Well I made it to Green, so it looks like I'll be sticking around a bit longer. :-)
Well I made it to Green, so it looks like I'll be sticking around a bit longer. :-)
Member since:05.07.2004
Reviews:7
Members who trust:1
Contrary to what the title suggests, The Ring (or Ringu, from the Japanese) does not focus on a ring, but on a videotape. It begins with a rumour that there is an evil videotape that kills you seven days after you watch it. A reporter watches it and, with her ex-husband, sets out to work out how and why it kills people, before she too dies.
The film is beautfilly simple in it's premise and the plot remains coherant and intriguing, by the use of very few main characters. For the majority of the film, the onyl characters we hear speak are Reiko (the reporter), her son Yoichi and her ex-husband Ryuji.
Throughout the film, the characters rewatch the video many times and each time, we are allowed to see more. These are the most chilling parts of the film, as the video is filled with people crawling around as if perhaps in hell, a man who simply stands with a towel over his head while pointing, and other such images. These viewings get longer each time until the finale, right at the end of the film, which is both shocking, frightening and unpredictable.
This film shows that it is not necessary to have a huge budget (this film was made for $1.2m) and bucket-loads of CGI to make a scary movie, but an original idea. There is only one "special effect" and it comes right at the end of the film and is done absolutely perfectly.
If you can put up with the subtitles, this film is an excellent scary movie (perfect for watching in the dark). And if not, there is always the american remake, although I haven't seen it, so I can't comment on it's quality.
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Production Year: 2000 - Horror - Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Carmen Electra, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, James Van Der Beek, Keenen Ivory Wayans
Concise and well-written, this is one of the few films that genuinely scares me due to the terrific atmosphere and all-prevailing sense of doom that director Hideo Nakata manages to create. Alboy
MAFARRIMOND 07.07.2004 11:13
I've seen the American version - it would be interesting to watch the original. Maureen
flamesparrow 06.07.2004 23:46
I loved this - the first subtitiled horror I had ever watched. Wasn't as keen on the remake - it didn't have the rawness that added to this one.
Jul 6th, 2004
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