Did anyone else think that the video was similiar to that Nine Inch Nails video?

IceNine said:

The American verison goes somewhere else but I quite liked it...Actually much better than the last spooky shit they distributed...

This movie sticks in your head unlike the same ol teen slasher flicks.

I think what I liked about it the most is you feel compassionate towards the evil thing in this movie. Also, its not the typical "who done it?" suspense factor. The intrigue and suspense culminates as the story unfolds, and finding out what the "ring" is was really cool. I would have never guessed or anticipated that.

The only thing that irked me was I was under the impression this tragedy took place long before VCR's were a household item. So I'm wondering why she chose this as her means when she wouldn't even have known it existed?

classic77 said:

yes. I thought it was very much like 'Closer'.

Tom, I agree with you, but I think that towards the end of the movie it seemed like the time frame was correct, but there were parts where it made you feel like the incidents happened in the 1800's-early 1900's,then as the movie progressed, it seemed like the 50's, then the 70's, which would make a vcr more likely!
I think that the movie was great, but the storyline could have been better, it went awry towards the end! I guess the whole point was to make sure ya go see the ring2! I will check out the japanese version though!
NIN edit
[This message was edited Sun Mar 9 17:28:46 PST 2003 by purplelu]

I just watched Ringu and though I thought it was good, it didn't come close to being as good or creepy as the American version. Some people will always say that the foreign version can't be topped, but in this case I have to disagree. I hated that negative image that would appear when somone saw the girl. That was cheesy. And the looks on the victim's faces weren't nearly as fucked up as the closet scene in the American version. That was ill, especially with those quick shots and erie sound effects. My overall impression of Ringu was, yeah it was good, but not as good as the remake.

My theory on the whole tape situation is this. I think that not only does the up-coming victim need to copy the tape, but they do need to show it, in order to pass the girl's message along. Like it was explained in Ringu, it can keep going on and on forever. The whole thing is that the girl needs to be heard and the punishment for not showing the tape to others is death.

I have heard though that a prequel to The Ring is in the works and that'll get deeper into the whole story about the girl and her family. Hopefully they won't fuck it up.

BelleBeyond said:

Wuss...lol

EvilWhiteMale said:

Co-sign easily...'specially the "cheesy death face" remarks...

OK... At the good word of my fellow orgers, I just rented and watched the CRAP American version. I wish I knew curse words vulgar enough to fit this waste of time, money, energy and celluloid.

Except for Samara's mistaken motives and the truly grotesque post-mortem faces left on her victims, there was nothing -- I mean nothing -- redeeming or scary about the Ring. The progression was far too quick to elicit any real feeling of dread; the characters were flat and unsympathetic, bordering on downright annoying; the backstory was implausible; the acting was paper-thin; and the watery blue tint of the entire film was a cheap and heavy-handed means to establish affect where the narrative itself couldn't do the job. The videotape vignettes were neither disturbing nor thought-provoking, and the clumsy flashbacks to the tape EVERY single time the main characters uncovered additional meaning of its contents were just damned insulting.

I so crave the return of intelligence to the horror genre... I guess I've more waiting to do.

In the meantime, I'll return to the advice of my 2-year-old, who wisely suggested we watch "Elmo in Grouch Land" tonight instead.

Lammastide wrote:

I so crave the return of intelligence to the horror genre... I guess I've more waiting to do.


What would you consider to be intelligent horror films?

the entire tyme i was watching that Flick i was saying this is a re-make *** re-release or sumfin...


whatever it wasn't entertaining it was aiight...

why can't i get THE SHINING 21st Century Style????

although i HEARD the RED DRAGON was decent...anyone "comments"
[This message was edited Mon Mar 10 18:00:12 PST 2003 by ScarLett]

wellbeyond said:

lol...

They have Ringu for 25 bones at Best Buy..is it worth it or not? Ill wait for the sale I think. Wait...24.99 is the sale price.

