PROGRAM NOTE
Reporter Reiko hears that her niece Tomoko is dead while investigating a rumor that circulates around high schools about a video tape that brings death to whoever watches it seven days later. After finding out that Tomoko and her three other friends, who died on the same date, had watched the tape together, she tracks it down to a cabin where the girls had gone, and watches it herself. As soon as the video is over, the phone rings and a picture showing her own distorted face appears. Sensing that death is near, she seeks help from her ex-husband Ryuji, who watches the tape and gets intrigued. Eventually they learn that Sadako, a kid who had died 40 years ago in a well, is behind this curse and try to retrieve her body to console her. < Ring> was an international phenomenon along with its original novel by Suzuki Koji. Composer Kawai Kenji¡¯s music is minimally used yet creates a sense of extreme horror for the audience. The grand-prize winner of 1999 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.