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RINGU Hellooooooo, This is Doctor Sarcofiguy, Fairfax Cable, Channel 12 horror PhD, with yet, ANOTHER review! There are two things this southern gentleman loves his MOONSHINE, and bootleg horror films. Well, I was Plumplenny! I was plum outta the shine, but had plenty of the bootleg movie. I got a copy of Ringu, the Japanese version of the Ring! Boy, I tellya, it was thoroughly enjoyable, it was! |
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The similarities between the
American remake and the Japanese version: It's still a story about a very
bizarre little video, thought to be part of an urban myth. Once you've seen
this video, it's said you get a phone call saying your gonna die in exactly
one week. Turns out it ain't just hokum! It's the real deal! Oh, the
horrible nightmares that ensue. The visions. And your complexion! Honey
chile, you look real dodgy when you're photographed up close, like. And when
the end of the week comes, you live up to the dreaded, arcane telemarketer's
hype....YA JUST DROP DAID!
Other similarities to the American Ring: a lovely lady reporter is conveniently related to one of the victims of the cursed VHS. She watches the video, and suddenly Miss Thang is pressed for time to uncover the mystery behind the eerie video before she is croaked. And let me tellya, the journey is wonderfully surreal, and describes such dire urgency. The preceding are all brought to you on small budget, which adds to the flavor of the film. The American version had a lot of money behind it, a minor hindrance, and enhances the overall tale of the Japanese version. But there's nothing like seeing something done without a lot of money behind it. LESS WITH THE EXCESS! Sometimes ya just wanna a few camera tricks, acting, and a story well told. Less is more. It scares you better when things are left to the imagination. That's one of the qualities of Ringu that I enjoyed. It feels like it could work as a stage play, or a book. (Stay tuned for foreshadowing, honey chile!) Indeed, Ringu is based on the novel Ringu written byKôôji Suzuki. The film Ringu is but one of several Japanese films. A bunch of t.v. related stuff. And, it appears that there are a slew of comic book/manga editions out there as well. Leave it to us Americans' to plunder, and cash in on the successes of the more creatively astute foreign film artisans, and creators. We're such nincompoopheads, us Americans! Oh, how I wished I couldn't site the American remakes that just didn't pass muster! Wings of Desire (City of Angels), The Vanishing (The Vanishing, starring a then passe chump Kiefer Sutherland), and Insomnia (Insomnia, starring Robin Williams, and ham WACKter Al Pacino!). To be honest, I haven't seen the movie Insomnia, but I know it must suck cuz it's an American remake! And I just KNOW Swept Away sucks, just cuz Madonna ('Anti-Matter Madonna', I call her, cuz she's dangerous to celluloid!) is in it! Enough of my incessant yammering over things I have no dictatorial control over. Ringu doesn't have an extended, elaborate riff on the little girl as the American piece does. Stuff I thought often satisfying. But it is effective what little you do learn of the girl. The subtlety adds to her monstrosity. Once you've seen Ringu, you'll discover that it has several wonderfully inventive conceits that still make it as viable a piece of entertainment as the American version. So, you don't have to discard it, and consider the American Ring the more definitive version. Ringu. Haunting story, wonderfully, and inexpensively presented. Felt like I felt when I first saw Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street, Blair Witch, The Haunting, and The Changeling. Oogied me something awful! STILL oogies me something awful! Ringu (soon to be released on DVD. Or so my sources say!) gets 4 outta 4 Czars! Won't buy it though! I'm too scared to have it in the house! DOC SARCOFIGUY! |
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