will write a more detailed review of Ringu at a later date, but for now I would just like to say that the debate over which film is superior: the original or copycat is pointless. Of course the original is better on the merit of being original. Watching Ringu, I saw what an almost verbatim rip off The Ring is off of Ringu. And I wished I hadn't watched The Ring first, which ruined it a bit for me when I watched Ringu.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Downright scary!

Author: Stu Chandler (chanelit-1) from London, England
6 August 2003

I'd heard about this on the film circuit for a few years and when it was finally released on DVD in the UK I went and bought a copy.

It's story is simple – if you watch a certain videotape, then the phone will ring and seven days later you will die (in a shocking manner). A journalist starts digging around this urban nightmare and finds the myth to be true. She watches the tape, the phone rings, horrible screeching and then she has seven days to break the curse.

To say anything more would ruin the various surprises in the film (and there are many). Where this movie really delivers though is in its atmosphere – it gets right underneath your skin and stays with you all the way through (and for a while after). The fact that's it Japanese adds that mystical foreign aspect which really suits the film and adds to its overall creepiness.

I have seen many horror films of varying types, from the bog-standard Hollywood fare to the more extreme stuff and I have to say that this film genuinely frightened me. I couldn't get one or two images out of my head for days after.

Having said that, the movie splits its audience firmly in two – either you are really frightened by it, or it doesn't work at all on you and you just find it dull. Half my friends found it almost too much, the other half were asleep.

Personally, I cannot recommend this enough – for whatever intangible reason, this movie got to and scared the willies out of me. Hollywood take note!

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:

Makes a Great Comparison with the US Remake

Author: etale (etale@sunflower.com) from Lawrence, KS
3 August 2003

Personally, I have a hard time choosing between the two films. I saw the American version first when I bought the DVD the day after the World Horror Convention in Kansas City. I just RINGU for the first time last night (August 2), along with RINGU 2 (In a very poor Hong Kong release DVD) and noted both the similarities and the differences. The US version had the business with the horses, the original had the volcano, something the is unique to each culture, as is the business of the lead female protagonist being subordinate in the original and much stronger in the US version. I found it interesting that the US version had to have her falling into the well, while she goes down willingly, trading places with her ex-husband. Both movies are superb and I recommend them both.

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