A mysterious
videotape containing nightmarish images is being passed around
Seattle, killing people one week after they watch it. Newspaper
reporter Rachel Keller's (Naomi Watts) niece is found dead after
viewing the tape, and Rachel uses her investigative reporter skills
to solve the mystery. After watching the tape, Rachel receives an
ominous phone call telling her that she has only seven days left to
live.
The
Ring Two (2005)
The sequel to the
American remake, directed by Hideo Nakata, who directed Ringu.
Rachel and her
son Aidan have
moved out of their Seattle high-rise to a quaint house in a small
Oregon town. Rachel starts a new job at a dull local newspaper.
Unfortunately, there is still a mysterious videotape being passed
around, killing anyone who watches it within seven days. Rachel
realizes that Samara has tracked her down with the intention of
using Aidan’s body as her own. Rachel again must investigate
Samara’s history to find the answers she needs to stop the evil.
DVD includes an excellent
short film Rings that bridges to the sequel.
Ringu
(1998)
The
one that
started it all... Ringu exploded from obscurity since it
first premiered in Japan in
1998 and has attained cult status with horror fans all over the
world. It is based on a novel (the first of a trilogy), written by Japanese horror author Koji
Suzuki, that tells the tale of a cursed videotape.
Journalist Reiko
Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) is working on a story for her television
station concerning the urban legend of a cursed videotape. After watching the tape, she
has seven days to discover its secrets.
Rasen
(1998)
Rasen
was the first attempt at a sequel to Ringu. It picks up where
Ringu left off, focusing on the investigation into the
bizarre deaths of the main characters from that movie. The surprise
conclusion is that there is no evil spirit -- it's a virus that
makes you see horrible things before you die.
Rasen attempts to offer a scientific explanation for the
strange, metaphysical events of the cursed videotape.
Ringu
2 (1999)
Beginning
where Ringu left off, the sequel features Reiko's
ex-husband's assistant Mai (Miki Nakatani) trying to break the curse
when Reiko's son develops psychic death-vision powers. Mai spends
much of the movie in mental institutions trying to understand the
mystery and release Reiko's son from the spirit of Sadako.
The movie is a
spiritual journey into the background of Sadako.
Ringu
0 (2000)
Ringu 0 is the final film in the Ringu series.
The movie
takes us back 30 years before the videotape to learn the origins of
Sadako - the girl in the well. Sadako (Yukie Nakama) is an college
actress in Tokyo who is so nuanced that she draws the hatred of her
fellow actors. This leads to Sadako being beaten to death by the
acting troupe, and she returns as a ghost to extract her revenge.
A very moody
and very artistic film.
Ringu
Anthology of Terror
This
boxed DVD set contains the entire Ringu set of four films:
Ringu
Ringu 2
Rasen
Ringu 0
The Ring Virus (1999)
The Korean
version of Ringu.
The Ring
Virus adds a twist to the story of the videotape -- there is a
spell to break the curse -- and a backstory involving the young
woman, named Eun-suh in this film. There is also a subplot
that attempts to provide a semi-rational explanation for Eun-suh’s
strange powers.
This movie
follows the original Japanese novel much closer than either Ringu or The
Ring.
