Ringu -- 1998 -- NR

This is a Japanese movie, and so not subject to review by the MPAA. I would put the rating at a PG-13 for shocking and/or disturbing images. Ringu is the Japanese version of the American film, The Ring.

Students who watched a cursed video die a week later all at the time. A reporter tries to unlock the mystery of their deaths and upon watching the video herself, also becomes subject to the one week curse. This film has good pacing, a creepy atmosphere, and decent characterizations. Their search for the truth encountered very few roadblocks, though, and seemed pretty easy to get through to the end once they were able to piece it all together. The seven day time frame, while continually immenent, seemed almost non-threatening and just "there" like staring at a timebomb as it ticks down.

A bigger beef I have is the odd psychic element. I had a similar complaint with Audition, so this might just be a "thing" for Japanese films. Much of the expository information they gained was done through intuition or psychic "flashes" by the characters who acknowledged these abilities as something they had right when they needed it.

This aside, it is a good film to watch, if for no other reason than to see where the Ring came from. Another point of interest is that while Audition was a film in Japanese with no other indicator of any other culture, Ringu is a Japanese film complete with apparent cultural idiosyncrasies specific to the Japanese. It was kind of neat to watch.