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Synopsis
Discover the horrifying truth behind Ringu's viral video in this spine-tingling origin story. Thirty years prior to the events of Ringu, teenager Sadako (Yukie Nakama, Shinobi: Heart Under Blade), plagued by nightmares and a suspicion that she has inherited her mother's psychic abilities, joins a drama troupe as a form of therapy. When the leading actress dies under mysterious circumstances, Sadako takes on the role, much to the consternation of her peers, who suspect her of being responsible for the death. As a string of supernatural events unfolds around the troupe, Sadako's latent power continues to manifest itself, paving the way tor a horrifying final confrontation the repercussions of which will be felt for generations.
Drawing influence from Carrie and other tales of teenage torment, Ringu 0 reimagines the Sadako myth as the tragic story of a misunderstood young woman, and in so doing brings the trilogy that defined a generation of horror cinema full circle.
Picture 6/10
Closing off their Ringu Collection box set, Arrow Video presents Norio Tsuruta’s Ringu 0 on Blu-ray in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on a dual-layer disc. Encoded at 1080p/24hz, Arrow is using a master supplied to them by Kadokawa Pictures. As of now the film is available exclusively in the box set.
Though arguably the better of the two follow-up films to the original Ring, Ringu 0 unfortunately offers an incredibly lackluster presentation. Ultimately the master looks old, like it was created with only DVD in mind back in 2000/2001, and it’s the muddiest and softest looking picture to be found in the set. Black levels are incredibly weak, looking more like a dark gray and this ends up crushing out details in the film’s numerous darker sequences. Detail is a mixed bag, with most objects looking fuzzy around the edges most of the time, with a handful of shots looking sharper. The film does have a few sequences that can be called flashbacks or even hallucinations that are stylized a bit to look rough, but even then it’s not like the rest of the film comes off looking much better in comparison.
Rather impressively, though, damage isn’t a major concern. I noticed a few marks and a couple of minor stains, but I think it comes off looking better than Ringu 2 in this area. Still, it’s a disappointing picture, muddy and fuzzy looking, though it’s not, at the very least, anywhere near the weak images Pules and Dark Water offered.
Audio 7/10
Similar to the other films in the set, Ringu 0 offers a 2.0 PCM stereo surround presentation along with a remixed DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround presentation. Both are fine, delivering the right amount of mood and atmosphere that makes its way through the environment effectively, though the 5.1 track directs the audio a bit better through the rears, and offers a more effective lower frequency. There are a couple of stand-out moments around audio feedback when something bad is around within the film, but otherwise it’s a simple enough presentation.
Extras 7/10
Though my understanding is that this film didn’t make all that much impact on its release (it really is different from the other two, more a drama until the last act) Arrow manages to add quite a bit of content to this title. Surprisingly the film does get an brand new audio commentary, this time by critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. She offers a really wonderful defense for the film (though I don’t think it needs one, but then that’s me), pointing out its strong aspects and throwing “shout outs” to the cast and crew she doesn’t think gets their fair share of respect for the film. She also talks about the series as a whole, including the many remakes and spin-offs, and also talks about the original source stories and points out the influences (Carrie an obvious one, Eyes Without a Face a less obvious one). It’s a fun track in the end and she keeps the energy up.
Another strong feature to the disc (and the set as a whole) is a video essay by Jasper Sharp called Spooks, Sighs, and Videotape, which is a 37-minute examination of the J-Horror phenomenon of the late 90’s/early 2000’s. Though this is covered in other features in the set (including the commentary on this disc) it’s excellent getting a focused timeline, looking at early Japanese horror films (like the influential Kwaidan) and how things morphed through the decades until we finally get to Ringu, its sequels, The Grudge, and more. He looks at the various films and American remakes born from this time period and the oversaturation of the market, which caused horror to shift yet again. It’s a great essay and a wonderful one for those not familiar with the sub-genre.
The disc then closes with a number of more standard features. There’s a 21-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, which is simply just that, providing footage of the filming of certain seuqences as well as discussions between cast and director, and even practicing the Sadako movements. The disc also features 6 deleted scenes running about 7-minutes (all are fine but unnecessary in the end), followed by the film’s individual theatrical trailer and a double-bill trailer where it was paired with Isola.
Still not as packed as the original Ring disc but I appreciated there was more of a focus on this film itself, while also enjoying Sharp’s thorough overview of the J-Horror sub-genre.
Closing
The features are a bit more satisfying compared to what was on the previous film but the presentation ends up being the weakest of the three, looking to have been sourced from a far older one created for its original DVD release.
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