I saw the remake a couple of times but I never saw this one, the original one. Is it better than the remake or is it not worth renting?
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I actually like the original. I couldn't understand the remake all too much.
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I just rewatched them both back-to-back . I would go with the original. The remake takes most of its best moments from the original
some nice details that the remake added were the bit about how the girl "never sleeps" (I don't know if that was taken from the Ringu novels or sequels) and the addition of water at the death scenes. I like the part about S. never sleeping because that explains (somewhat) why the murders continue after they put her remains to rest
I believe that Ringu was based largely on two good films about the supernatural: The Changeling and Curse of the Demon (aka Night of the Demon)
there aren't too many truly original stories in movies today but Ringu put the elements together well. I enjoyed it
I don't remember everything about the remake, but what i do remember is that it was a lot more drawn out than the original and had some extra stuff like the video was longer and there were horses and stuff. I'm not sure that was necessary, but in general i'm disgusted by the whole concept of remakes.
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Remakes are copyright infringement of the soul.
The original is scary in a different way, there is a lot more of a build up to the end scenes.
The only thing I didnt like about the original was how certain characters were described as being psychic. Didnt really do anything for me, but it oculd be I am missing a cultural reference or something.
The way the girl is investigated in the original is better than the remake. And the girl is simply scarier in the remake. Also, her mother and their relationship is explained in a slightly more sensible way.
However, the remake looks better than the original - which isnt that much of a shock given it was made four years prior, and without a Hollywood budget.
Watch them both and make your mind up.
I seen The Ring in the theater when it opened and thought it was the creepiest movie I had seen in a long time. I have seen it numberous times and continue to enjoy it.
I finally got to watching Ringu for the first time yesterday. I have to say that I was dissapointed. It wasnt nearly as creepy as The Ring was and really felt kind of slow in spots. I didnt like that the Ex-husband had these pyschic powers that were never really explained. I thought the ex-husband was very underdeveloped in general. I felt like the actual tape in The Ring was longer and much creepier than it was in Ringu. I thought the story of The mother and the daughter made more sense in The Ring and thought that the father killing himself in the tub was very creepy as long as the horses freaking out on the ferry to the island because they could sense that the reporter had been cursed.
I liked both movies but felt like The Ring was fleshed out more and made more sense overall and was creepier.
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I may be in the minority, but I preferred the remake. I thought it was scarier, the atmosphere was better, I liked the fact that the pace wasn't as slow and it was just overall a better movie in my opinion. The original had some scary scenes as well, I'm not gonna lie, but I was just more impressed by the American "Ring". And I agree with what someone else said, most people seem to prefer the version they saw first - at least that's the case with me.
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I am sooooooo baffled with so many people saying the remake was better and had more depth?????!!! whahahahaha that just has to be a joke, i mean come on... and the whole horses thingy? jesus christ that was a bad remake. First off all, it wasn't scary for a moment and the actors were giving so much more in the original i felt like it was really happening all around me in my hometown because of the documentary-like style of filming and the slow and nervewrecking build-up of suspense and because of the actors eyes we're filled with fear and it comes across! And this is where the remake totally sucked. The style is so typically hollywood it's disgusting and also the actors style of acting is so been there done that, it took the originality and scariness out of the movie and it makes the fear not come across. furthermore the girl in the original is much-much more scary than the one in the remake, in the original it all feels and looks so real which adds so much suspense and the style and feel of the first film were what made it so special and pop out from the rest of asian horror movies. The remake loses that special feeling because of its standard hollywood style filming, acting and the special effects which for me take away the reality feeling. Also the movement of the girl in the original looked so sick n scary but also real, in the remake you just see they tried to make it a bit more fluent and for me this should not have even been tried. same goes for the remake in general, it was a big disappointment but he i'm still a bit lucky as i wasn't expecting as much from it as other people might have. It was as bad as the later remake of Ju-on
namely the grudge which was also a truly dissappointing remake, original was also so much more scary and thrilling and gorey. Please hollywood, stop screwing over classics. With all the money they have in hollywood they still need to copy movies from people with true originality and craftmanship in making movies, those people who can make a movie thrilling and decent with a few thousand bucks. Shame on you hollywood!
Rich kids r just lazy and cheaters i guess:P
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I would say Ryuji is a far more stronger character than Noah
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The remake was okay. It appealed to the masses more, especially those who like to be shocked rather than disturbed, and those who are disgusted by any unanswered questions. The US version lays everything out for you, even studying in detail the tape. I feel the key elements were handled far better in the original; especially the scene where the girl comes out the screen, Making her look like a steriotipical 'monster' with rotting flesh made her far less scary that the original look IMO, and the interjection of the car chase scene, not to mention the general lack of atmosphere, took away from the remake. Still a pretty good movie though.
shareRemake. Quite simply, my #1 all time scary movie. Don't care what anyone says. Yes, I know I'm not hip...and I'm ok with that :-) I get tired of people saying the remakes or PG-13 horror is just for teen girls, people that hate subtitles, people that need everything explained,... Insulting.
However, the original isn't far behind. I *love* Asian horror. So creepy and atmospheric. How its about "feelings" (sadness, despair, rage, loneliness). Horror for sensitive people and introverts lol People say the long haired girl thing is getting old, but to me its just another sub-genre like zombies, vampires, etc. Just happens to be the sub-genre I prefer!
