Ringu contains many aspects that make it a horrifying film.
One of these aspects is how close to reality it sits, especially because it is
said to be based on a true story. It does not throw the supernatural at the
audience in a gaudy way that would pull it away from its realistic feature. It
hits home in a terrifying way because of the way it takes an ordinary activity
and makes it ominous and creates an anxious energy in the audience. For example the scene 00:27:15 to 00:27:58. Here
we see Reiko hesitate to put the tape in the VCR. There is a moment when it
seems as if nothing may happen but of course the video begins to play and we
see the terror come over her face. It let’s the audience know that this could
happen to anyone, that no one is safe. Another scene that adds to the fright of
the movie is the escalation of Sadako’s presence from mere video to in your
face. This is scene 01:25:48 to 1:28:14. It happens after it seems that Sadako
has been appeased and all is well. This adds to the horror because, most
likely, the audience has settled down and accepted that Reiko and Ryuji are
only to have Sadako come out of the TV and kill Ryuji.
Q1: How does the medium in which the ghost expresses herself
add to the horror and uncanniness of the movie? And what, if any, is the
significance of the fact that Sadako was thrown into a well where she died, and
the fact that she arose from that well and comes to kill her closest victim?
I think the medium greatly adds to the uniqueness and horror of the movie. Usually when we are watching from a television screen, we distance ourselves from the content displayed (unless psychologically involved), and we typically feel safe watching the TV from our living rooms. Here, however, there is no distance between the content displayed and the viewer - the content curses the viewer to inevitably die within a week. Therefore any sense of comfort is shattered. I think the significance of Sadako rising from the well is that the director is trying to emphasize the supernatural nature of Sadako, in that she is not bound to the laws of known nature and that she possesses deathly powers - aka the ability to kill someone with just a wish.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! Challenging our practice of idly swallowing the information we see on T.V., perhaps?
DeleteSadako has the power to come through the TV and into real life. The fact that the TV is used as a medium makes things frightening for the viewers because everyone watching the movie most likely owns at least one TV in their homes. The top of the well forms a ring, which is where the movie got its name. Rings are bascially circles and circles are never-ending. This represents that Sadako's curse has no end and will continue for eternity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comments before me in that the TV makes things more frightening for the viewers. The idea of watching something scary on a TV definitely hits close to home for a majority (if not all) of the viewers. Furthermore, not only can televisions be found in homes - they're everywhere. Nowhere is safe. Where televisions were once gateways to relaxation and comfort, they are now gateways to the supernatural; literally, in the movie's case, as Sadako comes out of the TV.
ReplyDeleteI think that the medium adds to the "techno-uncanny" because as children there was a belief that the people in the television were alive and could hear and see the viewer. Normally when one sees the television it is harmless nothing can use it as a mean of transportation. In the case of Sadako using it it destroy one feeling of security in their own home which adds to the horror aspect of the film. The significance of the well is to add the horror of Sadako's appearance (fingernails missing).
ReplyDeleteIt adds an uncanny sense of direction. These parts of the film depict supernatural elements that are not normal and thus add a sense of horror.
ReplyDeleteThe medium in which the ghost expresses herself is horrifying! Watching tv is supposed to be a relaxing activity, usually done while on the couch, in bed, or with family, so to take such a mundane activity and suddenly make it horrific and forbidden is terrifying to the audience. Especially at the end when she comes out of the tv because the tv shows two dimensional images, so when an actual, three dimensional character comes out, it is truly horrifying. As for the well question, I think Mandy nailed it and I completely agree with her. In addition, a well usually provides water, so life, to people and I find it ironic that she was killed in one and continues to bring death from the well instead of life.
ReplyDeleteThe different medium the ghost uses to express herself adds a terrifying dimension to the television screen itself. It brings the horror to life, because many of us have our own television sets, making this particular scene jarring in nature.
ReplyDeleteThe medium in which the ghosts uses to provided the horror of the film is a cursed video tape. That is uncanny because watching videos are supposed to be a way of relieving stress, but in Ringu, watching that tape is the most stressful thing for the characters. The well resembles life in which Sadoko dies in the well but is also brought back to life to carry out her vengeance.
ReplyDeleteSince Sadako uses the TV as means of transportation into her victim's lives, it brings a certain uncanny-ness as all the comments have pointed out before me where people usually sits in front of one in order to relax from their daily lives. To take themselves out of the reality and into a world of entertainment that doesn't really connect to them in any way. But Sadako will literally form through the TV connected this fictional thing right into their lives and this will definitely bring fear to the audience. Since this will bring on the idea that what's seen on the TV can not be neglected once you turn off the TV when usually you see a show on TV and you will forget most of it by the next day if it wasn't related to you.
ReplyDeleteUsing the TV as the sadako's way of reaching her victims adds to the uncanniness because we ourselves are watching her commit her acts on a screen. I kinda makes it feel as though it could happen to us.
ReplyDeleteAs for coming out the well to attack her victims, since she died there, so unjustly her soul is angry and she is essentially doomed to haunt the well, so she rises from the well, to strike vengeance on the world that wronged her.
The television set is a very homely addition to a household. Making a television set a portal for a killer ghost makes the t.v. unhomely. Also, owning television set means you are in control of it. You have the power to turn it on and off, change channels, etc. In the beginning of the film, when it's time for Tomoko to die, Sadako is able to turn the t.v. on from wherever she is. The lack of control over something you once had control over can add a sense of horror to the film.
ReplyDeleteThe medium in which the ghost uses adds to the uncanniness of the movie because it makes the viewers think it might happen to them. We then don't trust our own t.v. and are afraid of what might happen to us.
