Shrek and the The Pointless Third Sequel, What's your least favorite sequel? Options

[zeden]

The Japanese Ring films were boring shite.

People talk of there being a creepy atmosphere but I just didn't feel it. I also couldn't buy the whole videotape idea.

True dat, the Ring was tedious in the extreme. Dark Water was rubbish as well, what little of it I actually concentrated on.
Of all the hyped Japanese horror films, I've seen the only one I enjoyed was The Grudge. Everything about that film worked for me and I wasn't surprised to see that the Western version was crap (apart from Ted Rami slipping on the bloody floor). It's great how something as simple as the groaning/creaking voice and the bizzare way the woman drags herself around on her hands can be so damn freaky.

[Starscream`s Gho...]

I bet Justin has a big dick.

I bet Justin is a big dick.

[Sostie]

I think people almost feel like they have to prefer the Japanese version... earn Indy points and appear more cultured. 

Or maybe people did genuinely think it was better! It was released some years before the US remake and was one of the biggest selling foreign language DVDs in the UK ever so quite a few people had actually seen it first. It was fresh when it came out, and was far more atmospheric and less glossy than the US version.

Actually I thought the remake was a passable stab, but I've found the general opinion is that whichever version of The Ring you see first that is your favourite.

[dandan]

Or maybe people did genuinely think it was better!  It was released some years before the US remake and was one of the biggest selling foreign language DVDs in the UK ever so quite a few people had actually seen it first.  It was fresh when it came out, and was far more atmospheric and less glossy than the US version.

Actually I thought the remake was a passable stab, but I've found the general opinion is that whichever version of The Ring you see first that is your favourite.

agreed.

i also agree with the slagging off of every sequel that's been slagged off on this thread. although i'm sure that i did giggle while watching 'class reunion' as a teenager...

[Kick in the Head]

Actually I thought the remake was a passable stab, but I've found the general opinion is that whichever version of The Ring you see first that is your favourite.

I do think that's true - both films depend on mood and surprise. I first caught Ring on video knowing little of it bar the basic premise and it took me completely unawares. Those friends I hadn't forced to watch it before the US remake didn't really see the point in going back to the original.

[fatseff1234]

Wronnnnnng!

No it really was.

Godawful shite.

[Ghost_862]

I also couldn't buy the whole videotape idea

I know... firstly it looked like the whole thing had been filmed before VCR's or videotapes had even been invented... and secondly, it was never made clear exactly who the fuck is supposed to have made the video??

The dead girl sure as hell didn't make it because she's in it... so really the whole thing is entirely nonsensical and ridiculous.

Dark Water was rubbish as well

I never saw that but if it's the one I'm thinking of then I saw it in a 'coming soon' section of a film magazine with a blurb "a mother and daughter are terrorised by a haunted house with bad plumbing," and almost wet myself. Something along those lines. Might not have been a mother and daughter... but that's definitely what it said about the house

This post has been edited by Ghost_862: Jul 18 2006, 12:30 PM

[GundamGuy_UK]

the general opinion is that whichever version of The Ring you see first that is your favourite.

Probably. I saw the Japanese one originally.

[maian]

I know... firstly it looked like the whole thing had been filmed before VCR's or videotapes had even been invented... and secondly, it was never made clear exactly who the fuck is supposed to have made the video??

The dead girl sure as hell didn't make it because she's in it... so really the whole thing is entirely nonsensical and ridiculous.

Yeah, the story about a video that kills people is totally believable otherwise.

I'm glad that the origin of the tape isn't explained; it makes it mysterious and points out that it is a fantasy film as well as a horror film.

Edit: I saw the American version first but I still thing the Japanese version is better, if only because the final time the video is shown on screen it is as if the viewer is watching the actual video. That and the ending is a bit darker.

This post has been edited by maian: Jul 18 2006, 12:33 PM

[GundamGuy_UK]

The Japanese one had 1 scare moment in the whole film, which I thought made it good. I'm not a big fan of horror films because I never get scared by them (unlike video games, where I do quite frequently). Ring spent the entire film building up to that 1 moment when she crawls out of the TV, and it's spent so long building it up that you slip into the story and it grabs you. It didn't actually scare me, but it was pretty chilling. And that's about as close as a film has gotten to actually scaring me.

So in that respect the Japanese Ring film is great because it's all suspense. It goes one above the horror idea of not showing the monster fully, by not even having something to show until the last few minutes.

[Jessopjessopjess...]

I think people almost feel like they have to prefer the Japanese version... earn Indy points and appear more cultured.

You say that about a lot of things. Can't you believe that people have their own preferences?

[ipse dixit]

I'm glad that the origin of the tape isn't explained; it makes it mysterious and points out that it is a fantasy film as well as a horror film.

Of course, if you want to be picky, it's not just who's made the film, but who was broadcasting it on a cable channel with poor reception in the early hours of the morning - after all, that's how the kids get it in the first place.

Spoilers in the below - Adam, don't read cos I still want to make you watch this...

A big sweeping "bollocks!" to Ghost's 'you just say that cos you think it's cool' argument. I prefer the original because it's built more on suspense and there are more supernatural elements to it regarding Sadako (which are built on further in Ring 0) - I just find the outright weirdness of it creepy because there are a lot of points that you can't quite understand - it has an alienness that is unsettling, to which even the simple fact that it's Japanese and I'm reading subtitles adds. Plus, the expression on the dead faces gets me much more - in the American version they appear mutilated and disfigured, but the original relies more on the idea that they have been literally scared to death. I like that when Sadako comes out of the TV, it's really her coming out of the TV, whereas Samara is a flickering projection (although the effect where she flickeres and jumps forward a metre or so is cool). The Japanese version has a less stylised appearance, which appeals to me. It's baser, simpler and to me scarier.

[NiteFall]

True fact, fact fans. The reason why Sadako crawling along looks slightly strange is because she was actually filmed crawling backwards and the film was then reversed.

Myself i prefer the Japanese version. For all the reasons listed by other people, with the exception of "to appear cool and get indy points". You sir, can take that theory and shove it clean up your arse.

[Rua]

I still cringe at the mere thought of Lethal Weapon 4.

[tigerlily]

I cried at Lethal Weapon 4.