MovieChat Forums > The Ring (2002) Discussion > Here's why i preferred the remake to the...

Here's why i preferred the remake to the original

posted 8 years ago by I_Created_U
11 replies | jump to latest

I don't say that very often, but as far as this movie is concerned, i really enjoyed the remake i.e. the American version much more than the original version for several reasons. Haven't seen The Ring in maybe 2 years but have just watched Ringu for the first and only time 15min ago. Here are my reasons in no particular order as they pop into my demented mind:

- The American version is full of poetry and has a very unique mood that is absent from the original. Verbinski really did a number on this one. For instance, the various shots where you can see time passing with the light of day rising and declining, all those shots are pure beauty and this is what i mean by poetry. Many other movies did it too in the past, Blade being one of them. Sometimes it works, sometimes, it doesn't. As for me those are 2 prime examples of where it does.

- Some other interesting shots/scenes seems to have been original Verbinski additions, such as the shots where Naomie Watts has a look at the other building facing hers, and we get to see all those other people leading their day-to-day lives and in every flat, you see a TV on. I think the American version tells more explicitly the social commentary Ringu only hints at.

- The haunting scene with the horse on the boat loosing its grip was so powerful, creepy and almost out of this world, i was surprised to see that there is no equivalent in the Japanese version. Another original Verbinski addition. The whole horse dimension is absent from the original and it's a shame because it only somehow added to the creepiness of it i think, in the US version.

- The nightmarish scene where Naomie Watts is analyzing the video and when she pauses it, the fly keeps moving around and eventually flies off of the screen, then her nose starts bleeding. Very haunting. There is also the scene with the centipede on the tape recorder. Overall the insect theme is more pronounced in the US version.

- The postmortem faces of the victims in the US version are a real scare to look at in and of themselves, even if a bit far-fetched/exaggerated. I was expecting something similar in the Jap. version and was surprised to see it was "just" screaming faces, with no make up or effects whatsoever.

- The audio work and score are more pronounced in the US version which, in my view, only increases the level of immersion of the viewer, but that point is rather (more) subjective.

- I prefer the discovery of the well in the US version, we see the breathtaking view of the hill with the tree in declining light, she or he then throws marbles across the room out of frustration and they all join in the middle of the room on the rug. They quickly take the rug away and start hacking the wooden floor with an ax. Love it.

- Having the main character involuntarily fall into the well is more terrifying than having them climb into it on their own volition. When Watts fell in it i was horrified and on the edge of my seat. In this original version, not so much, the well scene wasn't frightening at all.

- There's a big deal of imagery and symbolism Verbinski went to town on in his opus; as mentioned the horse and insect imagery, but there's also a strong tree imagery for some reason, and i like it. There's also a strong mental hospital/mental illness imagery and feeling to it which adds to the creepy nauseating atmosphere of the movie.

- Brian Cox's/The dad's death was really disturbing in the US version. No such thing in Jap. version.

- As for the vids themselves, i would say that the US version is slightly more creepy, there's for instance this footage of a girl getting a nail through her finger lifting/piercing her nail in the process and every time i see that i go "Ugh! God, why??". There's no equivalent in the Jap version.

- Naomie Watts is mesmerizing in the role and i prefer her to Nanako Matsushima, but she pulls off a nice performance too in Ringu.

- The kid was much more creepy in the US version! There's something about David Orfmans gaze and attitude in this movie as this pic can show: http://favim.com/orig/201105/09/david-dorfman-medo-o-chamado-samara-the-ring-Favim.com-38206.jpg The kid in Ringu was not cast as well and his whole character and behavior was more like a robot in my view. He wasn't as convincing, I almost didn't care for him.

- As for the story itself and the characters, i found it silly that in the Jap. version, the guy has "abilities" too. It's a good thing they removed it in the US one. It makes more sense that the universe is considered rationally understandable and behaves according to the laws of physics and then throw a completely impossible and surreal element in the mix, rather than starting with a universe within which the supranatural explanation is already not that unexpectable. The former is much more effective and scary for the viewers i think.

Now there are a few things that i do prefer in the Japanese version, such as:

- First of all the concept has to go to the original. The whole idea is really cool and really got me from the first time i saw The Ring in 2002, so the credit has to go to the original on this one. From the concept of the creepy video, to the well location, passing by the unusual way the killer-girl moves in this "reverse stop-motion" kinda a way, all the credit goes to the original.

- The ending is more sadistic in the Jap. version. In the US one, she only shows her son how to make a copy and that's it, if my recollection is correct. In this one, the fact that she has to find somebody to watch it and spread the curse is kinda worse, more shocking and twisted i would say.

- While i said before that Watts did a better job in the role, i also think Hiroyuki Sanada on the other hand was much more compelling than the blank Martin Henderson. Sanada has serious gravitas and charisma that Henderson unfortunately lacks.