I think this has been on a thread before, but Eraserhead David Lynch's first Surreal Horror film is now available through his website:
http://www.davidlynch.com

I was thouroughly disappointed in this movie. I guess maybe I was way too excited to see it and that is where my disappointment came from. BUT... I will be buying Ringu and watching that. From the little that I did see of that, it looked more interesting and thrilling.

Another rare, GOOD "scary" movie..."Signs"

feltbluish said:

Eh, it was ok...had some decent tense moments (like when they were all in the basement)...but the aliens were so ordinary and non-threatening that it almost became laughable...(they die if they get wet??...so basically, if we all just turn on our sprinklers the alien invasion is kaput)...

Good movie for creepy and eerie atmosphere: "Session 9"

Good movie for almost unbearable tension and dread: "Funny Games"

Good "Damsel In Distress" movie: "Mute Witness"

Good sleeper scary movie: "Frailty"


Good scary edit: see below...
[This message was edited Mon Mar 10 21:03:36 PST 2003 by wellbeyond]

wellbeyond said:

I really enjoyed Session 9... but the majority of people I talk to hated it. Maybe I just have bad taste in movies.

AzureStar said:

That's for sure. You don't even like the Sisterhood.

2the9s said:

I am still mad at you...

AzureStar said:

heh heh

AzureStar said:

Nonsense!!...Who are these cretins??...

EvilWhiteMale said:

I gauge them not necessarily on the fear factor, but what originality, freshness or literacy they bring to the genre.

Among them: The Thing (the original or the John Carpenter remake); the original Exorcist; Martin; The Hunger; the original or 1980s remake of The Cat People; The Shining; Interview with the Vampire; the Alien series; The Wicker Man; any old German Expressionist horror films from the 20s; Psycho; the original Pit and the Pendelum; The Omen I and II; the Sixth Sense; the Believers; Night, Dawn and Day of the Dead; the original Frankenstein (or the 1994 remake was fair); Rosemary's Baby; the original Halloween; Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Carnival of Souls; Nightbreed; The Fog; Begotten; the original Dracula; the Blair Witch Project (which I actually hated, but gave points for a fresh approach). There are others I'll try to think of.

feltbluish said:

For me personally, "Signs" also suffered from the
inevitable special fx.

The movie was pretty scary, and the split second
shots of the hooflike foot in the corn and later
the birthdaypartytapefootage where really just
short enough and weird enough to make it scary.

Then when the alien stood in their livingroom in
full view, the whole thing looked a bit too fake
to cary any real punch.

.
[This message was edited Tue Mar 11 11:56:59 PST 2003 by EvilWhiteMale]

Lammastide wrote:

Among them: The Thing (the original or the John Carpenter remake); the original Exorcist; Martin; The Hunger; the original or 1980s remake of The Cat People; The Shining; Interview with the Vampire; the Alien series; The Wicker Man; any old German Expressionist horror films from the 20s; Psycho; the original Pit and the Pendelum; The Omen I and II; the Sixth Sense; the Believers; Night, Dawn and Day of the Dead; the original Frankenstein (or the 1994 remake was fair); Rosemary's Baby; the original Halloween; Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Carnival of Souls; Nightbreed; The Fog; Begotten; the original Dracula; the Blair Witch Project (which I actually hated, but gave points for a fresh approach). There are others I'll try to think of.

I agree with most of what's in your list, but I have to say that I would definitely put The Ring in there as well. I've grown up on horror films and only a handful of flix have spooked me out such as The Exorcist, The Omen I and II, The Shining, Pet Semetary, The Sixth Sense, and The Ring. Then all the rest are just fun horror films.

Lammastide said:

I'll agree with you on most of those, except for Blair Witch, which wasn't scary, nor original. It shamelessly stole from The Last Broadcast, and Cannibal Holocaust

Of course, the greatest horror flick of all time (aside from Creature From The Black Lagoon) is The Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn! Demon possessed corpses, hands and animal heads! People trapped in an eerie cabin in the woods, surrounded by the evil spirits of the Necronomicon! A hero sporting a chainsaw for a hand, and a sawed off shotgun! This flick has it all! Groovy!