Ringu

[baumer]

Discuss

[baumer]

A good film but imo not nearly as good as Verbinski's. The story is a little different and it's not nearly as scary. Samara is still a little bitch in this one and it is worth seeing just not on par with The Ring.When I first became enraptured by The Ring, I wanted to know everything about it. I wanted to know it's origins, I wanted to know how it came to fruition, I wanted to know everything. So I began looking for the Japanese version at local Japanese video stores. None of them had it. And then I found out that Dreamworks had bought the rights to this version as well and weren't releasing it until they put their version on video and DVD. So off to the Internet I went where I finally found someone who had all three films on DVD. So I bought Ringu, Ringu 2 and the prequel on DVD from some guy in Texas for a small sum of about $100.00 U.S. I didn't care, I had to see the film and find out if all the hype is as justified.Now keep in mind, I not only hold The Ring in such lofty enough company as to say it is one of the best horror films every made, I hold it high enough to say that it is one of the best films ever made. So for me to like the Japanese version is a feat unto itself. Having said that, I will say that although Ringu is a good film, it pales in comparison to the better Hollywood effort. While it is a good film in it's own right, there is no comparing the raw emotion and primal fear that is invoked in you when viewing The Ring. But this is not a comparison piece, it should be a review unto itself so let's go forward shall we?Ringu shares the same basic premise as The Ring does. A reporter is investigating a videotape that apparently gives you one week to live after your view it. After her niece dies ostensibly from viewing the tape, she and her husband investigate it frame by frame and try to dissect the mystery.There is an element of supernatural forces in this film and Sadako, the young girl, is rumoured to have psychic and telekinetic abilities of some sort. This adds a different dimension to the film and it also makes the viewer a little uneasy, not knowing what could possibly happen next. What bothered me about the film, and perhaps why I didn't enjoy it or like it nearly as much as the American version is there is too much talk and not enough horror. The story builds, and builds and then there is no real pay off the way there was in the other version. Sure, Sadako does her thing with the TV and that must have scared the crap out of everyone when they first saw the film but there is just very little to be frightened about beyond that one scene. Many accuse Hollywood of bastardizing films that they get a hold of but it is not true in this case. Hollywood has spiced up a rather bland film given it life in every way possible. While The Ring is one of the scariest films I have ever seen, Ringu is good, but just not great. While not a nostrum the way many other horror films appear to be, it is also not the great horror film that many pimped it up to be. If you want to be scared and tense and on edge, watch Verbinski's version. If you want to see the roots of where the idea came from see this one. It's not a bad film, it's just not a great one either.7.5 out of 10

[Travod]

I thought it sucked. And Ju-on: The Grudge is worse