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Showing posts with label ringu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ringu. Show all posts

Monday, March 24, 2025

Rip-Off Cover Art: Fields of the Dead (2014)

 A Film is hopefully better than its Poster.

That's the sizzle, after all.
The Film is the steak.

Hopefully that's true with this Film...

Do I even need to explain what they are ripping off?

Pale skin.
Long, dark hair that covers the face.

Did Sadako make it to America...and get lost in a Corn Maze?!?

This is her in the most recent American Film from 2013.

Of course, there's always another Poster, right?

In this case, there's a different Film Series to be homaged/ripped off.

Here's the other Poster I found on Google...
I feel the sudden urge to call someone an 'Outlander.'

I just remembered that they've made TWO more CotC Films since my Compendium.
Back to work there, I guess.

Case in point, this 2018 Sequel/Remake/whatever...

A-maize-ing, right?


I'll see myself out.

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Saturday, October 19, 2024

Compendium: ALL of the 'Ringu/The Ring' Films

 While working on a different subject, it occurred to me that this needed to exist.

Over the years, I think I've done every official Ringu/The Ring Film.
That doesn't include the Chinese bootleg crossovers- since they don't have proper English dubs yet.

As such, let me put a link to ALL of the Reviews in chronological order.


1) The Ring- Kanzenban (1995)- the forgotten OG is the closest to the Book, but also short.

2) Ringu (1998/9)- The classic where most people start.

(Side-note- I own a Japanese DVD that somehow is also Region 1.  Weird)

3) Rasen (1998/9)- The intentionally ignored Sequel actually played at the same time in Theaters in Japan.  No, really!

4) Ringu 2 (1999)- A year later, they pretended that THIS was the real Sequel.

********

5) The Ring Virus (1999)- A Film so popular in Japan and the World that South Korea made their own.  Why not?

********

6) Ringu 0- Birthday (2000): The so-so Prequel that doesn't really match up with future Films.  Oops.


7) The Ring (2002)- The one that casual fans (not to make that a slur) know and love.

8) Rings (2005)- The super-completionist in me made sure to cover this Short Film that bridges The Ring and The Ring 2...and is only available on the latter's Special Edition DVD.

9) The Ring Two (2005)- Let me just use the word 'two' to make things easier.  This is easier than explaining so much of this Film.


10) Sadako 3-D (2012)- We're back to Japan after a break.  We're also in the time when 3-D was revived (not that I watched this Film in it)

11) Sadako vs. Kayako (2016)- Japan's answer to Freddy vs Jason.  It's kind of bonkers and I love it for that.



12) Rings (2017)- Let's hop back to America for this very forgotten Sequel.  More retcons and backstory, plus a Big Bang Actor.

**********

13) Sadako (2019)- Back to Japan again.  It seems like they are trying to make a new Series here with the last Sadako Film...I guess.

* I'll cover the 2022 Film that I just learned existed later and add it in *


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Sunday, September 27, 2020

Almost Heroes?: Max Rourke (2005's The Ring Two)

 If the people behind the Series can get blood from a stone with the Ringu Series, so can I.
Here's another squeeze...

In a previous (read:old) entry, I covered the Hero (sort of) of the original Film...and its many Remakes.

Well, it is time for the Sequel...to the 2nd Remake (counting Kanzenban as the first Film).

He's a Male Lead in a Ringu Film, so things don't go well for him...but he tries.

He hires our Heroine after she moves to Oregon.
He's supportive.

Even when things get weird- and it seems like she might have tried to kill her Son-, he's on board (as much as you can be)…
While she's investigating Samara's origin, the Son- possessed by Samara- escapes from the Hospital and returns to Max's place.

Suspicious, he tries to film the kid in secret (since he'll show up differently on Film).
The kid/Samara figures it out.
Mom comes back and finds the Son there, acting weird.

Hmm...she should ask Max what happened.
'Hey Max, what's...up?'
Poor Max- he tried to help.  He cared.

Ultimately though, he wasn't quite Hero enough for this Film.
So close, even though he dies right at the start of the Third Act.

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Saturday, August 15, 2020

Poor Bastards of Cinema: Rings (2017)

 I guess minor SPOILER Alert here, although it is the Opening Scene, so...

