Seven days...
Nakata Hideo's twisty-turny horror movie, based on series of novels by Suzuki Koji, borrows motifs from such diverse genre pics as VIDEODROME, CANDYMAN and ONIBABA. Mix in a healthy dose of one of X-FILES better episodes and a closing shot ripped straight from THE TERMINATOR and you'd probably expect an unholy mess. Well, you'd be half right because this is one of the most disturbing cinematic experiences in recent memory. The premise, a cursed videotape that dooms the viewer to a bizarre death exactly one week after watching it, may seem hard to swallow but Nakata plays it straight and an atmosphere of dread pervades the film. Characterisation is minimal but effective with good performances from the two leads as an estranged husband and wife fighting against time to save themselves and their young son from the curse. What really makes this film work though, in ways that superficially similar Hollywood efforts (including this films own remake) often don't, is a plot that constantly throws suprises at you right up until the final scenes. There is also some startling and genuinly unsettling imagery and very clever editing. RINGU may be nothing more than an effective little shocker but it makes most big budget Hollywood "psychological thrillers" look as anaemic as Sadako, the melancholy spirit at the center of the madness.