Remakes Done Right- 'The Ring'

Hello and welcome to the fifth and final installment of my 'Remakes Done Right' series. For the past few weeks I've been looking at some of the finest remakes in horror cinema, from Nosferatu the Vampyre, to Evil Dead, to The Fly and last weeks The Thing, it's safe to say that each film was quite different from the last. However, one thing I have not yet touched upon is a remake of a foreign language film. These types of remakes are generally made for people who are too lazy to read subtitles, and the majority of the time they are basically just a mere re-hash of the original. However, there are some remakes of foreign language films that dare to be different, that stick close enough to the original but retain their own unique qualities to set the two apart. In tonight's post I will be looking at The Ring, Gore Verbinski's American remake of Hideo Nakata's original film Ringu which is based off the book of the same name by Koji Suzuki. Now The Ring is not a perfect remake, especially in comparison to the likes of The Fly and The Thing, however it does a much better job than a lot of remakes of Americanized remakes. While I do think the original film is a lot more unsettling, The Ring still does a brilliant job at reinventing it for American audiences.

The Original

Adapted from the novel by Koji Suzuki, Ringu follows journalist Reiko (Nanako Matsushima) as she investigates a mysterious video tape that causes the viewer to die a week after watching it. A slow burning and mysterious film, Ringu is oozing with atmosphere right from the beginning. Instead of relying on explicit jumpscares or excessive gore, instead Ringu focuses more on creating a sense of dread to get under the audiences skin. This is done very subtly, through the score, the framing, and sometimes brief appearances of the films antagonists Sadako, but it is never too explicit or in your face. This gives the audience the constant feeling that the protagonists are being followed, no matter where they go, the power of Sadako and the cursed tape never feels too far behind. It is a subtle yet effective film that all comes together in the end in one of the most chilling endings in any horror film of its time. That final scene where Sadako crawls out from the television is terrifying, not even Verbinski's remake could recreate the horror felt during that scene.

The Remake

Ringu grabbed the attention of American filmmaker Gore Verbinski, who would go on to direct films such as the first Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and Rango. Admiring the simplicity and subtlety of the original, Verbinski decided to remake the film for American audiences, changing the setting from Japan to Seattle, Washington and casting Naoimi Watts in the lead role of Rachel Keller. Plot-wise, the film sticks very close to the original in terms of structure, however it changes certain aspects such as the backstory of the films antagonist Samara (this versions Sadako). It also places Rachel as a relative of the films first victim, most likely to give her a more personal connection to the case of the cursed tape. Ultimately the film was a success and spawned two sequels, it also prompted a number of other 'J-Horror' remakes such as The Grudge and Dark Water. I think that the success of The Ring grew from its ability to capture that sense of dread from the original so well, instead of changing the dynamic to an incredibly jumpy or violent film, it took that same minimalist approach that Ringu did. Sure, it has flaws, but as far as Americanized remakes of foreign language films go, it's a lot better than it should be.

What it Does Right

The thing that first grabbed my attention in The Ring was its cinematography by Bojan Bazelli. It's dark, it's gloomy, and it really enhances the already tense atmosphere that's established from the beginning. Supposedly Verbinski chose to set this version in Seattle due to it's 'wet and isolated' mood, if that is the case then he certainly captured that in this film as almost every frame has a dark and brooding colour scheme. One scene in particular that I feel captures this perfectly is the scene where Rachel is standing on the ferry. There is this moody, gray sky above her and the whole scene has this cold and unsettling atmosphere, even before that bit happens. Yes, the world of The Ring is a very dull one indeed, but that doesn't make it a dull film by any standards. Instead, this gloomy atmosphere is a major factor that contributes to the films slow burning sense of dread, much like in the original the curse always feels like its never too far behind our protagonist. The moody cinematography is what makes this film so memorable and gives it its own unique aesthetic, it has a similar vibe to David Finchers Se7en in that way, another film with gorgeous cinematography.

While I do think Ringu is a better film, one thing I do prefer about The Ring is the characterisation of the main character. In the original film, Reiko is not alone in her investigation into the tape, for most of the film she is accompanied by her ex-husband who she relies heavily upon at times. Along with this, she is sometimes portrayed as being hysterical while her ex is the calm and collected one, at times I felt like she was just a mere side character because of this. However, in the remake Rachel is a much more well-rounded character who feels like a much stronger protagonist. While she does team up with her ex, like in the original, she is a much more capable and self-reliant protagonist who takes matters into her own hands instead of depending on a male character. While Noah (Martin Henderson) does come to her rescue at one point, he does not accompany her to the island in the first place and his role is a lot more limited than Ryuji's (Hiroyuki Sanada) in the original. Rachel comes across as being much more determined and strong-willed, mainly due to Watt's fantastic performance. She is a much more likeable character than Reiko and a protagonist that we can actually get behind.

I've mentioned that, while sticking closely to the plot structure of the original, The Ring makes a few changes to the story. While some of the changes are questionable, such as the concept of Rachel's son having some sort of sixth sense, they allow the film to retain a certain sense of unpredictability for those who had seen the original first. For example, the effects of the curse are felt much more explicitly here as Rachel experiences some bizarre hallucinations during the seven days. There is one scene where she proceeds to pull a long string of black hair out from her throat that is not present in the original film, it's quite disturbing and acts as a curve ball of sorts that is hurled at the audience. That's one thing that I feel that The Ring does well, surprise the viewer. It does this by sticking quite closely to the plot of the original, so that whenever it does eventually veer away it comes as quite a shock. While it could be argued that this was merely done to generate more explicit scares for the American audience, I feel as though it works pretty well due to how these scares are crafted. They never feel out of place and fit nicely within the films narrative as opposed to being shoehorned in. 

While I do feel as though Ringu is a lot more atmospheric and in general, a better film than The Ring, I feel like the latter works quite well for an Americanized remake. It has a unique visual style, a strong female lead, and enough surprises to even catch hardcore fans of the original off-guard. While some of the changes are a bit unnecessary and while I do feel like Samara's backstory is a bit too overly complex than Sadako's, I also feel as though Verbinski did as best as he could to present a fresh take on the original. Had this film been in the hands of someone like, say Michael Bay for example, it may have come across as a bland and uninspired cash grab. However, with The Ring, Verbinski displays a sense of admiration for the original film, honouring it without completely copying it shot-for-shot. As far as remakes of foreign language films go, The Ring shines above the rest.