Ringu (リング, the Ring) is best known as the 1998 Japanese horror film from director Hideo Nakata, adapted from a book by Koji Suzuki of the same name. The film was later remade in the United States by director Gore Verbinski as The Ring in 2002.

Both films retain the basic premise of a cursed videotape that kills the viewer seven days later. There were several differences between the book and film(s), however, including the main character being changed from male to female (Kazuyuki Asakawa becomes Reiko Asakawa), an omission of the more unsavory personality traits of Ryuji Takayama (Asakawa's companion), and a glossing over of the scientific explanation behind the cursed videotape in favor of a decidedly supernatural one.

There were two sequels shot in Japan, Rasen (aka Spiral) and the Ring 2, (which was not based on Suzuki's works), as well as the prequel the Ring 0 - Birthday. Rasen made up for its predecessor in scientific detail, which was one of the reasons for its unpopularity. There was also a Korean remake (called Ring in Korea and The Ring Virus abroad) that was the first-ever joint filmmaking venture between Korea and Japan.

The Ring and Rasen (released as Ring and Spiral respectively, in English) were best-selling novels by Koji Suzuki, who is often—though rather inaccurately—referred to as Japan's Stephen King. Loop (which has yet to be adapted to the screen) comprises the third book in the series. It was later followed by a collection of short stories called Birthday, from which the story entitled "Lemonheart" provided the basis for the aforementioned theatrical prequel, the Ring 0 - Birthday.

The international success of the Japanese films launched a revival of horror filmmaking in Japan that resulted in such pictures as Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse (also called Kairo or Circuit), Takashi Shimizu's Ju-on, Hideo Nakata's Dark Water]] (or Honogurai mizu no soko kara, also based on a short story by Suzuki), and Higuchinsky 's Uzumaki (or Vortex, based on the Junji Ito horror manga).

Most of the Ring stories also appeared as manga novels.

Fans of the series are known as Ringworms. Many dislike using the name Ringu for the film, preferring to call it simply Ring.

External links

• the ringworld - a Fansite covering all aspects of the Ring series and movies
• Snowblood Apple's Ring Cycle article - an overview of all Ring films.