π© Ring (1998) Review - When a Movie Does it Better | Film Waffle
Ring (1998) directed by Hideo Nakata
RIP Koji Suzuki, man. Kinda crazy that I reviewed Ring last month. Could you imagine if his death announcement had come a week after I'd published it? I feel like that would be a horror author's dream. To go down like one of your characters. An artist's life fulfilled. Maybe that's just me.
I'd like to say that I added this to my docket as a tribute, but I didn't. It's been on my schedule for a couple months now. I've really wanted to get on with reviewing this film because, in my opinion, it is one of the best horror films ever made. I suppose that, in and of itself, is a tribute to the fantastic franchise that Mr. Suzuki created.
Quick Summary
Reiko Asakawa is a single mother and journalist who is investigating a mysterious urban legend. Apparently, there is a video circulating that kills people one week after viewing it. Reiko slaps on her skeptic hat and nods along, but after her niece and her friends all die due to unknown circumstances, she launches into action.
She reaches out to her former husband, Ryuji Takayama, and the two paw through the evidence. Their findings lead them to a remote island of Japan. There, they uncover the remnants of a strange family with psychic powers.
Story & Characters
First off, most of the changes from the book are an absolute win.
We get rid of the novel's version of Ryuji. Don't know why we needed a rapist in the book anyway. Clumsily drawn parallel to the antagonist notwithstanding. Thumbs up there.
We also do any with the antagonist's... condition, I suppose you could call it? That thing that is only in the novel to make the antagonist appear more freakish than they needed to be. Sorry if that's vague. Gotta avoid heavy spoilers, and all that.
However, probably the most notable change is the movie version erasing the male protagonist of the book, Kazuyuki Asakawa and replacing him with Reiko. I think this really works. I say this not because I want to see evil men taken down, hehehe I'm a misandrist, but because it makes the overall package much more cohesive.
This is getting confusing. Let me summarize this.
In the book, Kazuyuki has a wife and son. Both passive and underdeveloped. Kazuyuki and his friend Ryuji go galloping around Japan.
In the film, you have divorced father Ryuji and divorced mother Reiko with son Yoichi. The divorcees are the ones galloping around Japan.
Subtracting a character gives the movie more room to build in characterization. Thus, when the stakes are raised, the audience actually gives a damn.
Speaking of stakes, I love that the film gets right into it.
The opening shows two teenagers discussing the rumors.
"A weird videotape? And then the phone rings and says you're going to die in one week? That's so crazy! Oh, hey. Snacks."
Planters!
Ritz!
Let's go capitalism.
Turns out one of the girls watched the first one week ago!
BAM! Immediate stakes. No faffing around. No stupid teenagers being dicks for 20 minutes before we get a whiff of horror. The tension is immediately ratcheted up.
The phone rings. Is it the murderer? Or do we have another Scream parody on our hands? Is Drew Barrymore about to pop out of the closet with her burned popcorn?
On a more serious note, I refuse to ignore the parallels to the opening of Scream. They are so prominent. That's not me hating, by the way. Scream knew how to set a mood. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Moving back to the main characters of Reiko and Ryuji, I love their dynamic. It's tense, but also considerate. The movie wisely doesn't subject the audience to long-winded conversations about who they have or have not been seeing. We don't need to go into the emotional baggage of their divorce. Instead we get a solid friendship that develops during the course of the film, with the suggestion of lingering attraction bubbling under the surface. This is helped further by the great chemistry the actors have with each other.
Absolutely delightful!
ALSO can we take a minute to appreciate how incredibly good-looking they both are? Nanako Matsushima plays Reiko, and Hiroyuki Sanada plays Ryuji.
Like what in the hell. They are both so pretty. As a dude who lost his hair basically as soon as I turned 18, I want Ryuji's hair so bad. Wikipedia states that they had a role together in some 1997 TV drama. So there's that.
He doesn't do much outside of the first act, but I think it's enough. It establishes him as independent. A kid that has had to grow up without his two parents there to support him.
I wish we got a little more about the antagonist's motives. That's something that the movie doesn't explore near as well as the books. So something more to buff out the Big Bad would have been appreciated.
On the negative side, the film gets ham-fisted with its exposition every now and then. I can forgive much of it. Partly because it's in a foreign language and hearing it is less annoying to my American ears, but also because I know what the movie is trying to squeeze into its ~1:30 runtime. There's a lot of places that the protagonists have to hit and a fair amount of names as well.
Still, the bones of the original book are intact. And, despite its vast differences from the source material, it brings everything back to those same clever story beats that subvert common horror tropes.
One last thing I in my notes involves one of the tape's victims coming back as a ghost and convincing someone else to watch it. This is explained by Ryuji by saying that "She's not herself anymore." The implication being she's a malevolent entity now. Maybe controlled by the antagonist?
But later in the story, a ghost appears and assists the main characters. So... are the tape's victims not turned into evil spirits? Why did the first ghost convince someone else to watch the video that killed them if they aren't evil?
Maybe I missed something? Maybe it's a plot hole? Not sure.
Wait. One that niggle. Making Reiko be the one to haul those heavy ass buckets out of the well was not very gentlemanly of you, Ryuji. Surely you could have done it faster lol. It's hilarious when you think about it. Not like she's got the time to spare. I get that you volunteered to hop into the well first, but c'mon.
Mechanics & Structure
Not a whole lot to say. Nothing stood out as spectacular, but it was all solid.
This film loves its hallway shots. And I'm right there with them. I love a dimly lit hallway.
The audio is relatively scant, but it appears when it counts. Some tense music plays when they are in the well. It was very well done. Also we get distinct audio cues that signal the videotape. Loved those. A very unique and memorable sound. We also get some proper cracking stingers for jump scares and major revelations. Bit too loud on the volume, in my opinion, but I appreciate the effort.
Lots of the camera shots move around as if they are gliding. There's almost an ethereal quality to it. Like a spirit who is constantly watching the characters.
Random last thing here, but what is going on with the various titles? Ring. Ringu. The Ring. C'mon people. Get it together.
Conclusion
All in all, this is a fantastic film. The scaffold is the novel, but Hideo Nakata's adaptation has stripped away questionable points in the source and added his own spin. It isn't a one-for-one translation onto the screen, and it isn't trying to be. In the end, we get a film that is economical, yet also deeply moving and terrifying. This is what every movie that bills itself as a remake should aspire to be.
Spiral, the sequel to the Ring novel, is on my TBR. Not sure if I'll get to it this year.
I have seen Ring 2 (1999). That movie is not based on the events of the book series. And... Yeah... Got lots of feelings about what that was. Let's say that the screenwriter and director showed their lack of ability without Koji Suzuki's writing to guide them. I'll save the rest of my peace for now.
And I've gotta add in another apology at the end here. This is three weeks in a row that I've been a day late in releasing the weekly movie waffle. It's not my fault! Okay, well, it's somewhat my fault. I was up watching paint dry on a goddamn cabin for 13 hours.
If you know, you know. And, hey, this photo somewhat relates to the Ring's antagonist, right? They officially share a media franchise! We already have Sadako vs. Kayako and Freddy vs. Jason! I propose Sadako vs Jason! We can make it happen!!
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