Asian Horror of the Month - April - Ring

[DVD Connoisseur]

For the second Asian Horror of the Month, I've picked Ringu (aka Ring). This very successful Japanese horror / ghost story has won over the hearts of cinema (and the video / DVD market) audiences around the world, thanks to its gripping storyline, masterful direction and superb acting.

Despite the film being subtitled and set in Japan, its theme can easily be related to. It's a modern ghost story, pure and simple. The film relies on atmosphere to strike fear into the viewer - and it delivers in spades.

Chilling stuff - I recommend it highly. I'm not going to go into plot details as, like Audition, you're best experiencing the film without any preconceived ideas about what it's about.

DreamWorks are currently working on a US version of the film - I'm actually interested to see how it turns out. If the basic elements of the story are adhered to, there's no reason why it won't be a great movie. But I doubt it could possibly out-do the original in the scares department. Time will tell.

[Roger Keightley]

Here's a useful link for keeping abreast of the remake:

Elsewhere on the same web site you'll find many interesting details about the various Japanese films derived from the original novel.

[slinker]

Ahem :D Im intrigued about an american remake, but ultimately gonna be dissapointed i guess..time will tell. Naomi Watts (Mulholland Dr.) is gonna be the lead and i wonder how Sadako is gonna look??? hmmm:rolleyes:

[dvdasia62]

When I first saw it, "Ring" failed to impress me but when I watched it again, alone, I realized what the hype was about. Genuinely chilling and atmospheric. Not scarier then "Kairo", but pretty darn close.