When I watch a scary film, I like it to actually scare me. Seeing a horror film or supposedly scary thriller, and not being horrified or scared is ultimately very disappointing. In 1998, I heard about a new Japanese horror film that was receiving rave reviews, so went to see it. I confess that I was expecting to see the same old predictable shocks, and well-telegraphed ‘scare’ moments.
I was wrong.
‘Ringu’ really scared me. It was creepy, effective, and just on the right side of making me almost cover my eyes. Bear in mind that I was a 46 year-old seasoned film-goer at the time, and that gives some idea just how good it is. The plot is simple, yet very effective. A VHS tape bears a curse. watch it, and you will be killed by something terrible, within seven days. If this sounds to you like a typical ‘teen horror’ film, I can understand why. But you would be wrong. The atmosphere is all in this film, with its sense of dread and impending doom all-pervasive. Not knowing any of the actors worked so well, as I was able to believe in all the characters. This is what a scary film should be. Scary.
In 2002, the film was remade in the USA as ‘The Ring’. It starred Naomi Watts, and British actor Brian Cox. It’s a straight remake, with few changes except the location. For those who had never seen (nor heard of) the Japanese original, it was well-received, and liked as a horror film. I reluctantly decided to watch it, if only to confirm my worst fears. They were confirmed of course. Familiar actors, and a reasonably familiar American setting, (Seattle) all contrived to lessen the scares, and make it feel a little too cosy. If you like to be scared occasionally, stick with the original.
It’s worth mentioning that this was one in a series of rather pointless remakes of some very good Japanese horror films. Other titles covered by the American film industry include ‘The Grudge’, ‘Dark Water’, ‘The Eye’, and ‘One Missed Call’. Seek out the films in their original format. You will be glad you did.
Good review. I’m glad you saw the original movie. I actually reviewed Ringu on my film review blog.
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Thanks very much.
Checking out your link now.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, if you, a seasoned horror film lover, were scared and creeped out at age 46, that tells me this is a film I’d never be brave enough to watch. Excellent review!
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Thanks, Jennie. It is a creepy scare-fest, that’s for sure. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Best to you, Pete.
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I haven’t seen these films, so I really can’t comment. I do like Naomi Watts, however.
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Thanks, David. She seems to be a popular choice for casting in remakes. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I always meant too watch Ringu but just saw The Ring and I loved it! Another top notch post, my friend!!!😀🎬💙
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Thanks, Dani. It’s still worth watching ‘Ringu’. It’s scarier! 🙂 x
Best wishes, Pete. xx
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Great post 🙂 The Japanese version totally beats the American one. Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂
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Glad to hear you agree, John.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Haven’t seen either, Pete. If I do it’ll definitely be the original.
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Good choice, Pam. Japanese horror at its best. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, your remake series highlights the danger in a remake: changes to the original usually make the film worse “Oldboy” one of theist egregious, and a strict adherence to the original only reinforces the pointlessness of it, as in this case….
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Thanks, John. I obviously agree. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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You know already I’m not going to do either 😀
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I know. Too scary for you! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Asian horror films are quite scary than the other kinds of movies I feel. I haven’t heard of this one though, but I will try it out. There was this Korean movie called Il Mare that was very nice. It was remade into an English film called the Lake House. They added a lot of the typical, cliche movie stuff in and kind of made it not that good. The original was way better. I will definitely check out this though.
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‘Ringu’ is a Japanese horror classic. I am sure you won’t be disappointed. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I am Def checking this out !
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The original Ringu is truly one of the scariest movies I have ever seen. I remember watching it with my mum on a friday evening. While we were enjoying it, it wasn’t until THAT scene (and of course I think you know what I am talking about, but in case of spoilers I am not revealing it), that we both got glued to our chairs and did not leave it for quite a while. The remake wasn’t bad ( I have seen worse movies) but it doesn’t even come close to the atmosphere of the original. Last year I saw a new sequel to the remake called Rings. If you thought this one was bad, you haven’t seen that one yet…this is a masterpiece when compared to Rings 😂😂
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The US remake was quite good, especially if you had never seen the original. But ‘Ringu’ really scared me, and that’s hard to do. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Definitely! And then there is od course Ju-on that also gave me the creeps 😱
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Ju-On also scared me! I did think of doing a comparison with The Grudge, but didn’t want to do too many ‘similar’ themes.
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I always meant to watch Ringu, the original film, but never got around to it. Not sure I want to be scared any more!
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I only watched it once, and it is very good indeed. But if you don’t want to be scared, perhaps avoid it. 🙂
(Being scared occasionally makes me feel young again.)
Best wishes, Pete.
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I don’t have the stamina now!
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