This movie was really hyped up by some of my Japanese friends. Basically it has exactly the same positives and negatives of the original The Ring film also directed by Nakata. It has one of the creepiest scenes I've ever seen in a horror movie, when the blurred image of the ghost actress appears on the rushes of the footage shot by the film's hero. However, the plotting is pretty bad and the finale feels like a real missed opportunity. As with The Ring the plot explanation for who and why the ghost actress is, is completely garbage. Interesting to see it has been picked up for remake rights. They really need to tie up the exposition plotting to make this work - i.e who the ghost actress is, what she wants, why she is haunting the studio, why the director has memories of watching the film as a child, why him???!! etc. When the ghost actress reveals herself it never lives up to the creepy image scene earlier in the film. They would do well to watch The Eye by the Pang Brothers to see how this is done, instead of the usual white faced hovering ghost.

It doesn't even merit a review, other than as a warning to potential viewers. It's a somewhat generic ghost story about an actress haunting a studio during the filming of a WWII period drama. There's no fear involved, no suspense whatsoever, nor any surprises. One shocking moment that looks a bit too silly to be shocking. The visual style is very flat and dull, although there is some really nice editing once in a while. The story never comes together, and the films is really just a total bust. 4/10.

I really enjoyed this debut by Ring director, Hideo Nakata. If you've seen Ring beforehand then you'll be familiar with the style and idea of this flick. It's got a subtle spookiness about it that works better than the constant (and predictable) stingers that infest most mainstream movies of this genre. If you like films that give you the chills, then you will probably like this one. A good, creepy debut by Hideo Nakata. 8/10

Not on the same level as Ring (or Ring 2) but still a good Japanese horror flick nonetheless. I wish North American horror producers would take a page out of the Japanese horror template and put more 'spookiness' and less cheap shocks in their flicks. Lots of good examples in this one, scenes where a whited out face is scene staring behind a young actress, photographs on a wall are suddenly glimpsed smiling, just for a second, and more. Worth checking out if you like the genre.