Thanks to the Ring for getting me into it. Like I said, I'm not hip...some of us need things like remakes to turn us onto the foreign originals :-) Especially since I wasn't on imdb before the remake came out. Didn't know what I was missing. Has nothing to do with not wanting to read subtitles. Though now I like to think I'm pretty caught up on Asian horror.
I'm just happy *most* posters here are having a respectful discussion. Usually its "originals are always better" or "remakes are always better...subtitles suck...and so do you" lol I guess extreme, melodramatic "black and white" opinions get more attention than open minded, balanced views.
But anyway, sorry for getting OT. Why do I prefer the Ring? For one, I saw it first. Same reason I prefer the Grudge (ducks). What else? It exudes an atmosphere of creepy dread. Bleak as hell. What's scary about it? Everything. A "perfect storm" of horror. They don't come along often. For you, maybe that movie's the Exorcist or Halloween. For me, its the Ring.
I was 26 when I first saw it, thinking I'd never be really scared by horror movies again. Boy was I wrong. I came home in broad daylight to an empty house, saw there was one voicemail on the machine, and proceeded to hide in my room until someone else came home lol So to anyone saying the remake doesn't burrow under your skin and stay with you...I disagree :-)
The original is great, too. Why don't I prefer it? Slower pacing, less creepy atmosphere throughout IMO. What did I prefer? The final scare...that creepy, staring eye...wow. Even though I knew what was coming, due to seeing the remake, it still messed me up. Actually makes the final scare in the remake less scary on repeat viewings. Less is more.
Finally, I've read people discuss the acting performances. Saying Japanese culture is more reserved. I'm American, white, male, but pretty reserved, too. I can relate to the "feelings" in Asian horror more than Hollywood. Culture doesn't dictate personality. Makes me wonder if I'd fit in better in Japan. Though maybe not, since I prefer the remake :-)
Well that was time consuming! Sorry...just had a lot to say about 2 of my all time favorite horrors. Oh, and the book was good, too!
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After I watched Ringu (when I was 19) I had nightmares for 2 weeks. When I watched the american remake I fell asleep during the movie.. But it really depends on what scares you: if you get scared by sudden movements/noices and CGI, then the remake might scare you more.. If you (like me) get creeped out when the feeling and music/sound is just building up to something scary, and you're just waiting for something to jump out and scream "BOO!" but it doesn´t, it just keeps building it up and so you're still left with that feeling when the movies over (so you don't really get an end to that feeling), then the original is waaaaaaay scarier! I can definitly say that Ringu is the scariest movie I've ever watched, along with [Rec].. *shudder*
shareThis is the one and only time (in regards to Asian horror) that I found the remake to be much, much scarier and better than the original. Other than the ending, the original didn't do much for me, just kinda meh. And the song at the end made me LOL xD. The remake on the other hand...I saw it back when it was in theaters in 2002, and it still scares the everloving hell out of me to this day. Those damn faces *shudders*. The whole atmosphere of The Ring was just perfect. The tape was creepier as well (other than the fact that they left out towelface man from the original tape, which I didn't understand because he was the one creepy thing from the it).
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I'm probably saying exactly what everyone else has said already but oh well. Basically it's the original every time for me. It's been years since I've seen it but I swear that film just has a really alien, otherworldly-like weird atmosphere to it. The atmosphere and dread just builds and builds on you all the way through as well until finally giving you a proper effed up climax. When I first watched Ringu I was just starring at my TV in my room in the dark thinking someone was going to crawl out of it. Its smart because you're sitting at home watching the film thinking that everything is all right with the world, and then it's just breaks down that forth wall as she climbs out the TV and crawls straight at you. It's not even a case of rushing either, she does it slow and at her own pace, plus you don't see all her face either that just adds to the mystery and unsolved nature of the film. It's like you've just watched the videotape and she's coming for you too, which in a way should be what horror films should be putting into the audiences heads if they really want to mess with them, like she will crawl out your TV too. It's clever and adds to the film that really does get at you.
For a film to have a lasting impression on you long after you've seen it must be doing something right. It's rare for horror films to genuinely scare me but that really did get under my skin and did creep me the eff out long after I watched it. It stays in your head as you keep going over it mentally and just generally thinking about it
Watching the remake again right now and I'm just bored to be honest. Hasn't got the menacing atmosphere and constant dread the original has. Everything is too clear and spelt out. The problem with Hollywood (as has already been mentioned countless times in this thread) is films explain everything out to the audience like they're kids. What happened to holding some mystery? Don't spell everything out. Don't show the monster, demon, stalker, etc. Don't give clear motive or reasons for what's happening or why. Leave an air of mystery. What happened to all that? Why show the scary evil girl in full view? Why remove even more physicality from the film by using CGI? For a remake that based on a film that relies on the final climax and then throw it in The Ring so lazily and so sloppily is just daft, plus the way it was done just feels like they missed the point of that exact ending and the reasons why it resonated so heavily with people. The whole 'boo' method is tired as well. You grow up watching horror films relying on that for scares and it gets boring. The Ring is just every other Hollywood horror in that sense; a couple of jump moments and you forget what just happened for the past hour and a half before the credits even finished rolling. The Ring is better then most other current Hollywood horror films but it still isn't that scary for me
I'll go with the fact that whatever film you watched first will probably be your favourite but the remake is just any other Hollywood horror film to me but with good cinematography and Naomi Watts who usually puts in a good performance (plus she's sexy), but nah, original all the way. Better atmosphere, better tension, a real proper sense of dread that never gets shaken off and a great climax
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