It is bloody typical that when I needed Mark to be picking horror films it never happened and I was forced to dig through the archives, but now that I am back watching the film he recommends each week he picks a horror film. At least he picked a good horror film. ‘Ringu’ (1998) is a film that I have already seen more than once and so I already know that I like it quite a bit. Although, the second time I watched it it did not have the same effect on me so maybe this time I will be even more down on it. The film follows Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima), a journalist who is investigating a slew of mysterious deaths, including that of her niece, which are all linked to a videotape. Along with her ex-husband, Asakawa sets out to solve the mystery of the tape.
I am going to try and keep this review spoiler free, even though I am pretty sure that the majority of people are aware with what this film is about. It is a film that has managed to cement itself in popular culture, although this may be down more to the 2002 American remake (which I should mention I haven’t seen) and a lot of the imagery and the basic story are all pretty well known. And I do think that it is warranted. The film is very well made. I love how the film looks. The composition of the shots and the cinematography throughout the film is great, not only creating a film that is great visually but also adding to the whole atmosphere of the film, which is one of a kind of inescapable dread. The films colour also adds to this atmosphere, in that there is very little colour at all. The film uses a lot of greys, blues, and blacks, making the film feel cold which really adds something to how the film makes the audience feel. I also love what the film does with sound, or often its like of sound. I had forgotten just how quiet this film is, especially the first hour. The lack of sound is really quite unnerving at times. Mix this in with a great score that jumps between an orchestral score and ambient sounds and you have got a film that uses sound to its highest potential. Well, except one moment where they use a sound effect that sound hugely cartoonish, but we can forgive the film for that. All the performances in the film are also great. Each actor plays their part really well and create memorable characters who have stuck with me. From top to bottom the film is extremely well made.
As I mentioned in my introduction, the second time around this film did not really have that much of an effect on me, and I think it was because I oversold it. I had told my University friends how scary it was and how much they would love it, and we all came out being a little disappointed. I had still enjoyed it, but it wasn’t as good as I had remembered. Well, that was five or six years ago and I don’t know what has happened in that time period but this time around I absolutely bloody loved the film once again, maybe even more so than I did first time around. Since I last watched it I have found a genuine appreciation of Japanese cinema and J-Horror which may very well be why I suddenly adore this film again. It just had me. From almost the first moment I was completely hooked and bought in. And, despite knowing exactly where the film was going, genuinely very scared. The film does what I love about J-Horror, where the scares are not jump scares and in fact are almost the opposite. Instead we often see the reaction of the characters before we see what has scared them. The film warns you you’re about to get sacred before it even does it. There are also several scares in the film where we see something in a reflection or at the edge of the frame which got me every time. I find these types of scares so damn effective and it got to a point in this film where I was scaring myself, thinking I was seeing stuff in the frame which weren’t even there. And then you get the climax which is just brilliant. Again, I knew it was coming. I knew what was going to happen. And yet, I was so bought into the film and what was happening that when the climax occurs, I was so damn tense. I hardly moved at all even when the scene had ended. The fact that the film still has this much effect on me despite having already seen it twice before really does speak to the quality of the film.
So, it turns out that this film is better than I had remembered it being. I had loved it first time around, was disappointed second time, and now after my third time am back to loving it. It is just such a damn effective horror film. The film is extremely well made, and each aspect of the film works hand in hand to deliver a brilliant horror experience. I can’t recommend it enough. It is not your standard jump-scare horror film that you would see in the cinema today, instead managing to create a feeling of dread and having a creepy as hell atmosphere. It is just great, if you haven’t watched it give it a go. I bloody love it, a genuine masterpiece.