Matisse van Rossum’s review published on Letterboxd:
As a young boy, after the 2003 release of The Ring, I remember always hearing from people that it was a day at the beach compared Hideo Nakata's Ringu. I never ended up having the opportunity to see either, so when I was presented with an opportunity to see Ringu on the big screen, I figured I would be a fool not to take it. While I didn't leave the theater even remotely scared (which disappointed me considering how I had built this film up in my mind as one of the epitomes of horror since I was 10), I did leave knowing I had just watched a solid horror film.
Ringu is horror on a slow burn, an almost agonizingly slow burn. We don't just see people dying left and right like most horror films. It's done in a restricted narrative style. We only know what the main character knows at any given time. It isn't a story about a vengeful ghost killing people. It's a story of discovery, as we follow Asakawa's search for the truth about the cursed video tape, which in turn becomes her fight for survival. Even the cinematography is slow and deliberate. Although there isn't always fear present, there is always this unsettling sense of impending doom. There are long stretches of nothing really happening, which do get a little boring occasionally, but when the creepy parts do happen, boy, do they hit hard. They're not scary per se, but they put me really on edge. The soundtrack helps a lot with the creepy factor.
Ringu is a ton of build up, but when the climax actually comes, it doesn't disappoint. No spoilers, but when the ghost is finally revealed, it is done incredibly effectively. Every little detail just makes your skin crawl. For me, the ending definitely made up for the almost ridiculous amount of build up. I wasn't unsatisfyed when the credits rolled. I will say that Ringu is not for people who want a horror film with constant action and scares. It's incredibly slow and if looked at in a certain way can seem pretty boring for parts, but if you let yourself get wrapped up in it, it becomes a deliberate, anxiety building progression of discovery and fear. It definitely has carved itself an important place in horror history with all that it did and inspired after its release. It essentially launched the Japanese horror genre and it's a must see if you're a horror fan.