Tag: Ringu
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Why Were the Early 2000s Such a Great Time for Asian Horror?
There are a few watershed moments in horror history, with the Asian horror movie boom of the late ’90s and early 2000s being one of them. This was an era that saw the release of one classic after another. When you have movies like Ringu, Ju-On: The Grudge, Dark Water, and Audition dropping one after…
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‘Orphan: First Kill’ Review: The Return of Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther, the Pretend Child Psycho, in an Even More Preposterous Prequel
Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), the demon child of the 2009 horror thriller “Orphan,” was a 9-year-old psycho freak who dressed like a frumpy Victorian doll and spoke in a Russian accent, which upped the ante on her malevolence by making her seem not just a junior devil but a junior devil from the land of Putin.…
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The Ring Ending Explained: Analog Anxieties And Murderous Mothers
Released in 2002, Gore Verbinski’s “The Ring” endures as a staple of teenage sleepover endurance testing. The very video that leaves a trail of deformed bodies in its wake is baked into the film itself, transforming the audience from impartial viewer to imminent victim of the cursed tape’s supernatural powers. An adaptation of the 1998…
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‘Sadako’ Review: The ‘Ringu’ Well Is Running Dry with Another Stale Sequel | Fantasia 2019
In terms of genre cycles, J-horror seems about ready for a revival. Hideo Nakata’s Ringu (1998) was a horror game-changer that helped launch a flurry of atmospheric, slow-burn paranormal horrors built around striking visuals and oppressive dread. When the trend hit North American shores with Gore Verbinski’s remake The Ring (2002), it likewise spawned a…
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‘Sadako’ Review: The Director of ‘Ringu’ Returns to the Franchise With an Underwhelming Sequel [Fantasia Film Festival 2019]
Ringu director Hideo Nakata returns from whence he came with Sadako, another J-Horror offshoot inspired by Kôji Suzuki’s malevolent novels. Audiences more familiar with Gore Verbinski’s The Ring remake should understand this foreign import favors storytelling over paralyzing scares – or, at least attempts to highlight scripted intrigue. That’s not to say previous Ringu-adjacent titles…
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‘Sadako’ Trailer: The Director of the Original ‘Ring’ Returns to the Cursed Video Series
Hideo Nakata, director of Ringu, the movie that inspired The Ring, is returning to the franchise with Sadako. Once again, that darn long-haired ghost girl is messing with people’s lives after her curse is reborn. But since the era of VHS is a thing of a past, the cursed video is now going viral thanks…