---
title: "Ring"
year: 1998
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/ring"
fi1m_id: "ring"
imdb_id: "tt0178868"
tmdb_id: 2671
wikidata_id: "Q531328"
fi1m_score: 84
critics_score: 86
critics_reviews: 4
published: "2026-09-26T02:59:15.031367+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-26T02:59:15.595130+00:00"
region: "NZ"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ring (1998)

Directed by Hideo Nakata · 1h 36m · Horror, Thriller

## Identity

Ring

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/ring
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** ring
- **IMDb ID:** tt0178868
- **TMDB ID:** 2671
- **Wikidata ID:** Q531328
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0178868/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/2671, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q531328

**Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 86 (early) from 4 reviews

*In a sentence:* One curse, one week, and a strong case for leaving the lights on

> Hideo Nakata’s *Ring* is frightening because it gives us time to look and worry. Its investigation sometimes drags or confuses, but the restraint makes the scares worth waiting for.

## Synopsis

A curse has a cure, but there is only one week to find it. *Ring* centres on Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima), with Ryuji Takayama (Hiroyuki Sanada) and Yoichi Asakawa (Rikiya Ôtaka) among its principal characters. An investigation follows, as the threat imposes a deadline on the search for answers. Miki Nakatani plays Mai Takano, Yuko Takeuchi plays Tomoko Oishi and Hitomi Sato plays Masami Kurahashi. Hideo Nakata directs this horror-thriller, with Hiroshi Takahashi adapting a novel by Kōji Suzuki about a curse whose cure must be found against the clock.

## Review

*Ring* is a frightening horror film with an investigation that occasionally makes it harder work than it needs to be. Hideo Nakata gives the promise of a curse, a cure and a one-week deadline a patient treatment, trusting us to worry without constant encouragement. The premise supplies enough urgency without every scene having to insist upon it. We recommend it, with a warning that following its explanations can require more effort than it should.

Junichiro Hayashi’s cinematography is clean and restrained, giving us time to look rather than constantly redirecting our attention. The images encourage the uncomfortable habit of checking the frame for something we might have missed. Iwao Saitô’s production design works within that simplicity, keeping the surroundings from becoming a separate attraction. That is an effective choice for this sort of horror, which needs us to keep examining what is in front of us even when we would prefer to look elsewhere.

We were frightened by how much time those uncluttered images gave us to worry. There is little visual fuss to distract us, and waiting for something to happen becomes unpleasant in itself. Kenji Kawai’s music helps sustain that unease without becoming the main thing we attend to; our attention stays on the image, rather than simply awaiting the next musical warning. The restraint earns its keep because the fear continues between the obvious opportunities to be scared.

Nanako Matsushima gives Reiko Asakawa enough urgency to keep us involved when the investigation threatens to become an exercise. Hiroyuki Sanada, as Ryuji Takayama, is valuable for the same reason: the performances maintain our interest through stretches devoted to establishing the next piece of information. Neither needs to advertise the seriousness of the material. The acting suits a film that expects close attention, and it helps carry passages where the writing is less sure of itself.

Hiroshi Takahashi’s screenplay, adapted from a novel by Kōji Suzuki, is where our reservation begins. A mystery need not answer everything, but we should usually understand what its characters think they are trying to establish. Here the investigation can feel both overextended and insufficiently clear, and Nobuyuki Takahashi’s editing does not quite solve the problem. His patient cutting elsewhere gives apprehension time to settle, but that pace becomes a drawback when we are waiting for a useful connection between pieces of information. At 96 minutes, the film could still lose a little of the inquiry without damaging its scares.

There is something pleasingly unfussy about this approach to technological horror. Hideo Nakata trusts a curse and a deadline to trouble us, and gives us enough space to do some of the worrying ourselves. It asks for concentration, which is reasonable, and occasionally for more patience than the investigation deserves. Choose it for an evening when sitting quietly with a growing sense of unease sounds appealing, and allow a little tolerance for the detective work.

*Fi1m score 84, published 26 September 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is Ring worth watching?**

*Ring* is worth watching for horror viewers who enjoy patient, sustained unease, and we score it 84 out of 100. We find its restrained images and quiet waiting frightening, though the investigation sometimes drags and its explanations require more effort to follow than they should.

**How long is Ring, and what is it rated?**

*Ring* runs 1h 36m. It is a horror and thriller film.

**Where can I watch Ring in New Zealand?**

*Ring* is not on any streaming or rental service in New Zealand at the moment. It is available in 5 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is Ring, and is it suitable for children?**

*Ring* has a UK 15 certificate and is frightening enough that we would not recommend it for children. The scares we describe come from prolonged waiting, uncluttered images and a growing sense of threat; teenagers within the certificate’s age range still need a tolerance for sustained unease.

**Is Ring based on a true story or a book?**

*Ring* is adapted from a novel by Kōji Suzuki, with a screenplay by Hiroshi Takahashi, rather than presented as a true story. The story follows an investigation into a curse with a one-week deadline; our reservation concerns the sometimes confusing detective work, not its faithfulness to the book.

### Reviews we read (4)

- **Time Out**, David Jenkins (5/5): The review calls the film sublime and quietly terrifying. It singles out its enduring effectiveness as techno-horror. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ring)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): Bradshaw calls the film a genuinely scary classic that retains its power to disturb. He praises its intensely frightening moments, while noting that the storytelling can be confusing. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/oct/31/ring)
- **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (65/100, inferred): Tobias finds the original less accomplished overall than the American remake, but still haunting and worthwhile. He praises its minimalist intensity and especially its chilling final turn, while noting that the investigative middle sags. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/ringu-1798198417)
- **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film extraordinary and says its horror feels universal. They praise Nakata’s clean visual approach for letting fear arise in the viewer’s mind. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/ring-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)

## Details

- **Director:** Hideo Nakata
- **Director:** Hideo Nakata
- **Screenplay:** Hiroshi Takahashi
- **Novel:** Kōji Suzuki
- **Cinematography:** Junichiro Hayashi
- **Editor:** Nobuyuki Takahashi
- **Music:** Kenji Kawai
- **Production design:** Iwao Saitô
- **Producer:** Takashige Ichise, Shin'ya Kawai, Takenori Sentô
- **Cast:** Nanako Matsushima as Reiko Asakawa; Hiroyuki Sanada as Ryuji Takayama; Rikiya Ôtaka as Yoichi Asakawa; Miki Nakatani as Mai Takano; Yuko Takeuchi as Tomoko Oishi; Hitomi Sato as Masami Kurahashi; Yutaka Matsushige as Yoshino; Yōichi Numata as Takashi Yamamura
- **Runtime:** 1h 36m
- **First release (Denmark):** 31 January 1998
- **Genres:** Horror, Thriller
- **Budget:** $1 million
- **Box office:** $19 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAmO3vanfDQ

## Where to watch in New Zealand

Not streaming, renting or buying in New Zealand at the last check.

Also available in: CA, CL, ES, IT, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Sitges Film Festival Best Feature-Length Film award 1999: Sitges Film Festival Best Feature-Length Film award (won)

## If you liked this

- *Pulse* (2001): Another patient technological haunting, with loneliness making the empty spaces feel worse.
- *Cure* (1997): For the uneasy investigation, and questions that become less comforting as answers accumulate.
- *The Innocents* (1961): Careful framing and uncertain perceptions make a quiet house difficult to endure.
- *The Devil's Backbone* (2001): A ghost story that gives its human troubles as much attention as its haunting.
- *Lake Mungo* (2008): Recorded images reward close attention, then make us regret having looked so carefully.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/ring