On its release in Japan, Ringu ('The Ring') heralded a hugely popular new horror style. Successfully blending science fiction and the supernatural to chilling effect, the film's story interweaves the 'urban myth' of a cursed videotape with the threat of a virus and the mysterious death of a psychic girl. This in-depth companion to The Ring examines the phenomenon from the original novels, through their adaptations in other media and the film prequels, sequels and remakes, including the American remake starring Naomi Watts, to influences on and those influenced by The Ring. Placing the films in their cultural context and examining their cross-cultural appeal, this is the definitive guide to The Ring in all its incarnations.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"...an absorbing crash course on the evolution of a modern cinematic phenomenon." -- Total Film, November 2005, review by Mark Powell
About the Author
Denis Meikle is a long-standing genre writer whose previous books include A History of Horrors: The Rise and Fall of Hammer Films, Jack the Ripper: The Murders and the Movies and Vincent Price: the Art of Fear.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, but one-sided,
By Mark Roberts "International film aficionado" (Calgary, AB, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ring Companion (Paperback)
More appropriately, this book should be titled "Ring Companion", in reference to the title of the original film... not out of any fanboy sense of correctness, but rather out of the author's definite bias which colours the book. This wouldn't be an issue, except that the book is marketed as a companion to "The Ring" (especially via the cover graphic, which is an allusion to the American remake), while the author clearly hates that film. Thus, fans of the American version are likely to be disappointed in Meikle's coverage of that film. Meikle gives over far too often to his own critical reviews of the installments of the franchise, with the result that those items he enjoyed receive loving and detailed coverage (especially Suzuki's original book and Nakata's first movie), while all others get buried under his diatribes on the faults he found with them. This is especially evident in his treatment on the American adaptation "The Ring", where Meikle constantly adds his own snide comments and conclusions to the details he presents on the development and making of the film. His final, parting shot, "The Ring is dead. Long live Ring.", emphasizes that this really isn't a Ring "companion", but rather Denis Meikle's personal review of the franchise.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond the Ring, a history of horror,
By
This review is from: The Ring Companion (Paperback)
The Ring Companion is much more than about The Ring books, and movies. It is a history of horror films and writing both in the East and in the West. At times it reads like film theory and is extremely well researched. Where it falls apart is the personal opinion of the author about The Ring films (Japanese, American and Korean), and the surge of Asian horror films afterward. The second to last chapter that describes a large amount of these films seems to flame everyone instead of just describing them. The author becomes a critic at that point instead of a neutral observer. Having seen many of the films in question I found the flames unwarranted and petty.
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST HAVE FOR RING FANS!!!!!,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Ring Companion (Paperback)
The most excellent look at the whole Ring series. Fabulous pictures and excellent writing. If you are a ring fan there are still more things to know. Get this book!!!
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