For this post I’m going to do something a little different from usual. Instead of focusing on one movie, I am going to be comparing and contrasting two very important movies in the history of Japanese cinema. These two films are masterpieces of the horror genre and kicked off the J-Horror boom in the late 90s and early 2000s. I am of course talking about Hideo Nakata’s 1998 film Ring (or Ringu), and Takashi Shimizu’s 2002 film Ju-On: The Grudge (or Ju-On). Both films are constantly compared to each other, yet the two are very different from each other. In this post I will talk about what makes the two movies so special, what makes them unique from each other, and which one I prefer.
The Stories
For those of you who are not familiar with the plots of Ring and Ju-On, I will first briefly explain them here. Ring follows newspaper reporter Reiko Asakawa (played by Nanako Matsushima) as she investigates a mysterious videotape that supposedly kills anyone who watches it seven days after they do so. She enlists the help of her ex-husband Ryuji Takayama (Hiroyuki Sanada), as they uncover the history behind the video and the mysterious girl figure that is featured in it. Ju-On follows various characters who come into contact with a house that once belonged to the Saeki family, who were murdered by the patriarch of the family, Takeo Saeki. The house is inflicted with a curse from the ghosts of Takeo’s children, Kayako and Toshio. Ju-On is split up into chapters where each chapter follows a different character as they are hunted down by the curse (my favorite chapter is the one that follows Hitomi). There is a character named Rika (Megumi Okina) that acts as a sort of main character, but the bulk of the film is spent following other characters.
Ring
If you are familiar with the Ring franchise but have never seen the original Japanese film, you may be surprised to find that the movie is actually a lot less horror focused than it seems. So much so that I’d almost hesitate to call it a horror film at all. The bulk of the film feels more like a paranormal mystery than pure horror. This, of course, is not a bad thing at all. In fact, this film uses a perfect mix of urban legends and mystery to create a wonderful driving tension that stays with you throughout the entire film. Urban legends and ghost stories are a large part of Japanese culture, and this movie does a great job of combining traditional ghost stories with modern technology (although I guess VHS isn’t considered modern anymore). This movie has a very unique atmosphere, and because of this it makes the concepts of the film much more scary than the actual process of watching it. Again, this isn’t a bad thing at all, because it makes the film much more memorable in the long run. This movie thrives off of it’s ability to still stay in your mind years after watching it. Many movies have interesting concepts, yet end up disappointing. This movie does not disappoint with its concept. The cursed video is just so cool to me, and the imagery when they actually show the video is truly haunting. I strongly prefer the cursed video in the original movie to the one in the American remake, because it is much more reserved and not so in-your-face with its disturbing imagery.
Ju-on: The Grudge
While Ring is slow paced and mysterious, Ju-On is fast paced, and doesn’t waste any time getting into the paranormal. This movie is like a rollercoaster, constantly scaring you at every turn. The main difference between Ring and Ju-On is the fact that Ju-On doesn’t spend time developing it’s story too deeply, but rather opts to get as many good scares as possible. However, where Ju-On lacks in story it makes up for in creative and frightening scenes that are filled with scary moments. If I were to choose a movie just based on how many scenes in the movie genuinely scared me, it would be Ju-On. This movie is much more of a fun kind of horror movie. It is the perfect movie for watching with a group of friends around Halloween time. Many of the scenes from this movie are burned into my mind. I’m not going to claim that this is the scariest movie that I have ever seen, but it definitely stands out against most horror movies and it became an icon in Japanese horror for good reason.
Which Do I Prefer?
The question of which film I prefer is actually really difficult. I love both of these movies, and if you are a fan of horror both of them are a must see. Ju-On to me is most comparable to a roller coaster. It’s main goal is to thrill you and it is very successful at doing that. It is a very fun experience and the ghosts are extremely memorable. Ring has a much more serious tone, and is going for atmosphere and mystery more than pure thrills. If I had to choose I would say that Ring is a better film because it can be appreciated not just from its horror elements, but from its mystery and its characters as well. The acting in Ring is much better than in Ju-On, which makes for a much more believable and impactful experience. I could recommend Ring to more people than I could Ju-On because it is more than just a movie that is trying to scare you. That being said, I still highly recommend both films, and if you like them then I recommend going down the J-Horror rabbit hole, because there are a lot of great movies beyond just the two most famous ones.