Case study - 'Ringu' (1998)

The identification of the unique characteristics of Japanese directed horror in the medium of film is the central aim of this case study. Using a select number of objectives, I will be analysing the 1998 Japanese directed horror film 'Ringu'. Following the same structure of my first case study, this paper will first outline the plot to provide a basic understanding for the reader. Focusing on inspirational/mythological sources, this paper intends to discover what (if any) inspired the ideas behind this title, what (if any) real life events/occurrences have been influenced by this title and has there been any remakes/interpretations of this film?
Finally, this paper will be looking at the positives and the negatives of each objective in order to bring forth conclusive results.

The objectives are:

• Folklore - is the narrative influenced, inspired or based on regional tales/stories? 
• Real life - are there any examples of people acting out certain elements found in this film?
• Remakes - is there a remake or modern interpretation based on this film?
• Conclusion - what were the collected findings from this case study? 

Plot:

http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ringu.jpeg

The film opens up with a reporter by the name of Asakawa Reiko interviewing two schoolgirls called Tomoko and Masami whom are elaborating on a recorded videotape filmed by a young boy from a place called Izu which supposedly brings death to whomever watches its recorded footage seven days after viewing it. Tomoko admits to the fact that her and three others may have watched this so-called cursed videotape seven days prior to the interview and acquired a strange call moments after watching the contents of this tape. Later that evening, Tomoko is killed by supernatural/unexplained elements, witnessed of course by her friend Masami. Asakawa later discovers that the three friends of Tomoko as well as Tomoko herself have all died on the same day at the same time with the same shocked expression fixed on their faces. As well as that, Masami whom witnessed Tomoko's death has now been moved to a mental hospital. Reiko also discovers a collection of photos in which Tomoko and her three friends all have deformed faces.

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Reiko heads to the cottage where the tape was supposedly watched by Tomoko and her three friends. Locating an unmarked tape in the reception, Reiko watches it's contents only to discover a compilation of random sequences which do not appear to link together. After watching the contents of the videotape, just like Tomoko and her three friends, Reiko receives a phone call and is now presumably cursed with only seven days to live. With the help of her ex-husband Ryuji, they take a picture of Reiko only to discover similar facial deformity like that of Tomoko and her three friends. Despite Reiko's objections, Ryuji watches the contents of the cursed tape and creates a copy in order for them both to analyse. Eventually, after constant study a secret message is discovered stating, "if you keep on doing 'shoumon', the 'boukon' will come for you", which is a particular type of dialect from a place called Izu Oshima Island. Unfortunately, Reiko's son watches the cursed videotape, and so, Reiko and Ryuji head to the island wherein they learn about a notorious psychic named Shizuko Yamamura whom is connected to the contents of the cursed tape.

http://thatwasabitmental.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/ringu3.jpg

Ryuji and Reiko uncover the truth that the daughter, Sadako, of the notorious psychic Shizuko Yamamura made the tape and must have been killed and her vengeful spirit is now reaping chaos amongst the people of the living. Reiko and Ryuji find a boarded up well under the rented cabin in Izu, just like the one displayed in the cursed videotape footage. Reiko suddenly experiences a vision in which she sees Sadako being murdered by her father and thrown down the well. As the final moments of the curse draw closer, Reiko and Ryuji empty the well using buckets and eventually find the body of Sadako. The spirit appears to be threatening but does not kill anyone, leading them both to believe that they have successfully lifted the curse.

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Everything appears to have returned to normal until Ryuji's television turns itself on whilst he at home doing his work. The sequence of the well from the cursed videotape appears on the screen as Sadako herself crawls from the wall, approaches the screen, physically sleuthing her way out of the television set and kills him. Learning about Ryuji's death, Reiko discovers she has not been killed because she gave a copy of the cursed tape to her late ex-husband, finally understanding that the curse is a continuous cycle and must be carried on to somebody else in order for whomever has viewed it to survive. With the pattern now recognised, Reiko heads to her fathers home where her son is staying to rid him of the curse and save his life.

Folklore:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/shinto/images/mainpromo.jpg

This paper recognises that the events of this film circle around four primary elements; Shinto, Kami, Yurei, and Onryō. Shinto is a spiritual practice of Japan and has been recorded as far back as the 8th century, however, in previous historical findings it has not been referred or referenced to as a singular/whole practice, highlighted by Ronald E. Yates (1990) of the Chicago tribune, "Shinto, a Japanese creation, is an animistic religion that preaches everything has a kami, or god. Unlike Buddhism, which was imported from China in the 8th Century, Shinto (literally ``The Way of The Gods``) has no written doctrine and is steeped in mythology, much like the religions once practiced in ancient Greece and Rome." (Yates, 1990)

