Another Remake Difference *SPOILERS*

Author	Comment
O Deka K further down the Spiral (11/1/02 9:55:49 am) Reply	Another Remake Difference SPOILERS * SPOILERS * This has spoilers for both Ringu and The Ring (remake). I liked the remake a lot, but there was one thing that I really missed from the original. It's probably been discussed before, but I can't seem to find it. It's how Sadako and her minions were leading Reiko into spreading the tape. When Yoichi goes up the stairs in Tomoko's house, we see a flash of feet running up the steps, and he seems to be following this. This in turn leads Reiko to look for Yoichi. As she goes to Tomoko's room, we hear what sounds like Tomoko giggling. In Tomoko's room, Reiko finds the photo slip because it looks like it's flapping in the wind, probably because it's being manipulated by Tomoko. Later, Reiko wakes up when she hears Tomoko's voice call to her. She notices that Yoichi isn't in bed, and then she sees a flash of towel-head pointing at the door. This leads her to see Yoichi, just as finishes watching the tape. Yoichi claims that Tomoko told him to bring the tape and watch it. At the end, Reiko tries to figure out why she was spared and Ryuji wasn't. She looks in the TV and sees a reflection of towel-head pointing at her purse, which contains the copy of the tape. That's when she figures it out. In the remake, this plotline is completely absent. Aidan (Yoichi) goes up to Katie's (Tomoko's) room for a seemingly unknown reason. Rachel (Reiko) finds the photo slip on her own. When Rachel wakes up in the middle of the night, it's because of a nightmare. When she asks Aidan why he watched the tape, he says it was because he couldn't sleep. At the end, she figures out it was the tape copy on her own (I can't figure out how she made this leap in thinking). I really liked this in the original, because it took me a while to figure out (with the help of Ringworld), and it's interesting seeing how the pieces fit together. You could argue that Samara was manipulating Aidan, but I don't think that's quite as good. The other thing I missed was seeing Samara's missing fingernails. They showed Rachel finding her fingernail in the well, but they didn't show Samara's fingers in the final scene. Before you die... you GOTTA see The Ring!
Rachael further down the Spiral (11/1/02 10:00:06 am) Reply	Remake Actually, in the remake, Aidan sees the same shot of Katie's feet running up the stairs.
O Deka K further down the Spiral (11/1/02 10:07:22 am) Reply	Re: Remake Really? I guess I conveniently forgot that part. Still, it doesn't change much. Before you die... you GOTTA see The Ring!
Rachael further down the Spiral (11/1/02 10:11:54 am) Reply	remake Yes. It's at the funeral-Aidan glances toward the stairs and we see a real quick and perfectly silent flash of Katie's lower legs as she scampers up the stairs. Aidan then heads up the stairs himself to her room. I was disappointed because I hoped they would show the rest of his psychic abilities the same way...
SadakoIsEve manipulator of the Virus (11/1/02 10:15:48 am) Reply	Re: remake It's probably because America has a harder time digesting that perfectly ordinary little boys can have psychic powers.
sinsincere Sadako slave (11/1/02 1:59:41 pm) Reply	Re: remake Now that I know about him, I would have really liked to see this towel-head character. It could have given the movie a whole different feel... then again, since I didn't know about him until after I saw the remake, I didn't actually feel that something was missing. Maybe it would've seemed like there were too many characters? Because look what they did with Aidan... how different would the movie be if he wasn't there (okay, I don't mean that literally... not really). Also Noah's girlfriend or whoever she was... there seemed to be "useless" characters. They could have done a lot more with these people... even Becca... but seeing what they did with them; how do you think towel-head would have turned out?
SadakoIsEve everyone will suffer (11/1/02 2:31:32 pm) Reply	Re: Re: remake More of a hinderance then a help
Isoline shambler (11/1/02 2:42:29 pm) Reply	> Re: remake SadakoIsEve, that is a good observation. When I was in college I took a film class called Genre Theory and Critcism and the topic was horror so we did alot of analysis on the different themes presented in horror films and one of them concerned the idea of psychic powers and how it is presented. We uncovered the fact that in certain cultures the acceptance of a psychic hinges on its gender somewhat. In American culture/society. Extrasensory powers are not viewed as wholly scientifically plausible, they are supernatural in nature and more likely to be wielded by a female. Why? Well, this sorta meshes with what I touched upon during the discussion of Samara's birth and Anna's use of the herbs. Females are viewed by this culture as being the more succeptable to influence in the supernatural realm. We also discussed the male psychic and we found that most storytellers didn't fully ignore the female/supernatural connection just because the user was male, they would tend to give the male psychic some femine affectations, take for instance Roddy McDowall's character in the legend of Hell House. He was male, and you could see it but they also made his character somewhat unmasculine and fey. To make a psychic of a little boy is a bit easier, because in keeping with the axiom a male child dose'nt have to be overtly masculine and tough, they can look fraile and fey and have these attributes without looking silly and unbelievable to American eyes because simply they are a child.
