Thoughts on Ringu

Saturday, October 23, 2010 6:31 PM By Simon

-Nanako Matsushima stars as Asakawa Reiko, a reporter who happens upon the tape (you know the one) while investigating the urban legend surrounding it. Now, she, with the (somewhat forced help) of her ex-husband (Hiroyuki Sanada), have one week to get to the cause and cure of the damned thing.

-Okay, hear me out: what if you just watched the tape every week after the first time? Wouldn't that just keep giving you one week to live, every week? Or what if you fell into a coma within the one week? How could Creepy Little Girl scare you to death? Whatever.

-I will make an argument I have never made before and will never make again...the remake was (technically) better. The acting, the cinematography, the effects, the story, the pacing, the sound, everything.

-But what this had that The Ring didn't was good ol' Japanese atmosphere. The quiet, subtle feeling of dread not present in most American films, the kind of tension that makes you jump at the slightest tweak in soundtrack.

-Anyway.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Call me crazy but when people treat this movie as if it's all that, IT. JUST. GETS. ON. MY. NERVES. (Especially Asian people.) #1, I'm Asian but I didn't think it was scary. AT ALL. #2 The remake is far superior. #3 Those awful sequels! (Don't get me started with "The Grudge" Japanese and American versions...)

End rant.

October 23, 2010 at 8:10 PM
Dan said...

Video tapes are bad. Why it took us until DVD arrived to realise this I do not know! ;)

October 24, 2010 at 2:28 AM