Ring
1996
Exactly one week after staying at a remote cabin, a group of Japanese teenagers all meet sudden inexplicable deaths. A cousin of one of the victims, reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima), begins an investigation that leads to the discovery of a videotape containing hauntingly bizarre footage. Upon viewing the tape, Reiko .. Read more
| Starring | Nanako Matsushima, Sato Hitomi, Miki Nakatani, Hiroyuki Sanada |
|---|---|
| Director | Hideo Nakata |
| Genres | Horror, World Cinema |
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Ring
Exactly one week after staying at a remote cabin, a group of Japanese teenagers all meet sudden inexplicable deaths. A cousin of one of the victims, reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima), begins an investigation that leads to the discovery of a videotape containing hauntingly bizarre footage. Upon viewing the tape, Reiko receives a phone call stating that she, too, will die in one week. As the clock ticks away, Reiko enlists the help of her estranged husband, Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada), who possesses limited psychic abilities. Together they attempt to discover the meaning behind the cryptic film and break the supernatural curse.
Hideo Nakata's RING, based on a novel by Koji Suzuki, was such a hit in Japan that it spawned both a sequel and prequel, along with a huge cult following. Like a horrific version of an X-FILES episode, the dark, moody film makes the most out of the mysterious and the unknown. As any viewer will admit, the surreal, death-inducing video presented within the movie is extremely effective. And as RING's tension builds, so does its sense of mounting doom. One of the creepiest motion pictures ever made, RING culminates in an unbelievably chilling finale. Do not watch this film alone...and make sure the phone ringer is off.
| Starring | Nanako Matsushima, Sato Hitomi, Miki Nakatani, Hiroyuki Sanada |
|---|---|
| Director | Hideo Nakata |
| Studio | PALISADES TARTAN |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 31 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 Horror Films |
| Genres | Horror, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: Japanese |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 19 Mar 2001 Production year: 1996 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews
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This adaptation of Koji Suzuki's bestseller has rightly gained an international cult following. Structured like a diary, the plot resembles an old-fashioned detective story, propelled by chance clues and gradual realisations. Yet its emphasis on the paranormal recalls both David Cronenberg's brand of body horror and The X Files. Artfully mixing footage formats to achieve a visual texture commensurate with both the tone of the story and Kinji Kawai's eerie score, director Hideo Nakata inexorably builds the suspense right up to the moment when he springs the cursed video cassette's hideous secret.
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Most helpful member's review
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48 out of 49 people found this review helpful
Just can't watch it again
I did buy this DVD after watching it the first time, but in a year have only just got past taking off the cellophane. I still see the final scene every time I close my eyes.
I don't know what some people define as horror, but it's certainly not butchery - that's just news.
This film is horrific because not a drop of blood is spilt, no one jumps out at anyone and no one runs away from anything. There's no other way to describe it than a creeping terror.
If you didn't think it was frightening, watch it sober, without a break, alone, in the dark, in the countryside, without a sound - other than the wind moaning softly down the chimney, the doors shifting in their frames, the branch of a tree gently tap, tap, tapping on the window... -
Most recent members' review
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31 out of 33 people found this review helpful
A truly scary movie
For me this is one of the scariest movies I've ever seen, although some people that I know who've watched it don't know what all the fuss is about. It depends what you're scared by, I guess. This is more of the 'creepy, weird, unsettling, that's-not-nice' kind of scary. No blood, no gore, no jumps. Not only that, but it tricks you into thinking you know what it's going to do without ever delivering. It's never predictable. The finale is supreme cinema and has to go down as an iconic film horror moment.
The Japanese version does bring in different elements of mysticism, culture, and psychic ability that are missing from the American version, which go to making the characters seem more readily agreeable to some of the weird things that are happening. -
News and features
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Let the Right One In
- 06 Apr 2009
Film of the year so far! Imagine, say, My Life as a Dog, Ratcatcher, or even 400 Blows, one of those bittersweet portraits of lonely children bumping up against the hard knocks of parental neglect, abuse and poverty. Cross that kind of acute honesty and naturalism with an edgy near-the-knuckle horror movie – Near Dark, for instance, or Ringu. Now set this intriguing mutation in the suburbs of Stockholm during the depths of a Swedish winter. Let the Right One In is that movie, and it’ Read more
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