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| RING 0 - BAASUDEI. Starring - Nakama Yukie - Kumiko Aso - Daisuke Ban - Chinami Furuya. Director - Norio Tsuruta. I have found it extremely difficult to write an overview for this movie simply because I know many of you have never seen the other two movies. I realised early on that if I touch upon too many issues brought about from watching Ring 0 – Baasudei then I could in actuality spoil all 3 movies. Ring 0 – Baasudei (birthday) is the third and final instalment of the infamous Ring movies, but this time rather than being a sequel we have what is basically a prequel of sorts offering an insight into the origins of Yamamura Sadako and the curse that surrounds her. More importantly we learn that Sadako is in fact capable of using her gift to do good as her relationship with Toyama unfolds. Sadako is indeed cursed though; as no matter how much good she does her past always catches her up turning her into the all-scaring Sadako that we know and love from the prior movies. I enjoyed the first Ring movie and loved the second in the series so I was anticipating more of the same from the conclusion. Unfortunately whilst Ring 0 is an expertly shot and well-told story it is not exactly pant wetting material. For the first 70 minutes or so we are simply going through the motions as the director Norio Tsuruta builds a background to the curse surrounding Sadako. The only problem with this is that unless you are a complete idiot you should have already deduced from the prior two movies just why Sadako is so evil. However if you have never seen the first two movies then it would be a pretty strange decision to jump onboard here forgoing the far superior pre/sequels. Anyway as I have already stated for the first 70 minutes or so it is pretty stagnant stuff that all of a sudden springs to life with the death/rebirth of Sadako. From here on in though it feels much more intense and akin to the pre/sequels as we see Sadako go from strength to strength as she realises that she controls the power to determine the fate of her tormentors. Now this is more like it, Goosebumps are set on red alert as Sadako menacingly ambles around the scenery in search of her brutal murderers. The finale is also extremely thought provoking as we learn more of the well and how Sadako eventually ended up down there. I found this end sequence to be quite disturbing, after contemplating just how distraught Sadako must have been whilst trapped down here in solitude. The actors all play their respective parts well with Nakama Yukie as Sadako being the one to really stand head and shoulders above the rest. I know she is playing the lead and therefore gets much more screen time than the rest of the cast, but whenever she is actually on screen she demands your utmost attention. She has been cast perfectly for the role and never fails to impress with her acting abilities. Ultimately Ring 0 is a missed opportunity, taking far too long to actually get to the point. That is to scare the viewer shitless. A shame really as when this movie is good it is very, very good, it is just so slow and lethargic, by the time it gets there you may not care anymore. 6******stars. |
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