Ring, Original Japanese version or American remake?

PWEI

Which do you think was better?
I always used say the Original cause it was the first
one I saw but I watched the remake again last night
and I was very impressed.The camera angles were
excellent and Namoi Watts was very convincing.

NZAI

If I had two identical movies with the same script & direction, I'd always choose the Japanese version.

There's something ...eerie about Japanese people.

doh.ie

The Japanese one was scarier for me, but then I saw it first...
Hilariously, my brother who was 17 at the time was staying at my house and refused
to sleep in the living room that night, so I had to give up my bed!

I agree, Sadoka is probably eerier than Samara, though I prefer the Samara
backstory to the weak one from the Japanese films, particularly whatever the
hell they were on when they came up with Ring 0.

There's also a more satisfying plot overall in the US one, which makes me inclined towards that version. Without avoiding the question, I really consider these both
to be on-par movies, whereas the US Grudge is almost certainly not as strong as its
counterpart.

ixoy

I'm putting them on a par. I saw "Ringu" first, but it was at home and on a small screen probably lacked effectiveness. However, when I saw "Ring" it was on the big screen, at a midnight showing, and worked a treat despite knowing what would happen.

The principle difference I felt between the two was the US attempted to rationalize more - the characters wanted explanations, a backstory was more tightly written. The Japanese protaganists seemed to just accept what was happening. This may or may not be more eerie, but - whenever I saw "Ringu" - it didn't fully work for me as well as it seems to have for others. I still commend Verbinski on doing a good job and hope to catch the Ju-On remake during the week to see how that turned out.

Retr0gamer

I have to say I much prefer the original japanese version. I thought it had a very original pace compared to other horror films. Its very eerie but nothing really happens and just before the big shock moment you are kind of relaxed and not expecting anything else. And then they hit you with the twist at the end.

I did really like the american version but it was a little too generic to be considered a classic by me. Instead of pacing like the original which is far more difficult to do it threw in cheap scares in between story. It just felt like your average horror film, although a very good one.

mr_angry

I thought the American version of Ring 1 was better than the Japanese version, but I think the Japanese Ring 2 beat the pants off both of them. The scene was Sadako's mother and the mirror is just freaky!

The Americans definitely had a tendency to rationalise more. The Japanese seemed to rely somewhat on the characters having some kind of 6th sense or telepathy regarding the actual events. But I particularly liked the bizarre imagery of the tree in the American version - very eerie.

The yanks are releasing a version of Ring 2 themselves thats set for a spring release.

http://www.ring2-themovie.com/

doh.ie

One crucial difference between these is the actual tape itself.

I found the tape to be much more disturbing in the US one; it was longer, more eerie sound-wise and with a mesh of confusing images. There was the missing image of the mass of people with the word (what was that word?) which was one of the stronger elements of the Japanese one.

The US one made great use of the mirror material, the weird ladder and the centipede. (though if they intended that to relate to the one Naomi Watts saw at the trunk later on, then that was a pretty sh1t link).

The Japanese DVD had the clever idea of putting the contents of the tape in as a special feature - cool to give to people on video to spook 'em. Not sure if the US one did the same.

I'm very much looking forward to Ring 2, precisely because I *don't* expect it will be Ringu 2 (much of that ground has been covered), and because I expect it will further add to the backstory of Samara, her mysterious birth and how she drove her parents mad.

BolBill

Its a very good question. The remake is pretty damn convincing. Which is hardly ever the case.

Have only watched both once and probably won't again, SERIOUSLY SCARY STUFF.

simu

Japanese.

It's hard to relate to American characters - they seem really fake.

GuanYin

Japanese by a long sea mile.

I actually thought that the cinematography was superior in Ringu but apart from anything else, I think that Japan has been making effective horror films better and longer than the US.

When was the last time an original concept US horror film scared you?

Cactus Col

Ringu bored me

The Ring slightly less so.

Makaveli

Ringu.
I didn't think the remake was scary at all, there was no real tension (part of that was down to the fact that I knew how it would end), but it didn't grip me like the original did.
Also, I felt the remake added in bits that didn't really have much relevance. The horses on the ferry for example.
I also didn't like how they played off the image of a ring, kind of stupid considering what the film is all about.
It also seemed like a mix of Ringu and Ring 2, the electrocution bit is the only example I can really remember.

I don't hold that much hope for the American Ring 2, the Japanese one isn't that good really. As for The Grudge, again the original was good but nothing outstanding, I'll see it at some stage but I'm not expecting alot.

doh.ie

Makaveli wrote:

Also, I felt the remake added in bits that didn't really have much relevance. The horses on the ferry for example.

