A superior film than the American remake, which itself is a solid horror movie. Ringu is more direct, with less emphasis on the back story of the murderous TV-witch. This has the dual advantage of making the movie shorter (by 15 minutes than The Ring) and more sinister in its ambiguity and lack of explanation. This film is also very confident in its ability to scare without any use of exploitation. There is no blood, no gore, no profanity and no skin. Similar to the great J-horror film Kwaidan, Ringu is a very impressionistic film, building tension through atmosphere, mood and bizarre sound design. Overall, Ringu is among the finest of horror films. Watched 11/1/2009.