5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Following the events of Ring, the body of Ryūji Takayama, former husband of Reiko Asakawa and father of Yōichi Asakawa, is examined by his friend and rival, pathologist Mitsuo Andō. After he finds a cryptic note in Takayama's stomach, Reiko and Yōichi also turn up dead. Andō soon learns of a mysterious cursed videotape, haunted by the spirit of a murdered young woman. Rumor has it that anyone who watches the video will die exactly one week later. Despondent over the death of his own child, and believing that he is being guided by his rival's ghost, Andō decides to see the video for himself. After watching the tape, strange things begin to happen around him, and he soon discovers that the tape's restless spirit has different plans in store for him.
Starring: Miki Nakatani, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kôichi Satô (I), Hinako Saeki, Shingo TsurumiHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 80% |
Supernatural | 28% |
Mystery | 25% |
Thriller | 20% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Japanese: LPCM 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
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?
Spiral is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. 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.Spiral may benefit from some relatively sunnier, more brightly lit, environments than Ring 2, and so its palette arguably has at least a bit more pop to it than the "other" sequel. Close-ups in decent lighting can provide quite good levels of fine detail, but a lot of the film has some pretty heavy blue and green grading that can materially deplete detail levels, as can perhaps be made out by some of the screenshots accompanying this review. Even in some relatively brightly lit outdoor environments, midrange shots don't offer what I'd personally term overwhelming amounts of detail (see screenshot 3 for one example). While grain resolves without any major issues, it can occasionally spike (aside from expected upticks in opticals), with a slightly splotchy yellow appearance (see screenshot 19 for one example).
Spiral features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which supports the film's kind of creepy mood. There are fewer startle effects here than some may expect, and in fact a lot of this film is on the talky side, but there can still be decent surround activity when groups of people are assembled, or when the film ventures outside (which it does with fair regularity). Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track.
Note: Ring 2 and Spiral share a disc, so supplementary material may relate to one or both films.
Spiral, kind of like Ring 2 in fact, simply can't recapture the weird, hypnotic "magic" (?) of the original Ring film. Both of these purported sequels are rather interesting in their own way(s), and they make for a really bizarre double feature. Having watched these in close proximity, I personally found Ring 2 at least a little more involving than Spiral, but I'm sure there will be others who feel exactly the opposite. Video is a little lackluster here, but never really problematic, while audio is fine, for those considering a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Ring 0 / Ringu 0: Bâsudei
2000
Ring 2
1999
Ring
1998
곤지암
2018
La morte ha sorriso all'assassino
1973
回路 / Kairo
2001
着信アリ2 / Chakushin ari 2
2005
El Espejo de la Bruja / Indicator Series
1962
着信アリ / Chakushin ari
2003
Ju-on 2
2003
Operazione paura
1966
2008
2009
Tutti i colori del buio
1972
El Orfanato
2007
Il profumo della signora in nero
1974
Ju-on
2002
Zeder
1983
2018
Exposé / Trauma
1976