The Ring

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The Ring

Released Jan 31, 1998

1h 36m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

44 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

When her niece is found dead along with three friends after viewing a supposedly cursed videotape, reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) sets out to investigate. Along with her ex-husband, Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada), Reiko finds the tape, watches it -- and promptly receives a phone call informing her that she'll die in a week. Determined to get to the bottom of the curse, Reiko and Ryuji discover the video's origin and attempt to solve an old murder that could break the spell.

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Critics Consensus

Ringu combines supernatural elements with anxieties about modern technology in a truly frightening and unnerving way.

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

Its strength is in its simplicity and its cultural purity.

Sep 16, 2022

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Alan Stanbrook

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Almost nothing terrible is shown: the real horror lies in the viewer's anticipation.

Sep 16, 2022

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Andrew Pulver

Guardian

A most artfully creepy piece of work.

Sep 16, 2022

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

Decades on, it remains one of the great works of horror cinema.

Rated: 10/10

Aug 25, 2024

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Keri O'Shea

Warped Perspective

On occasion, a film comes along which makes an almost immediate, indelible mark. As soon as it appears, it disrupts what came before it; it can be difficult to even remember a time before it, so quickly do its characters and archetypes take hold.

Rated: A

Apr 14, 2023

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Absolutely some moments of maximum creep here.

Rated: B

Sep 2, 2022

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Deontae D

Alright, I just seen the original 1998 Japanese ring today, I gotta say the original is better, It's good it had english subtitles, Because I don't know Japanese language, The 2002 ring is good too, Both are good, But the original will always be the best, I think they should stop remaking movies.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/04/24

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BigD J

Not sure how this film ever sniffed 98%, but I’m about to bring that down. Cultural context be damned, this one was an absolute snoozefest, somewhat scattered and confusing, and not at all scary/creepy. Intensely overrated. Really more of a pseudo-thriller than anything that resembles horror.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/30/24

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Audience Member

Based on the fantastic novel of the same name by Koji Suzuki, it is Japan's highest grossing horror film of all time. With many sequels that never live up to the first film (there were two TV adaptations of the book first), it single-handedly revived the horror movie making in Japan. It also rejuvenated the Western horror genre with its remake in "The Ring". The film is an engrossing mystery horror, and while a bit dated with VCR technology, it has one of the creepiest ghosts in the genre with Sadako. The original story goes back to an old Japanese ghost folktale called Bancho Sarayashiki, or "The Dish Mansion at Bancho". A superb movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/24/24

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Josh A

At the time of writing this review, this is my favourite horror movie. It's just got such a rich atmosphere and an interesting plot. It's like the original creepypasta in a way. There's 2 aspects I want to touch on: the actual cursed video and the TV scene. The video in this is my favourite in the whole franchise because it feels like a "cursed video" you'd find on the internet. It feels like you'd see a YouTuber cover it and do a deep dive into its story. Also the TV scene is amazing and I like how you don't see Sadako's full face, only her eye. Overall, simply amazing movie. Would 100% recommend. Next up, Spiral!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/30/24

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Liam D

The one that started it all. Hideo Nakata‘s masterpiece is still frightening even with multiple J horror movies and the remake

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/18/24

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Shane C

Ringu is an amazing movie and one of the best J-Horror movies ever. The atmosphere so unsettling and the scene were Sadako comes out of the TV is so iconic. The tape is also terrifying and disturbing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/22/24

Full Review

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Hideo Nakata

Director

Nanako Matsushima

Reiko Asakawa

Hiroyuki Sanada

Ryuji Takayama

Miki Nakatani

Mai Takano

Yuko Takeuchi

Tomoko Oishi

Hitomi Sato

Masami Kurahashi

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Synopsis

When her niece is found dead along with three friends after viewing a supposedly cursed videotape, reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) sets out to investigate. Along with her ex-husband, Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada), Reiko finds the tape, watches it -- and promptly receives a phone call informing her that she'll die in a week. Determined to get to the bottom of the curse, Reiko and Ryuji discover the video's origin and attempt to solve an old murder that could break the spell.

Director: Hideo Nakata
Producer: Takashige Ichise, Shinya Kawai, Takenori Sento
Screenwriter: Kôji Suzuki, Hiroshi Takahashi
Distributor: Potential Films, Golden Scene [hk], Primer Plano Film Group S.A., Califórnia, Toho Company Ltd., Anolis Entertainment, Haut et Court, Kadokawa Shoten Pblshg
Production Co: Omega Project, Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co.
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 31, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 21, 2019
Runtime: 1h 36m

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