The Geisha of Gore Takes On: RINGU
by Colleen Wanglund

RINGU (1998), directed by Hideo Nakata, is the movie that put Japan’s horror movie industry back on the map. It is based on the novel of the same name by Koji Suzuki, published in 1991. RINGU is the highest grossing horror film in Japan, earning the equivalent of $137.7 million. It was remade in America in 2002 as THE RING, directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Naomi Watts. It has spawned several sequels as well. RASHEN (1999) is a little-known sequel by Nakata based on Suzuki’s second book in his Ring Trilogy (Ringu {1991}, Rashen {1995} and Rupu {1998}). It wasn’t received well so Nakata wrote and directed RINGU 2 (1999) with an original story picking up a day after RINGU leaves off. The American remake also got a sequel THE RING 2 (2005) and there are plans in the works for a RING 3D. Both of the American remakes follow the original Japanese movies very closely (almost scene for scene) but what’s interesting is that Hideo Nakata directed the American sequel.

RINGU opens with two teenage girls, Masami and Tomoko, discussing a videotape made in Izu that is supposed to carry a curse. If you watch the tape you get a phone call telling the viewer they will die in seven days. The tape was supposed to have been made by a boy while on vacation with his family in Izu, who died soon afterwards. Tomoko then admits to having seen the tape with three others at a summer cabin. The girls are startled by a phone call from Tomoko’s mom and the Tomoko is attacked by something in her house.

Next, we meet a reporter, Asakawa Reiko (Nanako Matsushima), who has been interviewing high school girls on the story of the cursed movie. Asakawa then receives word that her niece Tomoko and three of her friends have died under mysterious circumstances. She talks to some friends at the funeral and hears more about the tape, as well as learning that Masami went crazy and is in a mental hospital. Asakawa’s reporter instincts take over and she is determined to find out about the tape. Developing pictures that Tomoko had taken she sees the faces of the dead teens are distorted in the photos. She goes to the cabin where the kids had stayed and finds the tape. After watching it, the phone rings and a voice tells Asakawa that she will die in a week. Not knowing what to do, she calls her ex-husband Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada) for help. Ryuji apparently has some supernatural gifts. He watches the tape as well, but receives no phone call. Ryuji takes Asakawa’s picture and he face is distorted in the photo, just like the teens. Asakawa makes him a copy so he can analyze it for any clues to its origin.

The tape is full of disturbing images and Asakawa and Ryuji are able to hear a warning on the tape. There are also confusing Japanese characters on the tape that they translate as describing a volcanic eruption. There is a woman who appears in the tape along with the image of a girl in a mirror. Ryuji learns that this woman is Shizuko, a great psychic from the island of Oshima and the girl in the mirror is her daughter Sadako.

Forty years ago, Shizuko predicted a volcanic eruption. A doctor named Ikuma had gone to the island to study Shizuko and Sadako (played by Kabuki actress Inou Rie). In a flashback sequence Shizuko is demonstrating her psychic powers to some of the villagers who immediately declare her a fraud. One of the men drops dead and it appears that Sadako is responsible. Shizuko throws herself into the volcano and Dr. Ikuma takes Sadako away for her safety. Ryuji decides to go to Oshima but not before the divorced couple learns that their son Yoichi has now watched the tape. Upon their arrival to the island they find out about the mysterious Shizuko, her history with Dr. Ikuma, and her daughter Sadako who seemed to have inherited some very powerful psychic abilities. Unfortunately Sadako has disappeared without a trace. Asakawa and Ryuji go back to the cabin in Izu hoping to find some clue to help them break the curse and save themselves and their son from certain death.

There has been a lot of hype about RINGU, and the U.S. remake The RING, with many people seeming to think they are the scariest horror movies they’ve seen. Chiller TV recently listed RINGU as the scariest movie of the previous decade and it was ranked #69 in Empire magazine’s “The 100 Best Films of World Cinema” in 2010. It’s a good movie, but far from the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. The story is actually a very good one and RINGU doesn’t deviate too much from the original novel. It is also typical of the female ghost stories of Asian horror—the ghost doesn’t do anything to the man who caused her demise but visits her revenge upon anyone who happens to stumble into her path. And by typical I do not mean boring. What is unique about RINGU is that the horror is not visual…no blood, guts or scenes of murder. Hell we don’t even see the ghost that much. The horror is the anticipation of what’s to come. The entire movie is all about atmosphere and the filmmakers were very successful in creating a spooky atmosphere. The weird movements of Sadako walking from the grave were done by filming Inou Rie walking jerkily backwards and then playing the film forward. This proves to be a very effective technique. It certainly makes her even creepier. There are also moments in the film that attempt to make the viewer uncomfortable. The scene where Yoichi meets his father, Ryuji, is quite unsettling because neither father nor son says anything to each other. Yoichi just walks away. There is also plenty of discomfort between Ryuji and Asakawa throughout the film. The grainy feel to the videotape enhances its disturbing images. RINGU has been credited with reviving horror filmmaking in Japan and that’s as good a reason as any to watch it. If you get a chance to watch the original Japanese version, you really should check it out and decide for yourself.

The novel it is based on takes place in modern Japan, but takes its inspiration from a Japanese folk tale called Bancho Sarayashiki, whose origins are unknown. It tells the story of Okiku, a servant in the house of a samurai who wished to take her as a lover, Okiku repeatedly refused, so the samurai hid one of ten important plates to trick her. Okiku finally goes to the samurai to admit she “lost” the plate. He says he’ll forget about the incident if she sleeps with him. Okiku refuses again and in his rage the samurai throws Okiku to her death down a well. She becomes a vengeful spirit, tormenting the samurai by counting nine plates and then shrieking over the tenth and supposedly missing plate. This is where the origin of Sadako’s ghost coming out of a well, as well as the betrayal she suffered to so enrage her spirit, comes from. The ghost story dates back centuries in Japan and has influenced many books and movies. The female ghost is an Asian horror icon because it comes from a culture that believes if the spirits of the dead are not properly appeased they will come back and wreak havoc, although this usually comes in the form of bad luck. Sadako is probably one of the first real Japanese ghosts Western audiences have seen.

While other similar films have been made, RINGU was the first to get such wide distribution outside of Japan. Aside from the sequels mentioned above, there is also the prequel RINGU 0: BASUDEI (2000), based on short stories by Koji Suzuki, as well as a Korean remake THE RING VIRUS (1999) and a TV show. The stories have also been turned into a Japanese manga. All three of the novels and the manga have been translated into English, so you can read the original story and see how scary the books are, too.

© Copyright 2011 by Colleen Wanglund

Sadako is looking for you!