All in all, Ringu 6/10 and The Ring 9/10. The Ring is one of my all-time favorite horror movies, alongside The Exorcist (1973) and The Thing (1982).

Thoughts?

PS: Posted this on Ringu's board too http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0178868/board/nest/264119443?d=264119443#264119443

People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs

[–] edwintrinh09 8 years ago

Same here. The Ring is one of the rare examples where the remake is actually better than the original, especially in the HORROR genre where this isn't considered to be a thing. But I still do love Sadako's crawling out of the TV scene and her eye which is the only iconic scene from the original tbh.

[–] afrodome 8 years ago

I thought I was the only one. I agree 100%. I enjoyed The Ring a lot and found that it had an element of eeriness that made it a movie of it's own. I enjoy horror of all types, but didn't feel invested in Ringu at all. The psychic element, the campiness, etc. kept me from wanting to ever revisit it. The Ring exceeds in storytelling, effects, acting, pacing, pretty much everything.

While The Ring didn't keep me up at night, it definitely kept me intrigued up until the very end and had a few moments that sent shivers up my spine. Gore is a very skilled director and it's unfortunate that they took this film and tried to turn it into another Freddie series. The Ring gets a 8/10 while Ringu gets a 5/10.

A few Asian Horror flicks I would highly recommend are Audition and A Tale of Two Sisters. A Tale of Two Sisters is far scarier than both The Ring and Ringu in my opinion.

[–] soulsk8ter225 8 years ago

A few Asian Horror flicks I would highly recommend are Audition and A Tale of Two Sisters. A Tale of Two Sisters is far scarier than both The Ring and Ringu in my opinion.

Have you seen The Uninvited? How does that compare to A Tale of Two Sisters? Or better yet... how do you compare it to The Ring?

** Rest in peace, Timothy Volkert (1988 - 2003) **

[–] afrodome 8 years ago

I've never watched The Uninvited but I hear it doesn't have that eery quality of AToTS, so I never really bothered. I found AToTS to be a terrific film on it's own. Jee-woon Kim's other acclaimed film, I Saw the Devil, is a KICK A$$ flick to check out.

I'd also recommend Pulse (Kairo) the original from 2001. I would say it surpasses basically every Asian horror film I've ever seen, and scared me a lot more the American version of The Ring. Again, everything is subjective, so don't watch it based on my recommendation, but check out the reviews. The people who don't like it often point out the lack of story and it's running length (they're not wrong), but it just has this eeriness that makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Very simple but also effective. Cheers

[–] dexterfishpaw 8 years ago

Pulse(Kairo) was & probably still is, my favorite Asian horror film. Now the American remake of Pulse.....that's another story all together. Easily the worst I've ever seen. I'm actually watching The Ring(American)right now & it's not nearly as scary as I remember it being

[–] brianwhite5 8 years ago

By and large the US version pales in comparison to the brilliant Japanese original.

[–] acidraindrop (3055) 4 years ago

It honestly frustrates me when people say that they prefer Ringu to The Ring. I understand that ppl have different tastes and all, but I think this really is another example of people forming an opinion based on other expectations/standards without granting an honest evaluation. Here it's "oh original is always better" and "asian original is always better" and people, with that in mind, come to convince themselves that Ringu is better.

Hell, OP provided a thorough breakdown of his opinion all those years ago. The one dissenter in this thread could also refer to Ringu as brilliant and provide no justification for it.

I can name a number of films, whose Japanese original is superior. Kairo. Tale of Two Sisters. The Grudge (and I hate both movies fyi). But Ringu...Ringu is arguably not even that good of a movie. It doesn't even matter that the american adaptation exists. A lot of the good things presented in Ringu come from the source novel, which is fantastic. It's a great book. So I could even go further elitist and discredit Ringu as a shitty film adaptation of a great novel.

Ringu can be credited for creating the now-iconic television scare, but I'm hard-pressed to think that, had Ring not been the phenomenon it became, I doubt a lot of these folks would defend Ringu as a good horror film.

[–] degray9 (1126) 3 years ago

The haunting scene with the horse on the boat loosing its grip was so powerful, creepy and almost out of this world,

The horse scene was effing retarded, you shouldn't have the right to vote, you subhuman

[–] Drusilla (565) 3 years ago

Are you going on almost every discussion and spewing your Middle School insults? Why does that bring you pleasure?

[–] degray9 (1126) 3 years ago

My little brother logged onto my account and wrote that… but the movie still sucks

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Ringu is a creepy film, it deserves it's plaudits and has a case for being scarier than the remake.

The Ring is a much more refined production. On a technical level it's superior in pretty much every area. Acting, cinematography, editing, music and pacing. For me personally it's clearly the superior film.