31 Nights of Halloween

[talonmalon333]

The movie stops dead in its tracks once they enter the bar

I love the Don't Stop Me Now sequence.

Shaun of the Dead is great (just not as great as Hot Fuzz). The scene where he attempts to hop over picket fences originally made me think think Hot Fuzz was made first (back when I first saw the movies and didn't research them enough). As him attempting to hop the fences, and fail, naturally seemed to me like a reference to when he successfully did that.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

NIGHT 11:



Tonight we take a trip to the islands of Japan, which is not only the home of our beloved anime, but also some of the greatest horror films of all time, and our movie of the day, Ring (also known as Ringu), is among the best. Based on the novel by Koji Suzuki (which is way more fucked up than anything in the movie), this horror film adaptation managed to ignite the horror boom in Japan during the late 90's and early 2000's, even going so far as to influence Western horror cinema, and even spawn it's own American remake. Now that's what you call international success.

What I love about this movie is that, despite its reputation, it's really a much smarter film than just a scary one. In fact, the only real traditional sorts of "scares" in the movie happen in the very beginning and very end. The rest of it actually plays out like a mystery, and just from a plot standpoint, it's a very intriguing story to follow. That said, the movie never loses its creepy tone and atmosphere, which is why it still qualifies as a legitimate horror film.

It's worth mentioning that the American remake actually wasn't horse-shit like you'd expect. While nowhere near as good as the original movie, it's still a well put-together horror film in its own right, and worth checking out at least once. It does help that Koji Suzuki himself co-wrote the screenplay for the American adaptation (as well as the original Japanese version, for that matter).

Having said that, Ring is a great entry point into Japanese horror cinema (and Asian horror films, in general), so feel free to discuss other films in this category as well. While I'm not well-versed in foreign horror at all, I did particularly enjoy Sweet Home (ignore the people who say that the game is the only good version; the film is still really entertaining, IMO), Ju-On, and Audition (although I'm still not quite sure if I want to count it as a horror film, outside of the last 20 minutes or so).

I also love the Korean film The Host, which is a horror comedy, and one of my favorites in the genre.

That said, Ring is definitely one of the best straightforward horror films that I've seen, Japanese or otherwise.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Oh, and I just have to mention this, but in regard to that infamous TV scene at the end (which was an awesome tribute to Poltergeist, aside from being a great stand-alone moment in the movie), it's done MUCH more effectively and is MUCH creepier in the Japanese version. That digital effect in the American remake just ruins it, IMO. I know that it's just a minor detail, but that really goes to prove how tiny little things like that can really ruin an iconic scene if they just don't fit.

Also, remember that one specific shot of Sadako's eye? Just as a fun fact, it was a dude playing her for that one moment, which I must admit somehow ruins the scariness of that one point in the scene for me.

[talonmalon333]

For my history with Ring, let me take us back 10 years or so.

I saw the American remake when it was still relatively new. Now, admittedly, I was fairly easy to scare when I was a kid, and even when I was a young teenager. You know, my imagination was prone to running wild. I saw Amityville Horror and thought it was really scary (seriously, I thought that movie was scary when I was a kid). But anyway, when I saw Ring, I was pretty afraid from the very first death. Though of course I was intrigued, so I kept up with and followed it. The videotape itself from the movie was unsettling. I still remember seeing images from seeing it. And then, there was the ending. You know the scene I'm referring to. That scene terrified me. Seriously. It's not like I screamed or even reacted to it verbally, but the scene did haunt me. The ending stuck with me as one of my more frightened moments with movies... except the shot of the girl's face. Even as a 12-13 year old kid, I thought it was silly and she just looked like a generic zombie. But that wasn't the important part of the scene. It's the lonely image of the well, and the girl climbing out of it and literally walked toward the screen, then crawling out of it, that etched into me mind.

And I only saw this movie once. Never saw a single image of it after that viewing. Well... sort of. It was much later (only a few years ago, in fact) when I finally got around to seeing the original Japanese version. I had still remembered the ending, and seeing it again (at that point, nearly ten years older), I still think it's a really scary movie moment. And really, my age was countered by the fact that the original version of this scene was scarier than it was in the American remake. And on top of that, instead of that bad moment where you see her whole face, I like how you just see the eye in the Japanese version. The original Ring as a whole just benefited from not having to have been translated. A Japanese horror story is scarier when kept in its Japanese roots.

