‘Artfully creepy’ Japanese horror film with 98% Rotten Tomatoes score arrives on Prime Video
It is one of the most iconic and chilling J-horror films ever released.
A ‘genuinely alarming’ Japanese horror film with a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score will fuel your nightmares as it arrives on Amazon Prime Video.
Released in 1998, Ring follows investigative reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) who begins investigating an urban legend following the death of her niece Tomoko (Yuko Takeuchi).
Tomoko’s death and that of a string of teenagers has been attributed to a cursed videotape which, legend has it, kills whoever watches it after seven days.
The tape proves to be far from a simple myth as Reiko races against time to solve the mystery of the video’s sinister imagery to save her life and that of her psychic ex-husband Ryūji Takayama (Hiroyuki Sanada).
It was directed by Hideo Nakata who also created the skin-crawling horror film Dark Water in 2002.
Ring, also sometimes known as Ringu, was written by Hiroshi Takahashi based on the 1991 novel by Koji Suzuki.
Ring, released in 1998, follows the story of a reporter investigating a series of mysterious deaths (Picture: Omega/Kadokawa/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock) As the investigation goes on, Reiko uncovers a harrowing plot at the centre of a cursed videotape (Picture: Omega/Kadokawa/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)Ring proved a box office hit in Japan and internationally, shining a light on the J-horror movement of the late 1980s through to the 2000s including titles such as Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Pulse, Cure, and Grudge.
It was praised for its sinister atmosphere, slow-paced narrative, and horrific themes, with antagonist Sadako Yamamura (Rie Inō) often being listed among the most terrifying villains of all time.
Ring went on to spawn an entire Japanese horror franchise as well as a 2002 English language adaptation, The Ring, which is also available on Amazon Prime Video via Paramount+.
It holds an impressive 98% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus reading: ‘Ring combines supernatural elements with anxieties about modern technology in a truly frightening and unnerving way.’
‘Decades on, it remains one of the great works of horror cinema,’ Fiction Machine wrote in their review.
The Guardian dubbed Ring ‘artfully creepy’, while The Daily Telegraph pointed out: ‘Almost nothing terrible is shown: the real horror lies in the viewer’s anticipation.’
The success of Ring led to a 2002 American remake starring Naomi Watts and Martin Henderson (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock) It holds a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)A critic from Entertainment Weekly said after watching: ‘If you don’t mind, I’m off to the corner of my office to curl into a fetal position and rock slowly.’
Mark Kermode praised the film in his Sight and Sound review, saying: ‘Director Hideo Nakata manages to strike a genuinely alarming balance between the cultural depths of Japanese folklore and the surface sheen of latter-day teen culture.’
Speaking to Ain’t It Cool in 2005, Nakata explained the creation of Sadako and her roots in Japanese myth.
‘The long black hair with a white dress and even from the well is actually kind of very faithful to the traditional ghost image in ghost stories in Japan,’ he said.
‘We do have traditions of Kabuki Theatre and… well, most of the ghosts are women who died with very vengeful emotions.’
He continued: ‘I decided to do that because in my first feature film, I revealed…the ghost’s face completely and…some people didn’t think it was scary enough.
‘I went in a completely different direction. OK, let’s cover her face up completely. Again, we had to show something, so we decided to show the one eye of her.’
Ring is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
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