[KFCC] Ring Review

Story: In Japan there is a rumor circulating about a cursed video cassette. It is said that those who see this tape get a phone call who tell them that they will die in one week. A reporter for a local news paper has to do a story on this rumor, she soon finds out that this is more than a rumor as her niece is found mysteriously dead. Eventually she find a copy of the cassette and watches it, her worst fears become reality as she now has one week left to live. She gets help from her ex-husband to try to find a way to get rid of the curse.

Review: In recent years there has been a wave of psychological horror films, Ring is a masterpiece example of that genre. It was one of the most popular films in Japan beating box office records also followed by 2 sequels. The strong point of the film is the psychological element, its unlike traditional horror. The psychological elements slowly build up during the film and you don't realize it, eventually events in the film will freak you out.

The story behind this movie is really original, its a mix of the old world and new world. There is the traditional element of a curse but it is carried by a technological medium, a video cassette. This is not a story about mystical monsters or demons, it is something that reflects closely our modern society. We wont say any more detail about the story since the more you know will probably ruin the movie. One thing to note, its not a simple story. There is a lot of dialog and characters to keep track of, this might make the movie long for some people.

There are many characters in this film but it is not a story that is really surrounding the characters but instead the story is about the curse and the characters are more there for support. Its like watching the people go through the events that happen, there is no in depth background for any of the characters well except for Sadako. You will find this character quite horrific, we wont say anymore. The acting is very well done especially in a movie like this. Where words are not everything, the characters must transmit a lot to the audience from facial expressions to their actions.

The last time we were scared when we watched a horror movie was when we were kids but when we saw Ring for the first time, we were on the edge of our seat. This movie has some serious affect, another example is that we just saw the film an hour ago and while we were in one of the fear intense scenes the phone rings, we all looked at each other and no one wanted to pick it up. If that's not a good horror element, I don't know what is. Basically this movie is absolutely incredible, especially if you wan get yourself scared. It is very powerful and well done. Here is the down side, there is no available version of this movie that has English subtitles. We saw this movie during the FantAsia 99 festival at which time there was subtitles. So if you don't understand Japanese it is pointless to watch the movie, as the dialog is very important to understand what is going on and to really freak you out. This film is in the psychological horror genre, basically this movie has a long story with no scenes of action or gore. You must follow the story closely and slowly the fear will build up and for this reason some people will not really like it.