In Rings, the curse is apparently still around...for no clear reason.  No Tapes and Samara seemed trapped, but...I guess not.

That leads to us seeing the fate of one man who watched the cursed tape and took a domestic flight.
Naturally.

To further muddy things, a person who ALSO watched the Tape, but passed on the Curse is also on THIS SAME PLANE!!!

Since she's awful, Samara causes the whole plane to crash to kill this one guy, also indirectly violating her own rule- if you pass on the curse, you avoid her wrath.

To put things into perspective, the average flight NOW has 39 Passengers.
This was in 2017.

So yeah, she just killed four to five times that many people to get one guy...who watched a tape...since her Dad tossed her in a Well 30 years ago.

Seems about right.

Next time, a man wanders down the wrong Street in a bad Film.  See why he suffers more than I did watching the Film!  See you then...


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Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Quick Review: Sadako (2019)

A Pandemic has officially kept this Film from our shores, but I found a way to watch it.  How's the latest Film...
A strange woman keeps her kid locked up in a closet.  She talks about the kid as being a 'reincarnation of evil' and plans to burn her alive.

As you can see above, that doesn't exactly go according to plan and the girl is free.
She ends up in a Hospital and people are looking into the incident, since apparently 5 people died in it.

Don't get used to these Cops/Detectives- they soon vanish from the Plot.
The young Doctor's brother happens to be a would-be YouTube (not named) sensation.

Desperate for the clicks, he VLogs himself at the site of the fire...and vanishes.

Is this based on Logan Paul's incident in the Suicide Forest?  Maybe.
The Doctor realizes that something is up with the kid and weird stuff starts to happen at the Hospital.

She does 'scared eyes' very well, you have to give her that.
She has to team up with her Brother's Producer/Promoter/Manager to solve his disappearance.  Can they find him?  Can they save him?
Or will Sadako rise once again and take out anyone she wants for arbitrary reasons?

To find out, watch the Film.  It's 'around' if you know where to look, but support the official release when and if it comes.
A bit different, but is it enough.  After doing what feels like 20 Ring-related Films, it was nice to see something different.  There is no cursed tape.  There's not really a well.  There's not even an eventually-proven-to-be-evil father figure either.  Is this Film fresh?  Kind of.  Despite feeling different than the rest of the Series, it is still pretty standard J-Horror stuff.  There's a woman who's constantly in some sort of peril from a ghost.  There's still an evil-looking kid.  There's still a ghost lurking around all corners.  They do, thankfully, update some things here on the surface to freshen things up.  For instance, the Brother is a YouTube sensation (of sorts)- that's new and topical.  The tricky thing for me is that I'm not sure if they are expanding the story of Sadako or partially-rewriting it.  The infamous Well now seems to be a cliff side cave and there's some mythos about 'the spirit of dead children' at the site.  In the Ring story proper, Sadako evolves beyond the tape to the written word and it eventually leads to some sort of virus, going in a more sci-fi direction.  The Films just can't escape the Horror roots, however, and keep circling back.  Ironically, the Story that turns it more Sci-Fi is called 'Loop,' but they keep looping back to the first story.  As far as J-Horror, there's not much new here, but nothing is done wrong.  As far as Ring Films go, it is nice to see some diversity of content.  After all, the last thing they want to do is look like a fool...
An interesting Film that is thankfully not just a retread of familiar material.  It just isn't as groundbreaking or unique as you'd expect from the return of the original Director to the Series.
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Monday, July 27, 2020

Ultra Rare Flix: The Ring- Kanzenban (1995)

A Film that I didn't know was hiding online all this time.  As part of my plan to try and do all of the Ring Films, I have to go to the beginning.  No, not the Books.  I'm sure that there's a different Blog for that.

No, it is time to go back to the first Movie...which is not Ringu.  

No, this TV Movie is the actual first. 
It has never been released in the US as far as I can tell. 
When it actually was released on Video in Japan, it was for two now-dead formats- VHS and Laserdisc!

This one promises to be the most accurate one to the Books. 
Is that a good thing? 
Does it, at the very least, make it stand out?  To find out, read on...
In a Cold Open, a teenage girl is alone at home when something scares her, chases her into the Bathroom (indirectly) and kills her.

