Ringu 0 (2000)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Kylie B

  
  More of a supernatural drama than anything else. It's a valiant effort to fit the film storyline to the storyline of the novels, but to be honest I'm not sure it worked all that well. As much as I hate to admit it, I found it rather dull for the most part. I'm not… More
  More of a supernatural drama than anything else. It's a valiant effort to fit the film storyline to the storyline of the novels, but to be honest I'm not sure it worked all that well. As much as I hate to admit it, I found it rather dull for the most part. I'm not surprised Sadako's so pissed off.

• Cassandra M

  
  Ringu0 is haunting and beautiful. It's definatly the most seriously dramatic and passionate of the ring films. Saadako is represented as a person here with a dark side. But also a wanting side that wants to be forgiven and accepted and most importantly loved for her… More
  Ringu0 is haunting and beautiful. It's definatly the most seriously dramatic and passionate of the ring films. Saadako is represented as a person here with a dark side. But also a wanting side that wants to be forgiven and accepted and most importantly loved for her uncontrollable actions. Their are strong performances and the a vivid and secret spouting storyline that makes you look at each film completely different. In an age of mindless sequels Ring 0 is a perfect film. It balances horror with beauty and love with hate. The film is as much a tear jerker as a screamer. And the true story of what happened will stay with you!

• E.J. B

  
  I loved this film. It plays like a Greek tragedy that makes you really sympathize with Sadako. She wasn't always an unstoppable killing machine. Not only that, it has two scares that would surely go down in my top-ten best horror movie moments of all time.

• Steve B

  
  Incomprehensible.

• xGary X

  
  A very stylish horror film with some great imagery, but I was expecting more...the build up of tension and suspense is tangible but let down by an unsatisfying ending. Just seeing a bunch of people keeling over for no reason in a copse seemed hugely anti-climactic to me...

• Michael M

  
  I'm not a huge fan of horror films, except for a few exceptions: movies about disturbed children, like Children of the Corn; zombie films, which have really become a genre all to themselves; and J-horror. Not sure why these exceptions exist, but they do, and it's the… More
  I'm not a huge fan of horror films, except for a few exceptions: movies about disturbed children, like Children of the Corn; zombie films, which have really become a genre all to themselves; and J-horror. Not sure why these exceptions exist, but they do, and it's the inclusion of the J-horror exception that led me to the Ring cycle. The first film, Ringu, was an excellent entry in the genre, with a bizarre premise, creepy atmosphere, and genuine scares. Unfortunately the prequel, Ring 0: Birthday (the subtitle of which is never explained), simply isn't scary, necessary, or even all that interesting. If you don't know the premise of the Ring films, it is about a curse in which the a disturbing video tape causes its viewer to die a week later. This film is set 30 years before the events of Ringu, with the origin of the creator of the curse. Sadako, the antagonist of the first film, is now an innocent and beautiful 19 year-old member of a theater troupe. We get to see her before she became the evil entity we know and love, with her role of a simple girl who loves acting and is falling in love with another member of the troupe. It's interesting to see...for about 10 minutes. Unfortunately this is the first hour of the movie. Stringed throughout are mentions of tapes with odd sounds, the whole troupe being cursed, and the existence of a second Sadako, but none of these elements have enough done with them to have them either make sense or be scary; would have been nice to have one of the two. The film does pick up in the last half-hour with the part of the story anyone who has seen Ringu already knows. However, while it is good, it's really not in any way necessary, since anyone watching it probably already knows the events that inevitably unfold. While it is interesting to see it from Sadako's point of view, making the story more tragic than it already was, it's still not needed. Unnecessary prequels can work, like in the case of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, if they are entertaining enough, and bring enough new material to the table. Ring 0 fails on this account in that the only new material brought forth isn't very interesting. I think a better approach to this concept would have been exploring the entirety of Sadako's life, rather than this small chunk, or extending it into how the curse was developed. What we get instead isn't horrible, but it is very disappointing. I like the idea of Sadako's origin story, but the execution misses the mark. It gets points for trying, and for providing a good final 30 minutes, but overall it's not a necessary view.

• Anthony V

  
  Better than 2. Not as good as the first.

• Christopher B

  
  Interesting cross between Carrie and The Ring. I liked the way they kept Sadako both creepy and scary though the film does take a while to pick up steam. Also, it's one of the few films I recall where I really hoped just about everyone dies.

Read all 8 featured audience ratings