Japanese Classic, American Studio Tripe

Rating: 1/10 (24 March 2005)

I live in the UK and was glad to find something a little different.
Hideo Nakata's 'Ring' was the first film I'd genuinely found creepy mainly due to the gradual build of suspense and the fact you were actually given some kind of atmospherics (rather than an American paint-by numbers or loud in-your-face horror).
Gore Verbinski's remake does two things: 1) Scene by scene re-enactments of all the best moments of the original (with none of the same sensibilities or feel of the Japanese version). Basically it's Ring-Lite in terms of horror, but also it represents a case of trying to achieve "more bang for your buck" 2) Removes all internal logic present in the world of 'Ring'. What the heck was with the horses in 'The Ring' (2002)? At least Sadako's lineage (her mother has psychic abilities) goes some way toward answering questions posed by the events of the first film.
I personally don't really like anything beyond 'Ring' & 'Ring 2'.
'Ring 0: Birthday' humanised Sadako to such an extent, the character really doesn't scare me anymore. The mystery is gone and also I doubt anyone could fear her ever again.
'Ring 2' was as far as it should have gone.
No spin-offs, rip-offs or remakes.
However, I await Nakata's US made 'The Ring 2' with a little more enthusiasm. Although US critics who raved about the first remake, they have been unimpressed with the sequel from what I've heard thus far.