Ringu (1998)

Urban legends are an odd thing. They are pervasive and last longer than one might expect considering people don't normally give credence to them (though I must say my father had me absolutely convinced that Big Foot roamed the forests of the Issaquah Highlands). Folk lore is as pertinent a thing to study when examining cultural identities as religion on constitutions. Possibly more visible than these other characteristics, lore is fluid and more individual than, say, a language.

"Ringu" plays on these ideas as it brings urban myth to a new landscape--technology. What would later inspire the hit American remake, "The Ring", its Japanese predecessor creates a new legend in the form of a possessed video tape. A mesh of bizarre images culminate with a shot of a well. After watching this your phone will ring and a you will be informed you have seven days left to live. After a week, victims die a horrible and mysterious death, their faces contorted with fear.

Nanako Matsushima plays a journalist named Reiko who is tracing the deaths of four teenagers and who all seem to have watched this one, unobtainable tape. She does find it, watches it, receives her phone call and with the help of her callous ex-husband they try to solve the clues hidden within the images before her impending death.

The days go by quickly and they begin to unravel a plot that I find slightly amusing, somewhat ridiculous (yes I do remember this film is about a possessed VHS tape) and a bit sinister. It draws together what I imagine to be more traditional Japanese superstition and places it in a modern backdrop. The mystery being solved, however, is not all that interesting and though Reiko's time is running out there is none of the tension that should have been in the film. The story they are discovering is too nonsensical and the acting to banal for me to have really cared.

This film is mostly buildup with very little payoff. People will recognize the ghost that finally does appear by the end of the movie and when she does show up it is petrifying in its simplicity. There is no big scare, but it is so intensely creepy that I would have been surprised if there wasn't an American remake. It is saddening to say that it was far too little way too late. Instead of being scared stiff I was just bored stiff.

There is no doubt that this is a very novel idea with enormous potential and that little girl and that well are startling images, but the lack of suspense or intrigue throughout made it less than enjoyable to watch. Without atmosphere what is the point of a horror film? Despite its glaring plot holes, I could not get it out of my head that nobody wants to spend an hour and a half watching an independent, single mother working. There's no fun in that and horror films are all about the fun scares.

1.5/4