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Shinto is based on the belief and the worship of something called 'kami', which comes in many forms but circles around the same principal defining kami as spirits. The representation of kami most relevant towards the development of this study is Kami in physical form or as a physical being, as captured by the BBC (2009), "the term kami is sometimes applied to spirits that live in things, but it is also applied directly to the things themselves - so the kami of a mountain or a waterfall may be the actual mountain or waterfall, rather than the spirit of the mountain or waterfall. Not all kami are sufficiently personalised to have names - some are just referred to as the kami of such-and-such a place.
Three types of kami are particularly important:

• Ujigami, the ancestors of the clans: in tribal times, each group believed that a particular kami was both their ancestor and their protector, and dedicated their worship to that spirit
• Kami of natural objects and creatures, and of the forces of nature
• The souls of dead human beings of outstanding achievement

http://maskofreason.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/yurei.png

This paper has recognised the fact that Shinto follows the belief of object possession, therefore, Ringu has developed the plot using historical and cultural inspiration, however, this paper also recognises the fact that there might be some form of singular supernatural presence called 'yurei', "Yurei tend to wear white Shinto burial kimonos, their bodies hang limply and their long dark hair covers their faces sometimes with an eye peering. A subcategory of Yurei are Onryō also known as revenge-ghosts, their post-mortem fury drive them to kill those who have wronged them. They frequently appear in Kabuki theatre plays dating back to the 17^th century and Noh theatre dating back to the 14^th Century." (Wavish, 2012)

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Sadako appears in Ringu as an angered/vengeful spirit, however, this paper recognises that there has to be some history or clarity elaborating on what this folklore-based spirit does and where does it come from, "the yurei itself is an entity that is bent on revenge. In most cases, the Japanese ghost is out for revenge against people that had nothing to do with the death of the original body that held the spirit. The yurei will enact it's revenge against people that, through some twisted version of fate, came across some object of local that caused harm to the spirit when it was still human. Traditionally, the yurei is portrayed with messy unkempt black hair. This is a traditional Japanese reference to the Kabuki theater that has been prevalent in Japan for years. In Kabuki theater, the evil characters are usually considered to be insane. A symbol of insanity in Kabuki theater is unkempt hair. The yurei is almost always in white clothing. This refers to the fact that the traditional funeral garb in Japan is white. The Japanese ghost is seen in the last bit of clothing that was worn before traveling into the world of the dead." (Poupard, 2009)

http://www.tofugu.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/onryo-580x48611.jpg

Another type of mythological-based spirit of the Japanese culture in which Sadako's character is inspired by/based on is that of an 'onryō', "onryō (怨霊) is a evil Japanese ghost who is thought by many to have extreme supernatural powers over the living. And the most evil is which is that they are able to return to the physical world whenever they so desire. And this is to seek exacting evil vengeance upon those they despise and curse. These ghosts are never more happy then when they are torturing their ex living lovers, husbands and their families to the point of insane madness or death. These terrifying horrid ghosts are often mostly female and will do everything from stealing a mans virility to causing him or his new love break up, or push them to the point to kill themselves. This the ghosts strange evil acts, will directly openly punish them brutally for what they were caused in life by the living lover. And as the living lover falls into deep depression, fear, remorse and desperation as they believe they are so certainly due." (Waugh, n.d)

Real life:

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This paper has already identified that the central antagonist and plot of Hideo Nakata's Ringu are inspired by and/or based on Japanese cultural history and folklore, however, the cursed videotape itself (central plot device) is considered to be an urban legend with many versions/interpretations being told. Michael Fanagan and Luke B (2010) of Urban Legends online provide a basic translation of this urban legend, "The story behind the legend is that these college girls are having a slumber party and go to rent a video at a local dealer. The girls cannot agree on a film, so one of them asks for help. The clerk states that she has just the thing and disappears into the back room. Meanwhile, one girl sees a box-less tape laying on the counter and reaches toward it. Just then, the clerk comes out from the back and tells her not to touch it and hands her an older film. The girl asks about the first tape, and the woman tells her that it is just a home movie. The girls agree to rent the tape that the woman suggests. While they are checking out, the girl who asked for help swipes the "home movie" tape. Back at their house, the girl tells the others about the tape she swiped and they laugh, telling her that she is dumb for stealing some woman’s home movies. Still, they ask her to play the tape. She puts the tape in and then the power goes out — but the television stays on. The video starts playing and shows a black woman being burned for practicing witchcraft and hoodoo. She utters a curse that all who witness her death will face the same fate in two-days time. The VCR begins to make skipping sounds and then cuts off. As promised, the girls died forty-eight hours after watching the tape. They all met their demise in unrealistic places such as the pool or ice rink." (Fanagan & B, 2010)

Remakes:

