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The prequel to the brilliant 'Ringu' (re-made into 'The Ring') traces the story of how the girl on the tape in the original movie became a vengeful spirit that killed people who watched the tape. It borrows heavily and expands on the flashes of her life we get on the aforementioned tape. That gives the movie a reasonable amount of perspective to build upon. There is some very good acting and the direction is pretty competent as well.
So why does it fail to satisfy like the original movie did? It's down to two things. Firstly, the novelty of a creepy girl in a white dress has worn off and it isn't really scary anymore. Secondly, the story is a little too convoluted. In order to fit all the pieces from the videotape together and still make a decent movie that stands on it's own, the scriptwriters have made some questionable choices. When I go 'huh?' in a horror movie, you can be sure I'm not on the edge of my seat with excitement.
To sum it up, it's a pretty good movie - for a prequel. Fans of Ringu will appreciate it but anyone who has not seen the original will probably be scratching his head more than a few times.
7/10