ReplyDeleteThe medium Sadako uses to express herself fuels the feeling of the uncanny in this film. It is true that most households now own at least one TV. It is a familiar item used for entertainment at home, but Sadako uses it to strike fear in a homely environment. Victims are not safe even in their own homes. What was once familiar and harmless becomes terrifying. The fact that she arises from a well seems ironic and adds to the significance that she is, in a sense, an eternal being. She uses modern means of communication but arises from a water source which is deemed a bit old-fashioned in the modern world.
ReplyDeletePresenting herself through the TV adds to the uncanny effect of the film because the TV is something we associate pleasure with. We enjoy the shows we watch on it and it helps people relax. The ghost presenting herself through the TV takes away that pleasure and makes watching the TV a horrifying and scary experience.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Sadako was thrown in a well just adds to the horror aspect of the film, for she has no nails because she tries to climb out of it, so when we see a close up of her hand when she grabs Reiko, we are horrified at what we see. I think the significance of her killing the person closest to her when she comes out of the well is to keep the curse going. "The Ring" is a circle, which is never ending. Therefore, she needed, or maybe wanted, to keep the cycle of people dying going.
The idea of the monster or supernatural murderer living in the TV and being able to escape and claim her victims is such an horrific idea! In this day and age, TV's are everywhere you turn and they are meant to bring joy, laughter, and entertainment. It makes one feel unsafe even if our most comfortable situations. Also with the well scene and kills the closest victim is the idea of thirst for murder and blood; no mercy.
ReplyDeleteSadako even before being unjustly tossed into the well and left for dead was shown as a ruthless character (killing people by just wishing it and her mother committing suicide because she couldn't handle the child). The use of both the t.v. and the well play into the supernatural and rueful aspects of the girl. The movie of Sadako's history and the well especially, while her human form could not climb out, prove her unnatural abilities and how she is able to escape the bonds of time by her ghost being able to surface from it. As well the second barrier she is able to surpass, the t.v., shows how she can be anywhere and how the limits of space neither can contain her. By understanding that a supernatural being can skirt the bonds of space and time is no new occurrence yet the feeling of uncanniness comes with the knowledge that the creature was always cruel and had, from what it seems, a displeasing childhood, therefore, not caring if she takes something as comforting and relaxing as the prospect of watching t.v. and turning it into something feared much like her own existence.
ReplyDeleteInteresting!
DeleteThe medium in which Sadako is presented creates an element of the uncanny because T.V. has become a part of our everyday lives and makes the audience feel uneasy to believe that it could also be the cause of a horrifying death. Ringu also makes the audience feel uncomfortable because we are indirectly watching the film that has killed so many. It is significant that Sadako climbs from the well because it shows that she can defeat death.
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion question, Teilor.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the plot is terrifying in itself, the medium in which the ghost Sadako expresses herself adds to the horror and uncanniness of the movie. This is primarily because the medium—a cursed video tape/ television—is one that many of us are familiar with and use frequently (or at least, “did” in the case of video tapes.) Likewise, I think it is safe to say that despite our sense of familiarity with this type of medium, many of us still do not necessarily know it actually works. For the most part, it does seem as though there are “people living inside the TV which are only brought to life” with a flip of a switch or press of a (remote) button. Thus, it is essentially this combination—of both this sense of familiarity and there lack of (regarding how video tapes/ and or television works)—that make not only a cursed video a seemingly plausible cause of death, but the film to be as frightening and uncanny as it is as well.
ReplyDeleteThere is indeed a very uncanny origin for the ghost in this film, being a tv inside of a household. This creates a sense of uneasiness for the viewer, assuming that the viewer is watching the film from some sort of screen. This idea of origin for the ghost involved the audience who can relate, since most people own a tv of some sort in their home. The "you can be next" aspect of the film is quite frightening because it the viewer at home can easily be next to experience the horror that takes place within the film.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the latter half of the discussion question, it is interesting how right before Sadako kills her latest victim, she is seen rising from the same well where she herself was murdered. I think this is significant because it plays on mankind's curiosity with death; more specifically, the death of one’s physical body versus the death of one’s soul. Although many of us would agree that after a person dies that that person’s body is no longer part of the living, how many of us are for certain as to what happens to that person’s soul? Does that person’s soul die along with his or her body? Or does it continue to live on, even long after that person has already deceased (as suggested in the short story by Edgar A. Poe in “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar.”) It is this natural innate uncertainty humans have that the director uses and plays with to create the notable sense of uncanniness (and seemingly psychological trauma on my part) in his film.
ReplyDeleteI believe by using modern, easily accessible daily items such as TV and videotape as the medium to transport the ghost is a very clever idea. In fact, I think this is the main reason that Ringu is classified as one of the most horrifying films. By using items that we the viewers will be using every single day, it makes the film more realistic. When watching videotape or watching TV, viewers might relate the scene to Ringu and started to wonder what could happen next.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that the ghost appears by climbing out of the tv after the victim watchers a cursed videotape adds to the uncanniness of the film becuause it takes a very mundane act that almost everyone is familiar with and is the kind of thing you would do without thinking about it in your everyday life, and turns it into something terrifying, life threatening, and strange. The well is signifigant because its kind of a trope with ghost stories that the spirits of the dead are often bound to the places in which they died originally, and are disturbed and agitated when people (usually the protagonists) intrude upon, disturb, or otherwise desecrate their resting places, but with the videotape, the ghost's final resting place, and its vengeance, are brought to the victim instead. The spirit isn't bound just to a spooky decrepit house or an overgrown graveyard, she can strike anywhere, including within the perceived safety of the victims home.
ReplyDelete