Ringu (1998)

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Director: Hideo Nakata

Writers: Hideo Nakata, from the novel by Koji Suzuki

Stars: Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Yuko Takeuchi, Hitomi Sato, Yoichi Numata, Yutaka Matsushige, Katsumi Muramatsu



A reporter (Nanako Matsushima) and her ex-husband (Hiroyuki Sanada) investigate a cursed videotape that kills its viewers within seven days. 



They have to work fast, since both they and the reporter's young son have already seen it.

 


I was fortunate to have seen this film before the American remake, albeit without subtitles. Even watching in a language which I understand only sporadically, I was hooked. I've seen it since with sub-titles and find it much superior to the US version. The creepy soundtrack and the lack of high-tech, big budget gloss lends an immediacy to the scares. The climax, in particular, provoked a reaction from me that I thought I had become too jaded for.


Spoiler alert!!! From the end of the movie!!












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