1998
Directed by Hideo Nakata
This might be the first horror movie on the List since Psycho that has actually scared me. And speaking of scary movies, has anyone seen the movie Hush? I watched it recently and was blown away. But for now, let's talk about Ringu.
Reiko Asakawa is a divorced reporter with a young son. Her teenaged niece Tomoko and three of her other friends have all recently died on the same night, with their faces twisted in fear. Reiko is determined to figure out the cause behind their deaths. She travels to the rented cabin that the teenagers recently rented in Izu and discovers an unlabeled tape in the reception area. After watching the tape (which contained a series of strange images), she gets a call from an otherworldly voice telling her she has seven days. Realizing she now has seven days to live before she meets the same fate as her niece, Reiko enlists the help of her ex-husband to try to figure out a way to survive.
My favorite part of any horror film is the backstory, when we learn what is causing all the, shall we say, wackiness. I thought the background of this story was very interesting and I loved all the flashbacks (although I might have watched parts of this between my fingers). There is, of course, the inevitable horror film frustration, where the characters act in ridiculously idiotic ways. Still, I wasn't too annoyed with the characters. It reminded me of Spoorloos, where the characters are intelligent enough to realize where their investigation might lead, but they are too curious to let it go.
Ultimately one of my favorite horror movies. And seriously, check out Hush too.
RATING: *****
Interesting Facts:
Rie Ino'o was filmed walking backwards, then the footage was shown in reverse in order to achieve the scary ass movements of Sadako.
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