Customer Reviews

True horror - By: J. McCabe, 16 Dec 2008
It's simple, you want to see true horror? Watch these movies. As said before these films lure youin without the need of hack & slash gory horrors - this is where the supernatural element comes into play.

I was introduced to this genre by the western version of The Ring starring Naomi Watts which I still found bone chilling to begin with but the novelty wore off by the time I watched the second one. I decided to do a bit of research into this genre like where it originated & where could I find similar films like this - I found it originated from the Ringu films & I was wondering if I could go on that supernatural ride that the Ring once took me on.

Channel 4in the UK were doing a horror weekend a couple of years back & on the friday they had Ringu on at 1.45am so I thought I got to see this & see what the fuss is about is this truly where horror can get inside your head? Anyway I got comfortable & started watching the movie believe me see by the end of it I left the lights on & watched my back going to bed - this film is true supernatural terror. Ringu 2 showed on the saturday & I viewed this also & I'll describe what one scenein this was like & how I felt viewing it.

******** WARNING SPOILERS BELOW *********

There is a scenein Ringu 2 where they have re-made Sadako's face from clay to see how she looked when she was alive they made this face over remains of Sadako's real skull they found. There is a later scene where this 'Clay Sadako' comes into play when one of the characters fallin the well. The character begins to climb the well wall to escape it & about half way up the water starts bubbling & who surfaces? This creepy, spine chilling, terrifying clay faced version of her - she scrambles up the wall fast to the character & catches up looks at her & falls back into the water.

This was the most disturbing scene I'd ever witnessed closely followed by the Ring 0 scene of Sadakoin the cabin killing those 2 women where she contorts her bones into that terrifying walk.

It's simple, you want to be scared? Buy this boxset - it's true raw horror & can hit youin the right places.

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Materpiece (Did this happen to anyone else?) - By: Sir Squidshaker, 01 Aug 2008
I first watched the original ring, not really knowing what it was. I just recognized the Japanese language & thought 'Hey a Japanese mystery or something.'. This was a little before Synopsis with the 'i' button on Sky Digital, so I had no way of figuring out what Ring was all about.

This for me, made the whole experience bucket loads more terrifying. I could barely watch at times. The psychological fear the director & cast sew is ultimately superior to the 'oogie boogie coming to getchya & stab/strangle/hook you' of floundering western horror. Sadly the idiots who remade this classic failed to notice that. They also messed up the subplot & pre-narrative timeline by moving it to america, but that's a rant for another time.

Ring 2 is a little tricky to follow, but is well worth the watch. If you look closely you'll also notice that the director of The Grudge 2 stole the scenein the morgue, should you have been unlucky enough to have seen it.

Ring 0 is the closure. A masterpiece of cinema, even moreso than the original.

A masterpiece, unlike the version shat out by us Western morons. It even has a sexy box, get it!

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the sleeping bride alone is worth it. - By: sammy girl, 01 Jan 2008
Ringu was my first experience with asian horror. After years of yearning for something truely scary that lingers with you long after you see it this film was recommended to me by a friend. As opposed to the wham bam, scare ya now but not later horrors I was used to from western cinema this stayed with me long after it had finished. Seven days later I avoided being near a TV justin case. The story turned overin my mind. I was intrigued by the character of Sadako & her past. I actually wanted the film to go on because I wanted to know more (before I knew of the books obviously :P). The tension & the atmosphere throughout the film was just added to the overall eerieness...it gripped me like no other film had. Most importantly it was fresh & original, & a complete mind screw. The sequals, although not as scary, are just as good.

I've skipped over those fairly quickly because reviews of ring & the sequals are abundant. I wanted to discuss the hidden gemin this box set, sleeping bride. I read a paragraph of the story before. A twist on the sleeping beauty fairytalein which the only survivor of a plane crash is a pregnant woman who gives birth to her child, then dies leaving the child as the sole survivor. A child who just sleeps & seems destined to never wake. This blurb hardly does the tale justice. It's a beautiful film. It tells the story of a pure & true & lasting love. It demonstrates innocence & wonder at the world that we fail to appreciate. I can't really say too much without spoiling the film too much but I promise you this film will not only tug at your heart & teach you some important life lessons you will experience a roller coaster of emotions throughout.

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Up for a good scream - By: Olivier De Roy, 25 Dec 2007
One of the scariest films that i have ever seen. Nothing like the typical hollywood all gore & effects "horror" flicks.

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SLEEPING BRIDE REVIEW DISC 4 - By: K. bruce, 09 Apr 2007
**WARNING!! MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!**
this review is just for the 'sleeping bride' movie which is disc 4 of this set.
I watched this movie with no prior knowledge of what it was about & so assumed it was a typical 'scary movie' as it came with the ring trilogy.
as i watched this captivating tale of a little girl who had slept since her birth, i was half expecting her to awaken as some sort of demon or that she would awake to discover that the dead spirits from the plane crash were seeking to haunt her for eternity! of course when the young boyin the hospital begins to kiss her dailyin an attempt to awaken her stating that "he is a prince" i realised that this was not a horror but a love story.
although i was disappointed at the prospect of a love story when i'd wanted a horror i soon became enchanted with the whole tale, & could not turn away from the screen longing to find out what happened next!
although frustrating at times, their are no problems with acting & the story explains & develops along fine, except for a few minor qualms, such as why we never see the girl being fed through a drip, or given a supply of water etc, also how the boy seems to breezein & out so easily as an adult & non-patient 10 years later.
also when the nurse turns up 10 years later to explain to the boy, 'yuichi' why she thinks 'yuri' isin love with the dr, he runs off before she gets chance to finish! this will be fine by some people who like to leave certain parts of movies to their imaginations but sometimes i find it frustrating when a film leaves me with un answered questions.
allin all i thought it was a lovely light romantic tale of love with links to robert deniroin "the awakenings" (not him personally! just links to theme on a shallow level) i was still left wondering why she was asleep? & who gave her 5 days?
i rate this movie 4/5 for it's charisma & charming romantic qualities that work well with it's simplistic story-telling, the minus 1 is just for the lack of depth & loss of answers.
allin all i would recommend this title to anyone who appreciates Asian cinema & is a believerin romance, even if your not i'm sure the recurrent "wake up-i'm your prince scenes"in the beginning will put even the smallest of smiles on even the toughest of persons faces!