| For me "Ringu 0" is by far the best of the Ring films made in Japan. (The Korean remake of the first "Ring" is probably, as art, the best of them all. But curses on the fool who named it "The Ring Virus" for international distribution. The Korean title is simply "Ring".) In "Ringu O" there is a complexity of motivation, action, and consequence which lifts the film above its Japanese "Ring" brethren (although all of them are better than 95% of American horror films). "Ringu 0" is more than just another "J-Horror" flick. (I hate that patronizing term, which sounds like "B-movie." It is now widely used by fans and critics who don't know how diverse and inventive, as well as profound and moving, many Japanese horror films are.) "Ringu 0" is a work of art carefully and intricately wrought by the writer, well-directed, and superbly acted. The Sadako in this film is a young woman, more tormented than tormentor, and I find it impossible not to empathize with her.
(Sorry for the parenthetical asides, but there is so much about Asian cinema in general about which Western fans are clueless. I am also an American, but I have at least 500 major Asian films in my collection, many of which have never been released in the U.S., and the collection grows steadily.) |