This was just more backstory, suggesting Samara's psychic abilities or general evilness or whatever was causing the horses to die/kill themselves. We know, too, that her mother was a champion breeder. There were X-rays from the doctor's office with the negative image of horses. Plus, the horse corpses on the beach made for a freakier video. I don't think it was irrelevant given those ties. And most people I saw this with were very disturbed by the horse jumping over the side of the boat.

Makaveli wrote:

I also didn't like how they played off the image of a ring, kind of stupid considering what the film is all about. It also seemed like a mix of Ringu and Ring 2, the electrocution bit is the only example I can really remember.

This is actually the one bit I would have scrapped from both. I suppose it shows how desperate her father was, and how far he was willing to go to escape his daughter, but it never worked for me. As for the image of the ring, I admit the Japanese one had a more successful way of playing on the concept that the ring was the continuous passing of the tape from one person to another - a chain of evil, always surviving. Maybe it was down to that final voiceover in the Japanese one, something like, "Dad, we're coming to visit - there's something I have to show you..." I agree, the US one seemed to focus solely on the image of a circle, the view out of the well from below.

Makaveli wrote:

I don't hold that much hope for the American Ring 2, the Japanese one isn't that good really. As for The Grudge, again the original was good but nothing outstanding, I'll see it at some stage but I'm not expecting alot.

I suspect (well, I hope) the US Ring 2 may be decent in that because most of the Ringu 2 plot - or at least all the important stuff - has already been used, they'll have to come up with a decent plot, and more backstory exposition. If this new material is good enough, and with sufficient frights based around it, I think it may yet be something special.

The Grudge just goes to show you can take something and remake it in a very similar way (much less story alternations than with Ring) and end up with something that is an echo of the original, but not near as good.

It's always been the additions for me which make The Ring (US) a decent film in its own right.

Lex_Diamonds

Ringu by a shade. One thing about the US version was the tape. It just came off as some David Lynch inspired Apple Macintosh advert circa 1989.

Tusky

hmm I cant pick. I like both for different reasons. I just saw the U.S Grudge today and its nowhere near as good or scary as the original...still good though.

Karl Hungus

The original by miles. It was a much darker, slow building film, very understated, creepy and altogether more subtle than the American version.

chewy

the original of course, grimy dirtier...

altough the horse jumping off the ferry was freaky

i havn't seen the grudge yet but it seems the same long hiared girl is in it

doh.ie

chewy wrote:

the original of course, grimy dirtier...

altough the horse jumping off the ferry was freaky

i havn't seen the grudge yet but it seems the same long hiared girl is in it

Same boy too.

He is one freaky child.

Would be so funny to have him brought over to promote the film, sneak him into a cinema and have him rise up from the seat to face the audience members behind him during the film! Of course, a potential lawsuit from the audience members' likely heart attacks would make this not a good idea.

Hmm. It's probably idiotic ideas like that that caused me not to get that movie publicist's job...

orangerooster

I'd say it would be lawsuits from the estate of deceased audience members!In normal circumstances that kid would unerve me but if he was to jump up in my face during the film my heart would almost certainly blow up!

In any ways back on topic.I think that Ringu is far far better than its American remake its much slower and tense,darker and grittier and just muchscarier.This may also be down to the fact I saw Ringu first and knew how things would end.Sadako was also way scarier than Samara.

doh.ie

orangerooster wrote:

In any ways back on topic.I think that Ringu is far far better than its American remake its much slower and tense,darker and grittier and just muchscarier.This may also be down to the fact I saw Ringu first and knew how things would end.Sadako was also way scarier than Samara.

True, the US one moves faster and doesn't have the slow-build tension, but I have heard the Japanese one criticised for being *too* slow as well.

Samara's TV appearance was more memorable visually, but I saw Ringu first so that one will always be stronger.

Caught Ring 2 and Ring 0 on Sci Fi over the weekend (they had a Grudge Weekend, but showed those?!) - neither really compare, but have their TV-emerging equivalent moments, just as strong. Plot of 0 made me realise that the US one will now separate off completely - the (spoiler)

evil twin/splitting/drama troupe

thing will certainly not be used, plus Samara is much younger.

On a related note, has anyone here ever seen Rasen or any of the other spin-off TV series, or know if the books on which the film were based are available in an English language translation? (Not a US movie tie-in, though - the original novel's translation.)

I'm intrigued by the idea that Sadoka's mother became pregnant while deep-sea diving to retrieve a sunken Buddist statue, originally thrown into the sea from the cave in whcih Sadoka was born...

Tons of great stuff at www.theringworld.com, by the way. The FAQ alone will take hours.

koneko

Ringu, by about a million miles. The US version wasn't scary or interesting at all.

Ramses

Loved the original Ring film, so when I heard there was going to be a remake I was excited. What a disappointment I had when I went and watched it in the cinema. It pales in comparsion to the original.