Customer Reviews

The Ring Companion

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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.

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.

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!!!