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Hideo Nakata's Ringu was remade in 2002 by American director Gore Verbinski and retitled as The Ring. Like the previous case study investigating Wes Craven's A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), this paper has identified that Western interpretation's/remake's of Japanese horror titles are generally less critically acclaimed, "as for this remake of the cult Japanese horror film Ring, well, it's disappointing, losing most of the original's flavour, while retaining and amplifying what was muddled and unsatisfying about it in the first place." (Bradshaw, 2003)
The comparison of this remake to the original 1998 title remains mixed in terms of quality, however, the fact that it does not deliver in terms of horror as much as the original is consistently reminded, "alas, despite a high caliber production and plenty of technical strengths, The Ring simply doesn't hold up as well as it once did. The film feels dated on many levels, from tired, drawn-out scares, to generic horror cliches, and slow pacing that only pays off with tension during the first viewing. Much of the backstory has little replay value, either. And cinematography, while slick, is a putrid green throughout – a common palette overused in Verbinski films." (Shaffer, 2012)

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During an interview with Stella Papamichael of the BBC (2005), the director of the 1998 original Ringu Hideo Nakata is asked if he would do anything different to Gore Verbinski's 2002 remake, to which he replies, "I really liked The Ring. I think Gore kept a similar atmospheric feeling in the movie. Actually I met him on the set and he told me that he respected my style pretty much, so key scenes were similar. But scenes like on the ferryboat when the horse goes crazy and commits suicide, were wonderfully shot. I heard that the horse was a mixture of real footage and CGI and because I don't have that scene at all in Ringu, I enjoyed seeing it. If I wanted to do something different, it's probably story-wise after Naomi [Watts] goes to the island. It might have been slightly different from there, but it's really impossible to imagine from today's point-of-view." (Papamichael, 2005)

Conclusion:

Plot - this paper understands that this title is oddly structured but does very well to keep the audience in suspense, using cultural roots and influences to develop the narrative. The only negative here is that this title fails to being the entire story to a close, leaving the audience with an inconclusive cliff-hanger, although, this does allow the audience to build their own conclusion, delivering a more artistic/imaginative outcome.

Folklore - this paper has identified that this film uses strong folklore and cultural based influences, creating definitive and memorable imagery for the loosely described 'onryō' ghost/spirit and elements of the Japanese Shinto religion, primarily the key area of worship kami. Although this film does not use completely imaginative sources of inspiration, it does in fact make the film easily identified as an Eastern directed horror title.

Real Life - this objective is seen by this paper as the only let down and/or negative of Ringu. The key elements of the plot are based on urban legend and the film has not inspired any positive or negative human acts/events.

Remakes - Western directed remakes/interpretations of Japanese directed horror films are further confirmed by this paper as less successful in depicting horror and less critically acclaimed. This paper has also highlighted that the director of the original (Western or Eastern) has little or no input towards any remake/interpretation of their work(s).


References:

Anon. 2009. BBC - Religions - Shinto: Kami. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/shinto/beliefs/kami_1.shtml. [Accessed 12 April 2013].

Bradshaw, P. 2003. The Ring | Culture | The Guardian . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2003/feb/21/artsfeatures5. [Accessed 15 April 2013].

Fanagan, M & B, L. 2010. The Cursed Video Tape | UrbanLegendsOnline.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://urbanlegendsonline.com/the-cursed-video-tape/. [Accessed 15 April 2013].

Papamichael, S. 2005. BBC - Movies - interview - Hideo Nakata. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/03/30/hideo_nakata_the_ring_two_interview.shtml. [Accessed 15 April 2013].

Poupard, L. V. 2009. Symbolism Behind the Yurei - the Japanese Horror Movie Ghost - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://voices.yahoo.com/symbolism-behind-yurei-japanese-horror-movie-2361677.html?cat=40. [Accessed 12 April 2013].

Shaffer, R. L. 2012. The Ring Blu-ray Review - IGN. [ONLINE] Available at: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/03/30/the-ring-blu-ray-review. [Accessed 15 April 2013].

Waugh, L. L. H. n.d. Onryō THE VENGFULL GHOSTS THAT SEEK THEIR REVENGE!. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/haunted/Onryo.php. [Accessed 12 April 2013].

Wavish, M. 2012. “Has ‘Ringu’ (1998) changed both Japanese and American/western cinema and if so, how?” by Sara Clyndes: Part One » Horror Cult Films - Movie Reviews of Obscure, Weird, Strange, Horror and Cult Cinema. [ONLINE] Available at: http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2012/08/has-ringu-1998-changed-both-japanese-and-americanwestern-cinema-and-if-so-how-by-sara-clyndes-part-one/. [Accessed 12 April 2013].

Yates, R. E. 1990. In Japan, Some Oppose Shinto Rites - Chicago Tribune. [ONLINE] Available at: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-11-22/news/9004060593_1_daijosai-amaterasu-omikami-middle-core-faction. [Accessed 12 April 2013].