Worth Another Look: The Ring (PG-13) and Ringu (NR)

When was the last time you’ve really been scared?  For me it was when I neared the end of the Japanese import Ringu.  Ringu was such a sensation in Japan it spawned three sequels in its native land, one in Korea, and an American remake entitled The Ring starring Naomi Watts.  Both are currently available on DVD will quickly dispatch you to the fetal position in all due haste.  

 Ringu scared me so much I’ve decided I need to destroy what few videotapes remain in my home.  Why take any chances?  And I’m seriously contemplating selling other household items as well.  I’ve also noticed little idiosyncrasies developing in my behavior, like making sure everything is turned off, locked, and that my child safe in her little tiny bed—checking each about a dozen times an hour.  The fright-factor in this film will linger with you for… well, I’d have to say at least “seven days”… or a week... depending.  

The plot is much akin to something of urban legend—there’s this tape, you see, and if you watch it the phone rings, and like, one week later... you die!  Nothing really special there, but it is the execution of the story that will send you diving for the arms of your beloved.  I’m not even going to try tell you who stared in this or directed it or anything else because lets face it, even if I somehow managed to spell them correctly you wouldn’t be able to pronounce the names.  
 
 On the American side we have The Ring with the aforementioned Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, Shannon Cochran, and Lindsay Frost.  Directed by Gore Verbinski, this movie is almost a frame-by-frame, word-for-word remake of the Japanese original (not at all unlike the electronics you’ll use to watch the movie).  One minor deviation from Ringu is that when the phone rings a little girl’s voice informs you that you have seven days to live.  Big difference, huh?  More later.  The web site is scary enough.  This movie deals out psychological punishment faster than a crooked dealer tossing cards in a saloon.  
 
So which should you watch?  Good question.  Let’s start from the standpoint of decency.  Neither film contains any gore, which goes to prove you can scare people to death without hacking-up bodies.  The Ring does have some images that are decidedly gross whereas Ringu does not.  In particular the footage on the videotape in The Ring is much more emotionally disturbing.   The Ring has a handful of curse words, but even if there was foul language in Ringu it isn’t in the subtitles and you probably wouldn’t know a curse word from John 3:16.  Obviously, due to the intense nature of both movies I’d recommend you heed the rating and not let young children view either of these.
 
 
In both films the performances are believable.  Watts in particular sucks us right into her personal anxiety and woe, but perhaps not any more so than her Japanese counterpart in Ringu.  Even the facial expressions of the ex-boyfriend/husband respectively are identical.  Here I am hard pressed to pick one over the other.
 
You may find it difficult to secure a copy of Ringu.  Not a single store in Odessa, TX had it for sale and only Hastings made the DVD available to rent.  The “knowledgeable” folks at Blockbuster hadn’t even heard of it when it came out on DVD and the folks around the corner at our down-home video store couldn’t afford a copy for their shelves.  Best Buy does have this DVD for sale, but the SRP is an unusually high $29.99.  These factors alone may leave you with only the American alternative.
 
Overall, Ringu is a superior film and reason is quite simple: the story fits together better in the Far Eastern setting.  However, The Ring still has its distinct advantages.   There are no subtitles, the opening scene is more terrifying, and the make up is better.  Actually, Ringu offers only one extra scare.  Unfortunately, The Ring fails to make certain plot points clear thus leaving a thing or two muddled in your mind as the credits roll, but by that time you’ll have more to worry about than trivial unresolved plot-points.  Several alterations have been made to supplant the Oriental mysticism of Ringu.  Some were quite novel; ingeniously helping the story along, but others just aren’t tied in well at all.  To share more would give too much away.
 
For those who choose to rent or buy The Ring on DVD, here's an Easter Egg for you.  (Sharing this is probably going to save my life—I hope.)  On the main menu screen arrow down until nothing on the screen is highlighted any more.  Hit enter and you will be treated to something delightfully scary indeed.  Go ahead—try to hit FF, try to hit REV, try to hit stop!  It won’t save you!  Nothing will! 
 
I give Ringu a HOT DATE rating and The Ring a MATINEE.  You can choose your own poison.  Both of these movies are the scariest thing I’ve seen since The Sixth Sense and the opening scene in The Ring is so intense I can’t help but think of Drew Barrymore and the first ten minutes of Scream.  Just don’t watch either movie alone and afterward be prepared to run should the need arise.  
 
 And lest we forget, the sequel is just around the corner!  Cool poster, huh?