After Gore Verbinski’s “The Ring” premiered in 2002, the world became aware of Hideo Nakata’s version Ringu from 1998, known as “the Japanese version”. What many may not know is that Nakata was not the first to direct a movie about the cursed video tape. Three years prior, the Japanese TV station Fuji TV aired a low-cost film based on Koji Suzuki’s novel “Ring”. This TV-movie later saw a VHS release (but with some alterations with the soundtrack and extra nudity) and was titled “Ringu: Kanzen-ban”. That is the very first Ring movie ever made.
The plot stays highly faithful to the original novel, in which the leading role is initially held by a man named Kazuyuki Asakawa. He is a former journalist who has been demoted to a proof-reader at a Tokyo newspaper. After discovering that his pregnant wife’s niece, along with three of her friends, died from unknown causes, he decides to investigate further. Evidently, these four teens had spent the weekend together at a holiday resort one week prior to their deaths.
Kazuyuki visits the resort and discovers an unlabeled videotape, which he decides to watch. The tape contains strange and inconsistent images, including spinning dice, an old lady talking, a crying baby, blurry faces, and ultimately concludes with a warning that whoever watches it will die in seven days. With four teenagers already dead, Kazuyuki is now thoroughly convinced that the curse is real.
In fear of dying and leaving his pregnant wife a widow, he seeks help from an old acquaintance: Ryuji Takayama. This somewhat eccentric university professor is a believer in the occult and decides to watch the tape himself. It’s a race against time as these two try to get to the bottom of this mystery and save themselves. Things get even worse when Kazuyuki finds out that his wife has also watched the tape.
As mentioned, the plot of ‘Ringu: Kanzenban’ adheres more closely to Koji Suzuki’s book, making it notably different from the more well-known ‘Ring’ movies. The most conspicuous difference is the choice of a male lead with a pregnant wife, in contrast to Nakata’s version as well as the Korean and American remakes, which opt for a single mother as the lead. Additionally, most characters from Nakata’s version appear in ‘Ringu: Kanzenban,’ but they are presented differently and have varying connections to Kazuyuki. For instance, Ryuji Takayama is nothing more than an acquaintance.
A significant difference lies in the portrayal of the iconic Sadako Yamamura, who today could be described as a pop icon among all Asian horror ghosts. Here, she is portrayed with subtlety, appearing as a more feminine character and not particularly frightening. Her face isn’t hidden, she doesn’t exhibit a morbid walk, and the famous TV scene from the end is nowhere to be found. These elements were all new additions in Nakata’s version. Furthermore, her background story is explained in much greater detail, allowing us to delve deeper into her persona.
One thing to remember is that this isn’t a high-budget feature that premiered on the big screen, but rather a low-budget project that aired as ‘the movie of the week’ on television. It is, in no way, grandiose, but that’s not its intent either. It’s simplistic in its execution and resembles a typical Japanese TV show with quick dolly shots and dramatic close-ups on the different characters, topped off with some cheesy 1990s soundtrack. Visually, it almost looks like a soap opera. The horror is more or less non-existent, with not even a single attempt at a cheap jump-scare.
As long as one doesn’t expect something similar to the later versions, this movie is by all means entertaining and fully enjoyable. For a proper Ringu fan, this is much more than that—it’s a historic treasure in the realm of Ring movies.
Children of Sadako 