Well, here's a review that I've been looking forward to for quite some time. There might be no more popular and heralded horror film among the general American public than "The Ring," the 2002 megahit starring Naomi Watts and directed by Gore Verbinski (the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy). Because folks, I'm sure you all remember the advertisement for that particular motion picture when it was released. The ad was simple and memorable - "Before you die, you see the Ring." There was a quick, disqueting shot of the titular ring of doom, followed by a couple shots of running, screaming Miss Watts - and then nothing. We were absolutely bombarded with this ad, along with a few glowing critical notices accompanying the blitz as the premiere date inched closer and closer. As horror fans, we knew one thing - a movie with this much hype had to be good.Make no mistake, "The Ring" was a good movie. It was atmospheric, well-acted, and had a very well played-out slow burn all building up to its singular moment, where the plot thread that had been hanging over the entire film like a funeral pall is finally unleashed on one unfortunate character. It's one of the most famous scenes in all of horror, all the more impressive since the film isn't even ten years old.
That was 2002, and now, let me introduce you to the movie getting the IHR nod today - the ORIGINAL version of "The Ring," 1998's "Ringu," the most perfect, excellently paced and plotted horror film in the history of Asian horror. The movie that conquered Japan in 1998, garnered unheard-of interest from American studio executives, gave a shot in the arm to the strapped horror genre as a whole, singlehandedly launched the ghost-story heavy "J-horror" genre (and the American remakes of said films), and stands today as one of the creative centerpieces of the horror movie and one of the ten best horror films of all time. Superlatives much?
Of course, if you've seen "The Ring," you're already familiar with the plot specifics of "Ringu," but here we go again anyway. The film begins with two teenagers discussing a peculiar urban legend. At a hotel in the countryside of Japan, several classmates recently viewed what is believed to be a cursed videotape that kills whoever watches it exactly one week after viewing. The girl who has seen it can't seem to describe what's on the tape, but after a long, gut-wrenching period of buildup and slasher-style stalking, the screen goes black. We are eventually told that the girl was found dead, and the other friend has been committed to a sanitarium.
The bow draws extremely tight during this opening scene; there is not only an opening-movie death, something of a lost art in and of itself, but we get the sense of just how widespread this urban legend of the curse is. The way the two innocent Japanese girls make it seem, everybody has heard about it, and there have likely been many others who have seen the tape.
The next scene introduces us to our central character, Reiko Asakawa, played by Nanako Matsushima. Matsushima vaulted to superstardom in Japan after appearing in this film, and for good reason - she invests tons of heart and soul into Reiko, and makes the character one of the ten best horror heroines of all time. Reiko is a reporter assigned to investigate the rumors of the tape, and the aunt of Tomoko - one of the girls in the prologue. Ironically, she considers this to be a wasted assignment not worthy of her time, but becomes much more personally involved after discovering the connection between the urban legend and Tomoko.
These early scenes with Matsushima give us the kind of subtle nuances and reasons to cheer on the character that are refreshing for connoisseurs of Japanese horror cinema. Nowadays here in the States, it seems like almost ALL of our characters are vaguely hateable twenty-somethings or teens who leave us rooting for the villain. But in Reiko and her son Yoichi (a great child performance by Rikiya Otaka), "Ringu" rectifies this problem immediately. Add in the tense dynamic between Reiko and her ex-husband Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada) once the film's "countdown" starts, and you've got the makings of a truly great threesome of protagonists.
As the early goings of this film continue to get, well, going, Reiko finds her way to the very same hotel that the girl from the prologue visited. Once there, she finds an unmarked videotape and watches it - a series of bizarre, disturbing, seemingly unconnected images. And once she has watched it, the phone rings. She has one week to live.
"Ringu," and "The Ring," by extension, is essentially a story of beating the clock. The middle sections of both films are made up of our group of central characters piecing together a puzzling central mystery - what are the images on the tape attempting to convey, and who is responsible for the string of deaths connected to the videotape? And while "The Ring" does a good job unraveling its central mystery, I believe it is done much better in the O.G. version. For starters, "The Ring" is very much an Americanized movie that felt the effects of Michael Bay and his unholy influence. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy the film, but one of its weaknesses is that there ALWAYS has to be something happening. In essence, the bow does not get drawn quite as tight in the American "Ring," particularly in some of the flashback sequences where we get early versions of the flashy MTV-style editing that this decade has been noted for.
Nope - in "Ringu," it's build, build, and build some more up to the horrifying climax. Remember how you felt the first time you saw just how the people who watched the videotape met their ultimate end at the climax of "The Ring?" I can only imagine what it would have been like had I seen "Ringu" before the American film; with SO much focus on characters and their relationships, this movie's kicker would have really kicked the hell out of me. Nanako Matsushima and Hiroyuki Sanada simply have unbelievable onscreen chemistry that makes this film very difficult to turn away from; yes, we are gripped by the mystery plot, but we are also fascinated by the romantic tension as the former spouses who share a child are forced to work together to save their lives. In short, it's searing stuff, and the two actors play it to perfection.
One other significant improvement that this film has over its remake is the treatment of its antagonist. The American "Ring" gets a little carried away with its swerves, making us feel like Samara was an innocent victim before finally telling us that, yes, the bitch was evil all along in its denounment. "Ringu" does not fall for such contrivances; Sadako Yamamura (yes, Samara's name was Sadako originally) is simply a badass villain, and we are given a sinister, creepy history involving her psychic powers even before being thrown in the cold, dark well that became her premature grave. And while we only see Sadako in her vengeful form once in the film, it is the presence of the character that gives the movie its outstanding edge and power. For much of "Ringu," we actually have a name that we can attach to the faceless horror that is ever-present over the viewer, making it hit closer to home with the individual watcher.
Readers of the IHR inductions can tell that I'm a huge fan of Japanese horror films. "Ringu" is the reason, just like it is the reason for most fans of the subgenre; it's the most successful Japanese horror film of all time, for starters (grossing the American equivalent of $200 million upon release, in addition the aforementioned effect on Matsushima's career), but it is also one of the most chilling and effective horror films of all time. Some people will also likely say that I didn't give enough plot details, which has been a complaint about several of the films that I have inducted into the Registry; I feel I have already divulged too much. The fun of "Ringu" lies in its impenetrability; its three characters following breadcrumb after breadcrumb, desperately trying to escape the unfair curse that threatens their lives, and, in the process, perhaps learning the meaning of life.
There are great horror movies, and then there are special horror movies. "Ringu" is one of the latter. It is a horror film in which director Hideo Nakata (who later helmed the original Japanese version of "Dark Water", as well as the Japanese sequel "Ringu 2" and the craptacular American "Ring Two") balances light and shade to perfection; character is just as important as blood and gore, and the "less is more" concept is practiced until what we don't see becomes mind-numbingly tense to the point of delirium. Finally, it's one of the most influential films of all time. Want to know why we see American versions of not only "The Ring," but "The Grudge," "Dark Water," "Premonition," and "Shutter?" None of that would have happened without this movie. In short, get to Amazon and commence clickin' if you haven't seen this one. One of the essential horror films of all time.
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