So many horror movies arrive on such a regular basis, that staking a claim for classic status in a crowded field has become more difficult than ever before, but 1998’s Ringu didn’t just traumatize an entire generation – it ignited an entire cinematic phenomenon that was inevitably run into the ground both at home and abroad.
As well as spawning eight additional installments covering sequels, reboots, and crossovers in its native Japan, the extended Ring franchise also launched an American remake that ended up getting a sequel and sort-of reboot of its own, as well as kick-starting the trend for Hollywood’s brief obsession with refitting every notable Asian horror that found a modicum of success for Western audiences.
Needless to say, Hideo Nakata’s original has rarely (if ever) been bettered, and it’s still held in the highest of esteem by film scholars and fans of all things spooky alike. Once again underlining its long-lasting impact on the genre, Ringu has once again set out to terrify an entire generation having become the sixth most-watched title on Amazon’s worldwide most-watched list, per FlixPatrol.
Spurring a generation to stay the hell away from VHS and giving rise to the urban legend of “cursed” videotapes that everybody’s buddy or offbeat cousin claimed to have in their possession at one stage or another around the turn of the millennium, the high concept premise and unrelenting sense of dread-inducing atmosphere still holds up when viewed today, even if the setup has probably left the social media-savvy youths wondering why people were so scared of what’s effectively an ancient and dead technology in 2022.