I’d read a lot of good things about The Ring (American version) and Ringu (Japanese original) on these boards, and from other people, but I’d have never seen either. An opportunity came up recently to buy Ringu… so I bought it.
Last night I watched it. Alone. Scared the ever loving crap out of me! :eek:
I’d heard people saying that this movie is low-budget, so wasn’t expecting great things. In fact I was suprised at the quality of the acting and directing.
There were no special effects, except for when Sadako comes through the TV screen, but if anything this just enhanced the believability of the story, and helped build the suspense.
I thought the soundtrack was used to great effect, with really creepy sound effects in all the right places. I liked the way the story revealed explanations for the various parts of the video. The climax of the film, where ex-hubby incurs the wrath of Sadako had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. The part where Sadako’s eye is shown was very, very creepy.
I’d like to know if you’d recommend watching The Ring (American version). Is there enough plot twists or differences to make it worthfile? How about the sequel?
Cinematography WAS great in The American version, but the only things that creeped me out were the visuals of the corpses - a pretty cheap scare tactic, but effective nontheless. All in all, Ringu was much more frightening - consider Sadako’s SCARY-ASS walk. Not as many bells and whistles as the American version, either, so the mood and plot of the movie take prescendence.
If you can get Ring(u) 2 anywhere, I highly reccomend it. Scared the bejeezus out of me.
karomon, I agree completely and wholeheartedly with everything you say until you recommend Ringu 2. I didn’t think it was bad, it just didn’t do much for me.
karamon: I think you nailed the main reason why Sadako is so scary! Also, the whole thing with the hair covering her face, and the missing nails. Again, the sound effects here are excellent.
Can anyone help with some quesions I have…?
What was the significance of the lady walking up to Ryuki and just standing there, then vanishing? And why only show her shoes?
All the scenes in the video were explained, except for the scene where it looks like naked bodies crawling on some grass. Can anyone explain this?
Why no phone call at Asakawa’s house? Ryuki was cursed when he watched the tape there, but there was no phone call.
Revtim, I can understand that. I guess the thing that really creeped me out was the scene where the doctor goes gompletely insane and slowly edges into the swimming pool clutching electric equipment to his chest and grinning wildly Also, I didn’t quite get enough closure from Ringu. I like the continuation of the story from the point of view of the girl that witnessed the first death in Ringu and went crazy, and the fact that the videotape takes on a laife of its own and does some really interesting things (remember the part where the cowardly male reporter promised to watch the girl’s copy of the tape but DIDN’T and after seven days the interview tape he was watching of that same girl started to get all crazy and finally she turned into Sadako?) Yah. That was great.
The first two questions are reflected upon at http://ringworld.somrux.com/faq.htm, which is a FAQ portion of a really great Ring site. (note: What we call Ringu is referred to as Ring on this site, while the U.S. version is The Ring)
Maybe only seeing her shoes gives you a sense of mystery as to who she is. Having Ryuki see Sadako in all her glory might a. ruin the tension for the viewers, and b. Scare Ryuki out of his wits, killing him.
I think that the phone call is used as a means for Sadako to introduce herself to the people she is about to infect. Ryuki will meet sadako vis-a-vi the scene you mention in your first question. Sadako seems to have a special bond with Ryuki, maybe because he is the only person who is able to see and understand her story, so maybe she feels the need to “introduce herself” in a more intimate manner.
I have. Didn’t dig it too much, but not because it was a bad movie.
Ring 0 was not directed by the same person who did Ring and Ring 2, and it shows. It kind of breaks the continuity of the series. That being said, I highly recommend it if you are interested in the whole Sadako story. In Ring 0, the creepyness is toned down throughout the movie, until the very end, when the horror element of the movie goes apesh*t. On the whole, it’s a little bit sentimental and sad.
Ring 0 takes place entirely within Sadako’s actual lifetime, mostly around the time right before she is killed, with Sadako being in her late teens or early twenties. It makes no mention of the previous movies, and I believe it just barely includes the reporter-killing incident. The movie strives to show Sadako as her own person, with feelings and an active lifestyle, and not just an evil force. When I saw it, I was surprised to find that some of the assumptions I had made about Sadako’s personality and death were not true.
I don’t think it hurts to watch Ring 0 if you have access to it. If you choose to see it, post your opinion of it!
I have watched all the Ringu movies, and I think Ringu 2 was the weakest by far in terms of plot. The ‘climbing out of the well’ scene was just too over-the-top for me. I was also not exactly thrilled with where they went with Yoichi’s character and the “posession” angle. One thing I really don’t get is why, when they pull the body from the well, the medical examiner states she’s only been dead a relatively short time, like, two years or so, despite having been originally thrown in the well some 30 years ago. Huh?
Ringu 0 was a good film if, like karomon mentioned, you’re interested in Sadako’s story. It was a very sad film, and Sadako is definitely the victim here. You get more of an insight into her character, and it leaves you with a very different impression of her actions in the following movies. I do have a few questions, though:
[spoiler]What was up with her diminutive twin? I know the doctor (forget his name) had given the “other” Sadako some sort of drug to keep her from growing. At some point then, Sadako must have split in two- the good half and the evil half. But was the evil half actively trying to harm the good half? It certainly seemed that way, especially when the double kept appearing at the theatre. But perhaps it was trying to help her in some twisted way- it did kill the leading actress so good Sadako could have the lead part.[spoiler]
The end was intense and terrifying. No real special effects, except for one short scene, but the tension created and the realization of what’s actually happening that steals over you…scary stuff. I can only assume that
after the theatre troop beat the good Sadako to death, the evil Sadako took over her body to avenge her. But why she killed the young man, the only person who was kind to good Sadako is somewhat puzzling to me. Also why the reporter’s wife and the girl shot themselves- where they so terrified they decided to end it all before evil Sadako got hold of them? Or am I missing something?
