GUEST CRITIC #68: The Ring

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Movie Review of The Ring by a Japanese Movie Lover and Learner

by Reo

The Ring is a Hollywood version of the Japanese popular horror film Ring, which had been  released 20 years ago, and had a cult hit in Japan. The ring is a perfect movie for those who are  looking to get the chills! It has that vibe that something bad is coming, but you can not predict  when the bad thing will happen. 

I hadn't seen the Japanese version in a while, but I guess Japanese horror is recognized overseas  as well. The Ring was an enjoyable film if you don't compare it to the original version's slow  pacing and long runtime. 

As a Japanese person, I am unsure that the Japanese version of the ring is popular worldwide, but  I can assure you that in Japan, it is super popular that almost everyone knows Japan. 

Therefore, I had quite high expectations when I am watching the movie the Hollywood version  of Ring. 

Before I review this, here is a short summary of the ring. 

Summary of The Ring without any spoiler

Rachel Keller is a young journalist who's recently heard about a mysteriously cursed videotape,  that seemed to lead to her niece's death within 7 days of her watching it.  

Puzzled, confused, and saddened by her tragic and sudden death, she begins to do some further  investigation on this horrific video which involves her visiting the Shelter Mountain Inn, the infamous place where her niece Katie and her friends first viewed this videotape. 

She watches the video, and sure enough, the phone begins to ring. - "7 days". So now the clock is  ticking and the days are going by, and Rachel has only 7 days to unravel the mystery of "The  Ring". As many questions arise, and parts of this unraveled mystery begin to be revealed, there is  only one question that remains. - will she make it in time, or will her 7 days be up before she can  solve this puzzle? 

The Ring Review 

After watching the whole thing, I felt that the best parts of the original Ring have been carried  over, which is the slow pace of incoming tragedy. There is nothing scarier than knowing the bad  thing will happen. 

When Rachel, the protagonist, realizes that she only has 7 days left. I could see her getting  broken down emotionally and mentally. The movie itself is not as realistic by nature as it is a  horror movie, but the way the movie depicts how Rachel is getting weaker is quite realistic in  that situation where you only have 7 days to solve the problem she faces. 

In terms of jumpscares, there were not many of them. But, that's the beauty of the ring. The  movie will try to scare you slowly but surely by showing omens. It's true that Japanese horror  movies typically do not have jump scare but scare you with the storyline, and I think the  Hollywood version of The Ring successfully implemented that part well!  

However, I personally did not like the way it ended. The plot at the end was quite weak. I shall  not disclose what happened, but I can tell you that the plot made me feel like there were some  extra things l in the movie which was not needed at all.

Conclusion 

Overall, If it was out of 10, I would give it 7. 

The way the movie was carried out was pretty in line with the Japanese original the ring, which I  believe scared me a lot. I would recommend you to watch it if you feel like you want to get  scared, but I wouldn't recommend it for those who prefer movie-like conjuring which has a  decent storyline from the beginning till the end. 

Thank you for reading my article! It was written by Reo. I'm a movie reviewer in Japan, and I  upload occasionally on fuselinecinema.com (it's in Japanese though)