Comparing and Contrasting "The Ring" and "Ringu"

There are two main differences between the movies, The Ring, and Ringu that make them stand apart from eachother. The Ring was more believable and seemed to me to be more of a horror movie, than Ringu. Because of these points, I heavily favored The Ring.

There were many things in the plot and even in the actors themselves that made Ringu seem less believable as a story, and as equally less believable as a horror movie. First, the psychic storyline in Ringu seemed farfetched and rather ridiculous. There are three characters in the movie with powers, and it seems to be more of an episode of X-Men than a realistic story plot. It seems as though, with this plot, that this movie would fit better into the fantasy section of your local movie store rather than in the horror section. In The Ring however, the characters of Samara and Anna Morgan are a little more involved in the storyline. Using the horse plot made the story seem easier to believe and also to relate to.

The telephone also played a different role in the plot in the two movies. In The Ring, every time someone was to watch the video, the phone would ring to tell them that they had seven days left. However, in Ringu, the phone only rings at the cabin. I think that the ring itself adds a little edge to the horror in the movie. The telephones ring symbolizes the fact that no matter where you go, Samara can still get to you. Also, it keeps the audience in suspense, waiting for the ring. The ringing adds anticipation and fright to the moviegoer's experience.

The videos themselves added a lot to the plot in The Ring, and really weakened the plot in Ringu. First, in the ring we see all the images come to life during the movie, as the actor experiences th...

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...I thought it worked perfectly as a horror movie, and had some great scary attributes. Ringu however, really seemed out of place to me. So many things brought the movie down. Poor acting, bad plot development, and awkward cinema techniques are some of the things to blame. After watching the movie I was left with a lot of questions. I felt like the movie could almost have been saved if some of the things in the movie were a little more developed, like the images from the video, and if the plot was made to be a little less fantastical. Then again, I also thought that if a couple more elements of dry humor and even further out plot twists were made, Ringu could have been a wonderful comedy. Either way, it is clear which movie served its purpose. I will probably see The Ring at least five more times in my life, and I will still consider it an awesome scary movie.