I like that the movie is as much a mystery movie as it is a horror movie, if not more so. And I legitimately think the idea of this video tape that kills people is a good concept. And I like how the backstory of the young girl is executed, at least in the original version of the movie (this isn't a flaw, but I'm not clear why the American remake made it the girl's mother that killed her, when it was originally her mother). And as for that ending... I have to say that, despite how ingrained into pop culture it may be, and despite how much of a wimp this might make me sound, I'll say it: the ending of Ring is, in my opinion, the scariest moment I've ever seen in any movie. Period.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

That ending scene is definitely one of the most iconic moments in all of horror cinema, for sure.

I've even heard it said that, where Jaws made people afraid to go to beaches, Ring made people afraid to turn on their TVs. Not that it would matter, though, because Sadako's just projects her image on the TV at will.

[talonmalon333]

That ending scene is definitely one of the most iconic moments in all of horror cinema, for sure.

I've even heard it said that, where Jaws made people afraid to go to beaches, Ring made people afraid to turn on their TVs. Not that it would matter, though, because Sadako's just projects her image on the TV at will.

I'm not sure if I was afraid to turn on my TV when I was young, but I'm sure this movie probably caused me to imagine at nights seeing the video tape on my TV.

Also, I recently learned that apparently, before the American remake hit theaters, the video tape would occasionally air on late night TV, without making any references to the movie. Basically, it was not only a commercial, but a legitimately creepy thing to have seen if you happened to stumble across it.

I imagine a part of the effectiveness of the ending is the fact that the characters had just spent the entire movie trying to the curse, and then after all their efforts, it just takes its effect on the the male lead as it normally would've.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, it was a marketing campaign. Certain found footage films had done similar things in the past to build up hype for them, which is where they got the idea of doing it for The Ring. It's brilliant because people who were already familiar with the Japanese version would appreciate it and get a kick out of it, and people who had never heard of the film would be totally freaked out about it, and then there interest would be peaked and they'd learn about the film by looking into what the hell they just saw, or by word of mouth if they talked to other people about the freaky thing that they saw on TV. I love simple yet creative marketing like that.

[talonmalon333]

Also, since you mentioned it, I feel like bringing up that, when I saw the original Ring a few years ago, I think I saw it and The Grudge about two nights apart from each other. Since you did say we were free to also mention other Japanese horror movies, The Grudge is good but I do think it could've been better. The out of order and incoherent storytelling was the intention of it, and had a lot of potential, but for me I felt the movie was a bit too incoherent. Maybe I'm just a dumb American, though, but I do think Ring is easily better.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Ring is better, but I did like Ju-On. I don't necessarily see a reason for the out of of order structure other than the director wanting to stand out, which is admittedly a bit pretentious, but the actual story is coherent. You just have to use some logic and piece together the correct order of sequences....or you could just read the movie's Wikipedia page, which already took the trouble of doing that for you.

[talonmalon333]

Also, my brother saw the American remake of The Grudge back when it was in theaters a long time ago. Apparently that took a little more of a straightforward approach with the story, though supposedly it's still inferior to the original. I guess that part is typical, though.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I haven't seen the remake, and still don't plan to. The only thing it seemed to have going for it was that it stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and is directed by the same guy who directed the Japanese version in the first place, but from what I've heard, it's still a far inferior film to the original.

[talonmalon333]

That's how I feel. I've seen a few scenes from it, and they aren't as good. A few that I've seen try too hard, too. Admittedly, though, I don't have a desire to rewatch the American remake of Ring, either. I mean, it was certainly one of the better remakes out there. And as a stand alone film, it wasn't bad at all. But I feel like, if I ever need to rewatch Ring, I have the original Japanese version.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Also, once again we are clearly the only 2 people on this board who have seen this movie. I'm noticing that with a lot of movies. I guess that you and I are just true horror buffs and everyone else here are a bunch of pansies who will freak out at the drop of a screw, hence they can't handle scary movies. Horray for us being manly!

[Foggle]

I've actually seen both versions of The Ring, and that really shitty Japanese sequel called Spiral or whatever. I just don't have much to say about the film since I haven't seen it in like 8 years.

[talonmalon333]

Also, once again we are clearly the only 2 people on this board who have seen this movie. I'm noticing that with a lot of movies. I guess that you and I are just true horror buffs and everyone else here are a bunch of pansies who will freak out at the drop of a screw, hence they can't handle scary movies. Horray for us being manly!

Exactly what I was thinking. For that reason, maybe it's better that they haven't seen these movies if they get that afraid.