Ring 1998 - Let's Get Psychic!
I love The Ring – it came out at just the right time for young adult version of me to be scared shitless. With its gloomy blue and grey hues, moody child, a single mom fighting against time to save herself and her kid, a long, black haired girl crawling out of a TV. It was amazing. All of my friends were scared whenever the home phone rang – terrified to hear seven dayyyysssss….
Which mostly was other friends pranking those friends.
My boyfriend is terrified of this movie to the point where I can’t watch it around him. He has this memory of seeing it on a class trip in the theater and it scarring him for life. Though I’m not too sure that’s a real memory…..who takes a middle school class to see The Ring in theaters? Either way, it’s a no-go in our house.
A few years back I read Ring by Koji Suzuki and it was mind blowing to get to read the inspiration for this story that stands the test of time.
But something was missing – I never got to see the original movie; Ringu. It was released in Japan in 1998 and was directed by Hideo Nakata. It starred Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada and Rikiya Ōtaka. The sequel to this movie, Rasen, was released at the same time as Ringu. It was very close to the book but was not received well. So, Ring 2 was made as a new sequel, not based on the book. Also, fun fact, there was a made for TV version of Ring which came first in 1995 and is the most accurate version to the book. Much like any horror franchise – trying to follow the sequels and keep track of everything is confusing and practically impossible. Luckily, Shudder has Ring, Ring 2, and Ring 0. So, I’ll start there!
Now that I’ve finally seen Ringu let’s talk about it!
Premise:
Two young women are hanging out and talking about a haunted videotape. Rumor is that you watch it and 7 days later you die. One of the young women, Tomoko, watched the video and it’s the 7th day. She’s killed after seeing a TV turn on in her house. Tomoko’s aunt, Reiko, is investigating this cursed tape. She finds out that the same night Tomoko died, three of her friends, who also watched the tape, died as well. All of their bodies were found twisted with fear. Reiko heads to the cabin the friends rented and finds the tape. She watches it, the phone rings, and she’s told she’ll die in seven days. She reaches out to her ex husband; Ryūji and the two try to understand and track down the people shown in the videotape in hopes of stopping this ticking clock.
"frolic in brine, goblins be thine"
What I loved (full spoilers):
The deaths were far more subtle in this flick but are far more scary. When Reiko visits her sister’s apartment there’s a flash scene of Tomoko’s body twisted and screaming in the closet. It’s a quick flash but it sticks with you. We also see police pull one of her friend’s bodies from a car where they died and it’s a fuzzy VHS live shot where you can’t quite see the face but it’s terrifying none the less.
In fact, most of the horror itself is subtle and so effective. A particular scene I enjoyed was where Reiko is in the cabin after she finishes watching the tape. She turns the TV off and looks up, seeing in the reflection of the screen Sadako (the ring girl) in the background behind her. It’s chilling despite there being no booming music or a scream from Reiko. Another favorite scene of mine was when Reiko is in the bottom of the well – she’s digging through the water and pulls her hands out covered in long black strands of hair. She lifts her hands slowly as in front of her a body rises. Again, it’s silent – there’s no screaming or panicking – Reiko just accepts this is happening, and even embraces the corpse. Lastly, a great scene is at the end when Reiko knows she has been saved but that Ryūji has still been killed by Sadako. She’s in her living room trying to figure out why it happened when Ryūji’s ghost appears, a white cloth placed over his head, his hand pointing directly at her purse. It’s a direct copy of a scene in the cursed tape and it’s truly frightening to behold.
I think what’s so great about this movie is the lack of build up and dramatic music, holding your hand to let you know when you should be scared. It’s a quiet movie with strange occurrences that makes your blood run cold as you catch things appearing. I really loved this.
Of course, we can’t review Ring without talking about the tape! Now, this tape is more authentic than in the American version. Because, typical American style, that tape is over the top with gross out factors and scares. This tape though is strange and eerie, some parts almost impossible to make out because it’s on an authentic VHS tape. It’s fuzzy and jumping – writing dances around the screen, a woman brushes her hair, a strange figure stands with a white cloth over its head. It’s haunting and digs deep under your skin. And, obviously, at the end of the tape is the well.
I found the well scenes more frightening in Ring because of the authenticity of the VHS tape. In the final scenes as Ryūji thinks he’s safe, he turns around to see the TV turn on. We watch as slowly, ever so slowly, Sadako climbs out of the well and walks out of the TV. It’s so much slower and creepier as we wait and watch her make her final descent towards the screen. I absolutely loved it.
The one thing I was not expecting was the psychic aspect of this story. Shizuko, Sadako’s mother, is a psychic and Sadako can kill people with her mind. Ryūji himself is psychic, and it seems to hint that this is a reason why his marriage with Reiko fell apart. He helps to solve the mystery though using his psychic powers. It definitely caught me off guard, but it’s all handled which such a straight face and again with subtly (word of the day is subtly you guys) that I just sort of blinked and said, okay, psychic powers – got it, and continued on with the film.
Overall:
I really enjoyed myself watching this film. I had such a horrible day and I put this on in hopes of distracting me for the evening. Instead it fully absorbed me and I spent a good hour and a half in this strange world of wells, cursed videos, psychic girls, and a volcano. I am so grateful that Shudder added these movies to their roster so I could finally have a chance to experience them. I can’t wait to watch the sequels!
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