Ring
Directed by Hideo Nakata
When her niece is found dead along with three friends after viewing a supposedly cursed videotape, reporter Reiko sets out to investigate. She finds the tape, watches it and receives a phone call informing her that she'll die in a week.
Where to Watch Ring
- RazorbitzNovember 29, 2025Much more subdued than the American remake, but in the long creeping quiet of time marching forward I found myself more invested than expected into the plight of the characters as they work frantically to break the curse. The well sequence alone is worth the build up; the unfolding mystery done in stylish fashion that set the standard to be copied poorly time and again, but here the mystery works well and informs the narrative in a tangible, believable way (again, unlike the american remake.) More than anything, Ringu really does feel like a book adaptation in the best ways, and what the director achieves in the subtle emotional moments of wordless exchanges is something I was not expecting to be affected by. I liked it a lot! I can't deny however that there was a creeping boredom in the middle act. It does drag, but thankfully the ending is just the right amount of tragedy and spook that plays with conventional story telling just enough to make this film the iconic piece of horror cinema it is. In this way, I found myself retroactively appreciating the ridiculous American remake more for doing its own very American thing. You are never going to confuse the two, that's for sure, and by extension allows them to exist seperately in a way that the Grudge and its remake do not (if that makes any sense.) Deserved classic; don't skip this one.
Ring Trivia
Ring was released on January 31, 1998.
Ring was directed by Hideo Nakata.
Ring has a runtime of 1h 36m.
Ring was produced by Takenori Sentô, Takashige Ichise, Shin'ya Kawai.
When her niece is found dead along with three friends after viewing a supposedly cursed videotape, reporter Reiko sets out to investigate. She finds the tape, watches it and receives a phone call informing her that she'll die in a week.
The key characters in Ring are Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima), Ryuji Takayama (Hiroyuki Sanada), Yoichi Asakawa (Rikiya Ôtaka).
Ring is rated Not Rated.
Ring is a Horror, Thriller, Mystery film.
Ring has an audience rating of 8.1 out of 10.
Ring had a budget of $1.2M.
Ring has made $19.4M at the box office.