Ringu

Rating: 9/10
Year: 1998
Genre: Horror
Director: Hideo Nakata
Cast: Nanako Matsushima, Inou Rie

Everyone who knows me, knows how much I love The Ring. Well, here is the film that kicked it all off, and hell, are we grateful for it.

(By the way, I'm not forgetting the book Ringu, by Koji Suzuki, that this film is based on, I am simply saying that this film kicked it all off in the filming industry.)

Based on a novel by Koji Suzuki, Ringu became a box office hit in Japan in 1998.

This is one of my favourite films.

How much this films makes you jump will depend on how easily rattled you are. It didn't give me too many jumps, if I'm honest, but it definitely gave me the creeps.

It does require concentration, as the story is not laid out as simply as it is in it's remake, but you can tell this story has been really carefully thought out down to the very last detail, and is very clever.

The whole atmosphere of Ringu is really effective. There are the very creepy, dingy and dark moments which have you on the edge of your seat going 'Holy Shit!' and there are the moments set in everyday, normal situations, which make the film more realistic - the audience can relate to it better.

The acting in this film is really pretty good.

Nanako Matsushima pulls off an amazing performance of Reiko Asakawa, and the little boy who plays Yoichi is pretty good for his age, in my opinion, he definitely has one of those 'I know everything, but I'm not telling you' looks about him.

So I can really see why this film was such a hit in Japan: good acting, nice camera shots, well directed and produced, it brought a whole new wave of horror for it's audience, something that wasn't a pointless slasher film- it was more subtle in it's presentation, it had more of a psychological air to it. It requires the audience to engage, but at the same time, can scare the hell out of you.

This film was the start of many good ones to come.

Cool guy(s) - Nanako Matsushima

Reviewed by: Slater & Howard