Ring/The Ring (Film Review Face-Off)

1998 Toho
Directed by: Hideo Nakata; Written by: Hiroshi Takahashi (Based upon the novel Ring by Koji Suzuki)
Starring: Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, Yuko Takeuchi, Hitomi Sato, Yutaka Matsushige, and Hiroyuki Sanada
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 95 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 8/10


2002 Dreamworks Pictures
Directed by: Gore Verbinksi; Written by: Ehren Kruger
Starring: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Jane Alexander, Brian Cox, and Daveigh Chase
MPAA Rating: PG-13; Running Time: 115 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 9/10

Both films adapted from the 1991 novel, Ring, by Koji Suzuki

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Reiko's/Rachel's niece, Tomoko/Katie, has passed away from mysterious circumstances. It appears Tomoko's/Katie's heart just stopped, her face twisted in an expression of terror. Reiko/Rachel decides to bring her resources as a newspaper reporter to bear to figure out the truth behind what's happened. She's heard strange rumors of a cursed video tape, and that anyone who views it dies a week later. After further investigation, she manages to track down a copy of the disturbing tape, watches it, then receives a mysterious and terrifying phone call. Turns out the legend of the cursed tape may be true...and now her young son has seen it too.
When Ring hit Japanese cinemas in 1998, gore was in. The closest thing to gore featured in Ring is actors contorting their faces. This is creepy, atmospheric horror, featuring great performances by Nanako Matsushima as Reiko, and Hiroyuki Sanada as her co-investigating ex-husband, Ryūji. Sanada has gone on to star in quite a few huge American films, and with his quiet, brooding charisma here, it's no wonder why. Director, Hideo Nakata, does a great job of making very normal, generally domestic interiors feel menacing. He wisely doesn't over show anything, but gives the audience enough to keep them involved and free of confusion. This is a very good supernatural thriller/horror flick..but I can't talk about it without also bringing in the 2002 American remake, directed by Gore Verbinski.
I always heard that the 1998 Japanese original was far better and scarier than the Naomi Watts-starring remake from 2002. This opinion was generally expressed by hipper-than-thou folks who knew most people would have no way of watching the Japanese version to find out if this was a legitimate take. Now 1998's Ring streams for free, and I think it's disingenuous to say it trounces the remake. If anything, choosing a favorite between the two will merely come down to a matter of taste...and I prefer the remake.

With the performances, it's a draw. They're great in both films...maybe just a smidgeon better in the remake--Naomi Watts is a pretty great actress. The soundtrack in the remake is more fleshed out, with some great, creepy work by Hans Zimmer. I prefer the American score to the Japanese minimalism of the original. The direction is great in both, but the Japanese version goes for more visual realism, whereas the remake goes for more of a dreamlike, stylized look. 

Criticism has been lobbed at Verbinski for his decision to utilize a green filter for his version. I think this was a brilliant artistic choice by the American director, who crafts some truly memorable images that stick in my mind over the ones in the original. This is best exemplified by the terrifying art film quality of the actual cursed tape in the remake, versus the shorter, less scary, more news footage quality of the one in the original. The cumulative result is that Verbinski creates a sort of impressionistic, Lovecraftian, eternal plains of horror landscape with his film, versus the more mundane, but not necessarily less effective everyday life vibes of Nakata's film. Some will say that the intrusion of the supernatural evil into a more routine, domestic world makes the original scarier than the remake, but for me, the idea of the world presented in the remake is far more scary. Plus, the remake doesn't have a certain goofy stock audio sound late in the film, when someone gets hit in the back of the head with a club.
Either way, horror fans win. Both films present unique visions based around the unique story told by Koji Suzuki's 1991 Ring novel. Both are freaky as hell. If only that much care went into remakes today...let alone making original films.