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Ringu (1998) R
A reporter is investigating an urban legend about a cursed videotape that kills its viewers seven days later. When she finds the tape she becomes convinced that she's cursed as well. Together with her psychic ex-husband she tries to find a way to remove the curse.
Ringu is the first modern J-horror I ever saw and back in the day it was something different. With tiny budget Hideo Nakata manages to do what most horror films fail to achieve - it's genuinely creepy and at the same time it tells a story with relatable characters. Like his later Dark Water, Ringu is again very much like a stripped down version of The Changeling (I wonder if he likes that film). There are no jump scares, there's very little special effects or even specific scary scenes but still the feeling of dread and fear is palpable. At least for me it's one of the most effective horror films.
My only complaints are the psychic husband (to me it feels like a cheap way to advance the story but characters like him seem to be quite common in Far east horrors) and few scenes that underlined their message too much (like near the end when the reporter tried to figure what she did differently from the others). Acting is very good, Nakata is great director and the soundtrack is the voice of nightmares.
Great film that competes with Pulse for being the best J-horror (it's scarier for sure). A must see for all horror fans.
A reporter is investigating an urban legend about a cursed videotape that kills its viewers seven days later. When she finds the tape she becomes convinced that she's cursed as well. Together with her psychic ex-husband she tries to find a way to remove the curse.
Ringu is the first modern J-horror I ever saw and back in the day it was something different. With tiny budget Hideo Nakata manages to do what most horror films fail to achieve - it's genuinely creepy and at the same time it tells a story with relatable characters. Like his later Dark Water, Ringu is again very much like a stripped down version of The Changeling (I wonder if he likes that film). There are no jump scares, there's very little special effects or even specific scary scenes but still the feeling of dread and fear is palpable. At least for me it's one of the most effective horror films.
My only complaints are the psychic husband (to me it feels like a cheap way to advance the story but characters like him seem to be quite common in Far east horrors) and few scenes that underlined their message too much (like near the end when the reporter tried to figure what she did differently from the others). Acting is very good, Nakata is great director and the soundtrack is the voice of nightmares.
Great film that competes with Pulse for being the best J-horror (it's scarier for sure). A must see for all horror fans.