Notably this one does NOT feature the crazy, distorted faces you associate with the Series.
I don't know if it is because they were following the Book or just couldn't afford it.
Our Hero is the Uncle of the girl and...wait?  Our Hero is a dude?

Yep.  This is the ONLY Ring adaptation out there to not decide to make him a lady- not that there's anything wrong with that.  Gender-swapping him and the kid is a choice that started with Ringu and just stuck.

He's still otherwise the same Character, so...nothing changes.  Still a unique aspect to the Film though.
He, of course, finds the tape and watches it.

I won't go too in-depth here, but the visuals are VERY different from any Ring Film too.

It's in Color, for one, and full of strange visuals like dice (see the Stinger) and a Volcano.  They all factor into the Story.

There's also no 'Seven Days' phone call- the Tape ends with the message for you.
Instead of working the case with an Ex-Husband (it was 1995 and Japan, so no), he works the case with a disgraced friend and former-Psychic.  Who doesn't know one?

The case goes all the same- Psychic Mom, scared people and the well-, save for one thing.

The final incident with Sadako involves her 'going all the way' with her boyfriend, only to discover that she has a pair of things that he didn't expect.

This leads to her ending up in the Well, thankfully re-framing the incident from her being raped to this (small improvement, I know).
As usual, they set Sadako free and she kills the friend. 
However, there is sadly no 'crawling out of the TV' bit.

Instead, you get arty flashes of color, her Mom appearing as a ghost and then her killing the guy.  No scary face or face hidden by hair either.
The Movie ends with him explaining all of this to the audience- thanks!- and going to make a copy, since his Pregnant Wife watched the tape.

There is no Sequel to this.  The End.
At this point, it is almost like a weird dream watching this one.  I've seen 3 versions of this Story already- Japanese, South Korean and American.  Hell, if you count that sort-of-canon Prequel, I've seen it 3 and a half times.  So when I see one that feels similar, but different in many ways, it is like a dream.  Things feel familiar, but many little things (or big things) are off.  The Film is solid, but I should point out one aspect.  To put it bluntly, it can be a bit 'sleazy.'  The first victim dies in the shower, so her blouse (with Snoopy on it- no joke!) is see through.  They also randomly cut from a conversation to this couple having PG-13 (or is it 15-Rating?) sex in a car.  It is important- since they are the third and fourth victims, respectively- but we didn't *need* to see the Actress topless for this.  She's also shown dead and topless- double fun?!?  Lastly, we get a bit more with Sadako in the flashback parts and when she appears at the end.  It's not excessive nudity, but it is weird to see in a Franchise who I almost criticized for showing Naomi Watts in her underwear in literally her 2nd Scene.  By comparison, that's nothing.  If you're not familiar with the Ring Films, this can work.  Do note that the only version online is not *great* quality.  That was a selling point for Gore Verbinski with Ringu though, since he claimed the lower fidelity of his copy added to the terror (or something).  If you're familiar with the Films, check this out for a very different, but familiar take on things.  It's just a shame that the Cursed Tape look more like Public Access Programming...
Next time, I go from the beginning to the end.  The most recent Ring Film didn't make it to the U.S. due to Quarantines, but life, uh, finds a way.  Stay tuned...
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Saturday, July 25, 2020

'Ringu' Wrap-Up: Rings (2017)

After 10 years, someone brought back the Ring Franchise in America.  
Oops, re-shoots.  
More re-shoots.  

So, after 12 years, someone finally brought back the Ring Franchise in America...
In a Syfy Opening, people on a plane are in peril since one guy watched the video (still on tape!) right on cue.  It also happens that someone who saw it before was there to...stop nothing.  More on this bit later.

Here's my first issue- what tape?  
Rachel burned what seemed liked the last copy in The Ring 2.

Now there is just another one for this Scene and to set the Plot in motion.
A man- Johnny Galecki- buys a VHS Player from a Yard Sale and decides to play the tape inside.  70% odds of finding a snuff film.

Instead, he finds, you know what.
Some amount of time later, we meet our 2 Leads.  The guy is going away for College, which sure ended well in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

I will say that our Female Lead is no Megan Fox though- she can actually emote!
When he suddenly won't answer her calls, she goes to his College and finds a group of people studying the cursed footage called the Seven.