SadakoIsEve everyone will suffer (11/1/02 2:47:55 pm) Reply	Re: Re: remake I'm glad to know there is actual evidential backing to what I was saying hugs
O Deka K further down the Spiral (11/1/02 3:34:51 pm) Reply	Re: Towel-head I can't really see them using towel-head, but I would've liked to see the Samara-wants-Rachel-to-spread-the-tape angle. Here's how I envision it: In Rachel's dream, she sees a girl with long hair sitting in a chair, back facing her. Rachel approaches, trying to get a look at her face. The camera switches to an angle where we can see that the girl's face is obscured by hair. Back in Rachel's apartment, we see that she is asleep. The camera approaches Rachel, as if from a first-person perspective. A hand reaches out and tries to wake Rachel up. We see the person's arm, and she seems to be wearing a white dress. We hear Katie's voice calling, "Aunt Rachel, Aunt Rachel". She grabs Rachel's wrist. Rachel awakens with start, and we see that there is no one else in the room with her. She sits up and notices the mark on her wrist. She starts to inspect the mark, but then we hear her bedroom door creak open slightly. Rachel rushes out to check on Aidan, and catches him watching the tape as it ends. She grabs Aidan and asks "Why? WHY!?", and Aidan answers, "Because she told me to." We don't know whether he's referring to Katie or Samara. At the end of the movie, Rachel burns the tape. She turns back toward the TV and VCR, asking herself, "Why was I spared and not him?" In the reflection of the TV, we see a man slumped down in Rachel's chair, except that we can't see his head from this angle. His hands seem to point down at the floor. Rachel sees a quick flashback of Noah's dead body in his apartment, slumped down in his own chair. She gasps and turns around quickly, finding no one in her chair. She directs her gaze downwards and sees the tape under the chair. Before you die... you GOTTA see The Ring!
pagnstix further down the Spiral (11/1/02 4:25:17 pm) Reply	Re: Towel-head "It's probably because America has a harder time digesting that perfectly ordinary little boys can have psychic powers." - sadakoiseve lot's of truth there. We (Americans) have no imagination. _______ the exorcist will live in my mind forever.
Milly Sadako slave (11/1/02 7:28:56 pm) Reply	Re: Towel-head O Deka K, I like that a lot! Before I died... I saw the ring
SadakoIsEve everyone will suffer (11/1/02 7:34:31 pm) Reply	Re: Re: Towel-head But I have beaten the stereotype. I am a cat otherkin, shinji, and bi. My grandmother was a witch and I a believer in pychic powers and hermamphodites without prejudice or redneck attitute.
Isoline shambler (11/1/02 8:05:37 pm) Reply	Re: Towel-head (Pagnstix) I don't think we "Americans" necessarily lack imagination. I think we lack the same perspective of other cultures and that to me is okay. America unlike Europe, Japan or the Asia, is a really young country. Identity is variable here. Why? Because culturally we have no one identity, America is made from a mixture of peoples all with their own cultures and it has pretty much been that way for more than 100 (if not more) years so essentially what is right for one racial background may not be so for another. While American Indians may believe and worship in animal spirits, the White Anglo Saxon Protestant Americans may not, same with African American Protestants, however all still have imagination. So I guess what I am trying to say is that while there is no American cultural significance of psychic abilities, then it comes down to an individuals beliefs and unfortunately for the filmmakers that is something that is too esoteric to gauge. I will say this, I think more people are open in the US to psychic and metaphysical phenomenon NOW, then they were 50 to maybe 100 years ago. Sorry for the rant, and I wasn't trying to chide anyone just offer a different view.
SadakoIsEve everyone will suffer (11/1/02 8:15:00 pm) Reply	Re: Re: Towel-head It's okay Isoline. You are very likely correct in all those statements. I hope all eventually realize that and never chid me for believeing in animal spirits
Isoline shambler (11/1/02 8:19:32 pm) Reply	Re: Re: Towel-head LOL, I guess that is what I get for trying to be serious while watching John Doe. The animal spirits thing probably fell flat but that was just an example I was trying to give to show cultural differences.
SadakoIsEve everyone will suffer (11/1/02 8:41:55 pm) Reply	Re: Re: Re: Towel-head That makes sense
Isoline shambler (11/1/02 10:24:06 pm) Reply	Re: Re: Re: Towel-head This may not belong here but since alot of us wonder about American culture in reference to horror films I thought I would suggest two books. First one is called Men Women and Chainsaws by Carol J. Clover and is a little dated but good, and I have personally used it as part of my Genre Theory and Criticism studies in college. Second one is called The Dread Difference by Barry Keith Grant, which I have not read but a friend of mine did and highly recommended. I believe both are available from Amazon.
SadakoIsEve everyone will suffer (11/1/02 10:32:39 pm) Reply	Re: Re: Re: Re: Towel-head Cool thanks Isoline
O Deka K further down the Spiral (11/2/02 3:58:12 am) Reply	Re: Towel-head Milly, thank you. I was hoping someone would like it, or even just respond. Before you die... you GOTTA see The Ring!