Ringu 0 is a prequel to The Ring that shows the origin of the ghostly girl Sadako. If you’re hoping to find the typical Ring shit, you might be disappointed as there is very little of the usual Sadako shenanigans. In fact, the origins were covered pretty well in the original movie, so what we are left with feels a lot like an entirely different story that was retrofitted to be a Ring prequel.
The meek and shy Sadako (Yukie Nakama) attends a drama school as a form of therapy. Shortly after her arrival, she becomes an understudy for the star actress in the school’s play. When she dies from mysterious circumstances, Sadako becomes the new leading lady. This immediately makes her classmates suspicious of her, especially since she already acts so weird and introverted. When their director is killed, the cast members rise up to get rid of Sadako once and for all.
The stuff at the drama school plays like Fame meets The Sixth Sense, with a bit of Carrie thrown in there. That is to say, it doesn’t feel like a Ring movie. At all.
Although the origin story isn’t all that great, it’s certainly more watchable than the Ring sequels or the American versions. That’s mostly because it does its own thing for much of the running time. That said, it’s rather slight, unmemorable, and low on atmosphere and scary imagery. Things get even worse once they start trying to connect the plot back to the first Ring. The unnecessary additions of ludicrous subplots such as Sadako’s Christ-like powers and the appearance of an evil doppelganger just makes the whole thing feel like it’s grasping at straws. It’s a shame too because the set-up had potential. By the time the climax rolls around, Ringu 0 is already circling the drain.
AKA: Ring 0: Birthday. AKA: The Ring 0.
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