Seems like a waste to not re-used the Rings group...when the Film is called Rings.
Can she solve the *now updated/retconned* mystery of Samara before it is too late?
Or will the Film get bogged down in random details like Copying Quicktime Films and/or comparing the File Size of said copies?

To find out, watch the Film.  I had to spend $3 on it, so you'd better!
On the surface, it is more of the same.  
Another Film with another woman trying to find Samara's remains to set her free.  
Another Film where people still keep watching the same damn video and never learn.  

We also have another guy who is doomed for helping her out.  We also also have an older Character Actor playing a key figure related to Samara.  

So, what's different?  
Well, they move the video from Analog to Digital, running them all on Apple Machines.  I'd argue how much of an upgrade that really is.  

The wrinkle here is that someone is copying the video and having people watch it to study it.  
His reason is, well, stupid and I won't SPOIL it.  

Instead of an ex-boyfriend or a new replacement, we have a current one.  Progress?  
It is weird to see how they reuse some Plot Points (like a group who watches the cursed Tape) and tries to tweak it slightly- especially when both Films have the same name!  

The big thing here is that they try to expand the mythos...even while also messing with it.  

Remember when they buried Samara and that was a bad thing?  Well, now someone un-buried her...before it happened last time.  

Let's also reference her past while getting the details wrong.  It's okay- the whole Plot doesn't hinge on it or anything.  
No Sissy Spacek either- bummer.  

The Film tries to find a balance between new and old.  It kind of works, while not overall impressing too much.  
That probably explains the need for all of the Reshoots, the February Release and the near-immediate lack of interest.  

So, who did they get for this one?  Oh, it's...aw...
A decent extension of the Series, even if it is chock full of retcons.  It's just a shame that it is probably going to lead to nothing.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2020

'Ringu' Wrap-Up: The Ring Two (2005)

After all this time, I finally cover the Sequel to the Remake that isn't a Remake of the Sequel.  
Does anyone smell toast?  

This is the American version of The Ring Two from 2005.  Sequels in this Series are a weird one to explain.  
The first one- Rasen- was basically erased from continuity and replaced with The Ring 2.  Yes, there are two Ring 2 Films in Japan alone.  It is confusing.  

Mind you, there are also two Films in the Series called Rings too!  

So, again, this is not just a Remake of that Japanese Film.  It does, however, borrow many elements from that Film, so it isn't as simple as people make it sound.  
Does it make improvements over that Film?  

It is also worth noting that the original Film's Director is back for this one, despite not doing the first Remake.  It is also his only American Film.  

He apparently hated the experience and refused to repeat it.  Does that hurt the Film?  

To find out, read on...
If you watched Rings (again- the 2005 one), you'd know that this guy was part of the titular group who dare each other to watch the tape and wait as long as possible before passing the curse on.

The Film jumps in right here as he tries to do just that to 'some girl from his School,' but it doesn't work.

This is the first of many 'riffs' on the original The Ring 2 you'll see.
Now here's the kicker- Rachel returns to the Story as that kid *just happened to live where she just moved to that very day* and she finds the tape.

She burns it.  The End?

Nope- now her kid is acting weird...well, by his standards.
Not Sadako (Samara, if you care) is now trying to take over the kid, which I guess she can just do.

If there's a concise, thought-out rulebook for what Rage Ghosts and the like can do, I want to see it!
This leads to the most dated-looking and silliest part of the Film- including the bit with CGI Bathwater- bar none...

The CGI Deer attack.

This Film had a $50 million Budget.  They didn't use it for these things.
Also it is silly and makes no sense.
As the possession takes effect, the kid now fears water and is cold, since Not Sadako was in the Well.

Naturally, she also summons water with her appearance every time, because...Nakata made the original Dark Water, I guess.  It's just the new 'Theme.'
Rachel has a new, good-looking, helpful and scruffy man in her life who wants to help.

Guess how this all ends for him.
In a small but impactful role, Sissy Spacek plays the *real* Mother of Not Sadako, who tried to kill her as a baby before she got adopted.

