| There are two things that I
would like to say before I get down to business
and write this review. First, there is something
to be said about telling a story for the sake
of telling a story. Second, there is a saying,
which goes, "a copy is never as strong as the
original." In the case of the movie Ringu,
both are true. While the US version, The Ring,
was a sorry excuse for a remake, as it turned
a compelling and powerful ghost story into a horror
movie for the sake of profit, the original Japanese
version was a truly interesting and engrossing
movie, and was true to the story of the book that
spawned it. But I won't spend the entire review
harping on the US version (as much as I would
dearly love to tear the piece of sh!t apart),
but will instead give my full attention to reviewing
the original, and superior, version: Ringu.
Ringu, starts with a fairly
mundane and benign event, that of two teenage
girls gossiping about boys, sports and their recent
trip to a resort spring. However, despite the
carefree attitude they display, the lighting and
setup gives the scene an eerie and foreboding
sense. Right off the bat, we are shown a contrast
with the girl's relaxed demeanor, and the ominous
setting. This theme continues throughout the movie,
where seemingly benign scenes are underscored
with a sense of not-rightness through camera angles
and lighting, but are never overtly menacing,
such as wraiths flying about screaming, or making
a place look like its not somewhere you would
want to go. Even the cabin where the ghost of
Sadako manifests itself is innocuous looking,
and nothing but the production values used at
the time indicate that there is anything dangerous
about the place. At no time in the entire movie
is there an overt attempt to horrify or frighten
the viewer, but instead keeps them interested
in the story unfolding on the screen, while keeping
them aware that there is something not quite right
about what is happening to the characters.
One highlight of the movie aside
from the interesting way that the camera angels
were used, is the fact that it is a good, solid
ghost story and nothing more. It begins with the
premise of a powerful and lethal curse being laid
upon some innocent bystanders, and the race that
two of them go through to lift the curse before
it kills them. The plot is kept on topic, and
there is no "fluff" in the screenplay, which keeps
the movie going at a steady pace and keeps the
audience interested in the events unfolding on
screen. Also, there are layers to the plot, and
as more and more are peeled away, the deeper we
are drawn into the story and the more we invest
in the characters. Another wonderful thing about
the writing is that there is no unnecessary dialog.
When there is a spot where it seems like the characters
would or should be silent, they are.
Another highlight of Ringu
is the acting. The characters are all well developed
from not only good writing, but each of the actors
brought an, in my opinion, excellent performance
to the screen. Two favorites were the little boy
Yoichi, and his father Ryuji, whom are both spiritually
aware characters. The actors did a very good job
of "reacting" to the curse when they were exposed
to it, and to people who were affected by it.
The ghost of Sadako, the movie's
"antagonist," is one of the more interesting characters,
not because of her omnipresence in the movie,
but because of her role in it and how her powers
and curse manifest themselves. And not only is
she an interesting character, but she has a very
cool design to her. Most wraiths that are in movies
are phantasmal, decayed looking things. Sadako,
on the other hand, looks completely corporeal,
is not decaying in any way. Also, the way that
her hair completely covers her face makes her
appearance all the more mysterious and otherworldly.
The music in this piece is another
tool to add to the mystique of the piece, and
it helps to set the mood of not quite rightness
in the story. When things are meant to be chilling,
the music is chilling. When it is meant to be
hopeful, the music is hopeful. However, the music
in the piece takes a second seat to the story,
and is correctly used more as a mood tool than
as a tempo meter. And because this is a ghost
story, it works just fine in this way.
Overall, I would highly recommend
Ringu to anyone who likes a good ghost story with
an original concept and interesting characters
with plenty of plot twists. If you've seen the
US remake (I know, I know, I said I wouldn't mention
it again. Deal with it), I would encourage you
to see the original, because, in my opinion, the
copy is never as good as the source, and if you
liked the US trash, you'll love the original.
And if you have no intention of seeing the U.S.
version, I would still recommend this movie, because
it is, in my opinion, so different. Over all,
I would say that it is a great movie, and is definitely
worthy of praise.
|
(4/5)