6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
RINGU 0 is one of the four bone-chilling films of the RINGU series, which inspired the RING phenomenon. Taking place 30 years before the events of RINGU, RINGU 0 provides the shocking background story of how the girl on the video became a deadly, vengeful spirit.
Starring: Yukie Nakama, Seiichi Tanabe, Kumiko Asô, Takeshi Wakamatsu, Ryűshi MizukamiHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 77% |
Supernatural | 28% |
Thriller | 17% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.86:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Japanese: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Note: This film is available as part of Ringu
Collection.
J-Horror.
What do you think of when someone mentions this “national” genre? If you’re like any number of fans, and as both commentator David
Kalat and even the back cover verbiage of Ringu mention, the
Ring* series will no doubt be at the top of the list. Interestingly, the
back cover
states that the original Ring film “launched the J-horror boom in the West”, though Kalat takes at least some issue with that assertion in
his
appealing
analysis of the film. Kind of interestingly (and maybe just a bit peculiarly) given this series' outsized reputation, none of the Ring films
has
evidently been released on Blu-ray for the domestic American market before this, but Arrow, long the curator of niche items for some devoted
collectors, has once again come to the rescue with both a standalone release of Ring, as well as a boxed set including four films.
*Kalat makes a cogent case that the coinage Ringu is due to the transliteration of Japanese orthography, and that the film's director
himself
told Kalat the name of the original film was Ring, so references to that film in particular and the series in general will use that version of
the
title.
That said, the discs in this set sport the Ringu versions of the titles, and so links to films and/or reviews will show that version. Similarly,
Spiral is listed with that title on its disc (as opposed to Rasen), so that title will also be used. Confused
yet?
Wait. . .weren't you supposed to be playing Christine?
Ring 0 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.86:1. While Ringu was granted a complete restoration replete with a new 4K scan of its original 35mm negative, it appears from the verbiage inside the pamphlet sized booklet included in this set that none of the other three films in this release were accorded the same treatment. In fact, all three are lumped together with the following brief explanatory verbiage:
Spiral, Ringu 2 and Ringu 0 are presented in their original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 and 2.0 stereo sound. The High Definition masters were provided by Kadokawa Corporation.Ring 0 has better saturation than either Spiral or Ring 2, though this presentation, too, has moments of noticeable softness and at times the same kind of grayish/blackish undertone that is noticeable in those two other films. That said, fine detail is often quite good even in less than brightly lit environments (see screenshot 13 for one example). As with some of the other films in this set, grain resolves naturally without any major issues, but can occasionally look somewhat splotchy, with a slightly yellowish tone (see screenshot 19 for one example). Some of the darkest interior scenes suffer from slight deficits in shadow detail.
Ring 0 features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, but this film tends to shy away from some of the more overt horror aspects of the sound design of some of the other Ring films, and so some audiophiles may find the mix here to be a little on the tamped down side. The theatrical scenes can offer decent surround activity with groups of people talking over each other, and a couple of showier scenes toward the end of the film, when Sadako has started "manifesting" (in more ways than one), do offer some well placed discrete channelization of effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track.
One of the more unsettling things about the original Ring film, and even arguably about Spiral and Ring 2, is that you were never quite sure who Sadako was or what she was attempting to do. Sometimes not knowing everything can add to the unease that horror fans seem to like to experience, and Ring 0's attempts to fill in "the rest of the story" may have been a flawed strategy from the get go. That said, technical merits here are generally solid, and both the commentary and Jasper Sharp's overview of J-Horror are extremely interesting and worthwhile, for those considering a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Rasen / らせん
1998
Ring 2
1999
Ring
1998
Ju-on 2
2003
Ju-on
2002
Quella villa accanto al cimitero
1981
2013
2013
2009
仄暗い水の底から / Honogurai mizu no soko kara
2002
2018
2015
2016
2016
Knackningar
2021
The Ordeal / Slipcover in Original Pressing
2004
着信アリFinal / Chakushin ari: Final
2006
Unrated Director's Cut
2009
1982
2013