31 Days of Halloween: Day 13

Ringu (1998) Director: Hideo Nakata

I was in elementary school and everyone was talking about this new movie that was supposed to be the scariest thing ever.  And it was PG-13, so we were all allowed to watch it!  I was late to hop on the bandwagon, but when I finally saw The Ring (2002) I was traumatized.  I couldn't go in my basement, take a shower, or go anywhere in the dark without fearing a little girl would come out of nowhere and get me.  The Ring probably scared me more than any other single movie.

The 2002 film is an American remake of the 1998 Japanese original, Ringu (pronounced "Ring").  It didn't get a wide release in the States until after the American film came out.  Because of that, it was mostly advertised as, "even scarier than the American version!" or, "the original movie that inspired The Ring," as my DVD case states.

The two films actually complement each other rather well, I think.  Each has their own strengths, in terms of scares, and their own weaknesses.  They're a good duo of terror.  The biggest issue with the remake is it's overuse of now-dated CGI in some of its scenes.  It looks fake today, so the fear factor is greatly diminished.  On the other hand, the remake has some interestingly strange scenes that the Japanese version does not, such as the fly coming out of the TV screen, and the horse killing itself.  These small bits really add to the atmosphere of the American version, and this atmosphere is what makes the audience so vulnerable to the chilling ending.

The Japanese version's ending is better, however.  Using practical effects instead of CGI makes it look much creepier by today's standards, and essentially has a timeless quality to it.  The original is also more focused, and elaborates more clearly on the back story of the video tape.  The video tape itself, is rather different in both films, but are each creepy in their own way.

So I guess I should maybe talk about the story.

I will also be talking about the original only from now on.

There is this mysterious video tape, that after watching it, the viewer receives a phone call saying he or she will day in seven days.  A news reporters watches it, and must figure out the secret of the tape so that she may be able to save her life.

The film does a good job of slowly giving the audience information about the video tape.  Keeping us constantly on the edge of our seat, anxiously waiting for a new secret to be revealed.  The horror in Ringu comes much from what we do not know.  It is the mystery that is scary.  And the residue of fear is that from the questions left open and unanswered.

Why do people die after watching this tape?  Where did it come from?  Holy shit, did she just!?!?

I won't give any specific spoilers to those who haven't seen either film yet, but I will now discuss the ending a little.  I believe the ending has an interesting undertone to it, and is one that is relevant to today's news.  It seems like the ending is suggesting a sort of virus, and people consciously spreading it to others.  The late 90s and 2000s saw a large number of horror films focusing on the fear of getting sick, and the world's phobia of a virus wiping us all out.  I think Ringu is about a virus that we ourselves are spreading, hoping others get sick, while we don't.