Ringu

Hideo Nakata's Ringu (1998) is highly attributed with the resurgence of Asian horror cinema in the late 90's and early 2000's. Based off of Rikiya Otaka's novel of the same name, the film's plot is based around a cursed videotape-- anyone who watches it will die exactly one week later. This film was released at a time where technology was becoming more and more advanced, to the fear of many. Even today we hold some fear of technology and the potential consequences of its over-use in our minds.

The film opens with a shot of dark, frothing ocean water, which is accompanied by an ominous soundtrack. While the ocean bit isn't explained until much later in the film, it certainly sets the tone for what follows.

The first scene takes place in a teenage girl's bedroom. Two friends, Masami and Tomoko, talk about Tomoko's recent trip to Izu. Masami brings up the story of the tape, and Tomoko reveals that she and her friends watched the tape. The room is quite dark and only a small amount of light reaches the girl's faces, which makes Masami's storytelling very tense. We later see Tomoko sitting near the television alone. When the TV switches on by itself, the eerie glow of the television set falls upon Tomoko's face, and at that point we know the story is no joke.

The story then switches to reporter Reiko Amakawa. After finding a picture of Tomoko and her other dead friends that contains their faces blurred and distorted, Reiko visits their vacation site where the watched the tape. Located in Izu, the cabin is shown to have an owner who rents it out, but the cinematography makes the cabin seem like it is in the middle of nowhere (the 'cabin in the woods,' a common motif of horror films).  Here, we see the contents of the tape, which effectively induces dread in various ways.

Firstly, the contents of the tape are abnormal and don't make very much sense. The tape shows some circular object like a ring, people crawling on the ground in pain, a close up of an eye, the word 'eruption', and an image of a well with a hand reaching out (this is where the tape ends). These images do not make sense and we know that death is somehow associated with the tape. Thus we feel uneasy.

Second, we now assume that Reiko is cursed and has one week to solve her problem. This is confirmed  shortly afterward when Reiko meets with her ex-husband, who takes a photo of her. The photo contains Reiko's face which is very blurred and distorted. In fact, her face looks almost alien-like in the picture, which is pretty unsettling in my opinion. Anticipation can only build from here as Reiko tries to lift the curse.

Lastly (and I think this is one of the most effective parts of the whole film), the viewer had to watch the cursed video himself. It might seem silly, but I think that in the back of a lot of people's minds many couldn't help but think about the possible consequences. This idea adds to the sympathy for the main character.

Later in the film, Reiko and her ex-husband Ryuji see visions of past events, where it is revealed that a child named Sadako had supernatural powers. Her mother also had these powers but committed suicide due to threats against her. After figuring out the location of Sadako's body, Reiko and Ryuji sail back to Izu through a deadly storm (returning to the water motif). In the most teeth-biting, hair pulling scene of this movie, Ryuji lowers himself into a well where the body of Sadako is believed to be. Located under the cabin where the teenagers had their vacation, Ryuji and Reiko attempt to extract the water from the well to obtain the body. Reiko pulls out bucket after bucket of water. The scene is dark, lit only by flashlights. I especially became tense when Reiko took her turn in the well. Eventually the head of the girl, covered in hair, slowly rises from the water, making you think the girl has returned to life. Luckily Reiko pulls the hair back to reveal a skeleton. Even still, this scene is incredibly creepy, leading you to believe that things won't end well for Reiko (she was supposed to die around the time they found the skeleton and she survived.)

The happy ending is used to create a false sense of hope for the audience. The next day Ryuji sits in his study and the TV flicks on. In a truly horrific sequence, we see Sadako crawl out of the well and out of the TV set itself. At the end of her abnormal walk she stands tall, eyes wide, literally scaring the life out of Ryuiji. I think what's most effective about this scene is that there's no special lighting or shots that try to hide the monster. We see her completely as she crawls out of the television and straight into Ryuji's living room. In an age where people are adopting three dimensional televisions that are loaded with crazy features, this sequence is extremely relevant and can be considered familiar to our generation. The film ends with an open ending, as Reiko races to save her son, realizing what she must do in order to transfer the curse from him to someone else.