This random role was enough to warrant Top Billing.
Rachel gets the girl out of her son by drowning him for a bit- casual attempted murder, you know- but ends up in the Well.

She climbs her way out to safety...
...and manages to escape when she follows her son's voice.

So does the rock on the metaphysical well seal up Not Sadako for good?  We'll find out in 12 years, I guess.  The End.
It is somehow too silly to be taken seriously and too dry to be taken for fun.  
The Movie is just plain weird.  
That's usually a good thing.  In this case, it is less so.  

So many things are introduced and then just kind of forgotten.  
The Doctors don't trust Rachel- no matter, the kid is home.  
The kid can control Doctors- never comes up again.  
The possessed kid can just face-warp you to death instantly- that's new and unexplained!  
Here's Sissy Spacek...and she's gone.  
Here's Gary Cole...and he's gone.  

The tape being destroyed so early- is it the only one? - is a nice wrinkle, but it doesn't do enough.  The spirit can just do what it wants, so why was it even still bothering with the tape?  

A better twist would have been that she/it could kill you *any time* in the 7 Days if she wants to, since her spirit is free?  
On that note, her spirit is free, but also keeps dripping water like it just left the Well.  Huh?  

It also later turns *into* water, despite being afraid of it.  Logic!  

I'm curious to see what Hideo Nakata was going for, since he says that the Film was edited so much that he disowned it.  
What could they have done?  
Do we need people to complain until we get a Nakata Cut?  Count me out- just for the record. 

For hilarious moments like the Deer Scene and not much else, this one is alright.  I know- I clearly didn't like it and then I say that. 
It makes no sense, right?  That's what it apparently was like working with a Director who didn't speak English, as shown by Baker's face...
Next time, I cover the most recent- and least remembered- entry in the US Series.  Will a repeat Title mean repeat success?  Stay tuned...
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Thursday, July 16, 2020

Rare Flix: Rings (2005)

Well, if I'm going to do all of them, I'm going to do this!  This is Rings, the 2005 Short Film that either came on the re-release of The Ring or on The Ring Two's DVD.  

I have the latter, since, yet again, I have a Japanese Horror Remake's Sequel on an Unrated Release!

The idea here is to introduce some new Story Elements and bridge the two Films.  Was it worth it?  Let's see...
Some time after the last Film, the cursed tape was making its way on the 'underground market.'  A group called Rings- roll credits- would watch it and then pass the curse on to someone else in an extreme version of Chicken.

Fun Fact: the last VHS Releases were in 2005.  No, it wasn't way earlier- jerks!
The latest member is doing his Challenge and it's not going well.  

Why it is that Not Sadako has to randomly freak you out for the first 6 days is anyone's guess.
On Day 6, he 'chickens out' and goes to the guy who is supposed to take on the curse for him.
He's betrayed, however, since the group is bored with never seeing Day 7.

How can you not trust people who make you watch a cursed tape for laughs?!?
After trying to curse a bunch of people in an Electronics Shop fails (darn?), he starts calling anyone whose number he has.

As time runs out, he finally gets a bite and...the Short Film ends.  See The Ring Two, assholes!
A bridge too far?  This Short Film is good for what it is.  

It is definitely a micro-chasm of what to expect from this series.  It is a bit over-edited.  It has weird Film effects designed to disorient you.  It has Characters that you don't want good things to happen to.  
In just 16 minutes, I'm both impressed by the condensed story and worried about what I'm going to get with The Ring Two.  

Yea?  

Everyone has to start somewhere, and this is no exception.  While not his first Film, this is the *second* work by Jonathan Liebseman, the future Director of such 'classics' as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Wrath of the Titans and (Michael Bay's) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?!?  One of these things is not like the other!  

I suppose it is fitting to see those other two on his Resume given his work on a Sequel to an American Remake that didn't need to be.  And yes, I know that Beginning is a Prequel!  

For better or worse, Rings prepares you for what is probably going to come.  
It's just a shame that this already hard-to-remember Film had its Title co-opted by another Film in the Series!  

In addition, the DVD (for Ring Two, at least) doesn't exactly promote it very well...
A decent, condensed Story that hints at something more.  It still leans heavily into 'ooh, jump scares,' so that is a bit disappointing.
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