Also, does anyone know the translation of the name Sadako? I know “-ko” means ‘child’ or ‘baby’ and is often appended to the end of girls’ names. But what does ‘sada’ mean?
1.“I was also not exactly thrilled with where they went with Yoichi’s character and the “posession” angle.”
All the movies are based on a series of novels, and one thing that the novels make clear and the movies don’t is that Sadako is a virus that infects the people she comes into contact with in any way. In the first movie, Yoichi is fully infected with the Sadako virus, and even though his mother finds a way to halt or delay the final result of it, it doesn’t mean he is no longer infected. Think Magic Johnson.
Just as in Ring 0 Sadako was actually two people who wound up in the same body, there are now two people inhabiting Yoichi’s body - Evil Sadako and Yoichi. If you think about it, it would make less sense if he remained unchanged - even Masami (Tomoko’s friend from the first few minutes of Ring) went nutjob and SHE DIDN’T EVEN SEE THE TAPE.
2.when they pull the body from the well, the medical examiner states she’s only been dead a relatively short time, like, two years or so, despite having been originally thrown in the well some 30 years ago. Huh?
This is one thing that reeks of shock value, although, thinking it through, it seems plausible. If you watched Ring 0, you know that Evil Sadako has some weird supernatural shit going on. In fact, you never even see the Evil Sadako, and that makes me think that while she may in fact have a body, that’s only a vessel for what she really is - a force. At the end, Good Sadako and Evil Sadako become one. In fact, it could be that Good Sadako is already dead, but E.S. just takes over her body (E.S. is smaller than G.S. and can’t quite fit into her body, that’s why she walks like that, it’s been said) Anyway, Evil Sadako being energy, it’s entirely plausible to me that she could have stayed in that well, stewing, for many years.
What was up with her diminutive twin? I know the doctor (forget his name) had given the “other” Sadako some sort of drug to keep her from growing. At some point then, Sadako must have split in two- the good half and the evil half. But was the evil half actively trying to harm the good half? It certainly seemed that way, especially when the double kept appearing at the theatre. But perhaps it was trying to help her in some twisted way- it did kill the leading actress so good Sadako could have the lead part.
For more info on this, but not the answer to your question, I refer you to the “Ring 0” section of the FAQ I linked above.
As to why Evil Sadako is killing everyone - maybe she’s trying to get noticed. The one thing she wants is to unite with her sister and nothing says “Hey! I’m here!” like killing the people closest to her.
crackpot theory #2: She’s crazy and terribly P.O.'d and all she wants to do is kill.
Ok, so you might have guessed that I have no clue. I can’t even begin to justify that decision in the plot. I know I read a good explenation of why this happened, but I no longer remember it, nor do I recall where i read it. If I find it I’ll let you know.
I saw Ringu and have a friend who saw both. He thinks Ringu is much scarier because they don’t use some of the tired “freaky” things like the kid being all “sixth sensey” and the “suspenseful” phone call in the final scene. All I know is that Ringu scared the shizznit out of me. Not that you care, but about the scene where the mom is showing the reporter her daughter’s room and flashes to finding her in the closet, literally scared to death. The thinkg that freaked me out most about that was that not only do you realize that the mother found her own daughter’s corpse, and that the daughter was scared to death, but the girl first saw Sadako in the kitchen, so that means Sadako chased her through the house and she was hiding! Can you imagine being chased all the way through the house by that thing doing that fucked up walk and hiding in your closet and praying it won’t find you and then having the door to the closet fly open and there it is! AAAAAH! And then you realize that her friend had to watch this all happen! AAAAAAH!
Basically I thought that after all that was said and done what the movie really had was very scary set pieces, the thingat the beginning, the tape, the reporter watching the tape, the flashbacs, the scene in the well (which rocks because it makes you think the movie is over and then you get the even bigger scare of Sadako coming out of the TV) and of course the big pay off Sadako coming out of the TV, with that fucked up walk! AAAAAHH!
I saw The Ring in the theater, and then this weekend rented both Ringu and The Ring to do a comparison of the two. I found The Ring to be several times creepier than Ringu.
What I’m curious about is this: Those of you who have seen both versions, which did you see first? And then which one did you find creepier. I guess what I’m really wondering is if seeing one version first somehow “sterilizes” the other version a bit? I think this could be especially true if you saw The Ring first, then Ringu. When I was watching Ringu I wasn’t really surprised by anything that happened, and I thought the cinematography of The Ring was waaaay creepier throughout.
Anyway. I think it’s worth seeing both, just for comparison purposes.
I saw Ringu first, and found it scary. It’s understated, and there’s a sort of eerieness to the cinematography. I watched The Ring when it came out to rent. It’s a good movie, sure, but I knew what to expect, so I wasn’t scared. It was also a little too slick for me, with plenty of cheap thrills, the body in the closet being only one of many. There’s also too much pat explanation in the US version, and plenty of stuff that was seemingly thrown in simply to shock, like the horses, the weird yet marginally connected to the plot stills in the video itself, and the bathtub electrocution. I also thought the acting sucked and the little kid was way too “Sixth Sense”. The Japanese version seems to flow better, there are less movie cliches, and all-in-all, it’s just creepier. I can see why some people prefer the US version, though. The film quality is better, and I find that a lot of Americans are distracted by films which obviously take place in a different culture. It also really bugged me that they changed the girl’s name for some reason. I kept thinking to myself, “Her name is Sadako, goddamnit!”
Karomon, thanks for the insight. Have you read any of the novels? Are they available in the US? (I doubt there are English translations, but maybe somebody is selling the original versions?)