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The Ring Virus (Korean: 링; RR: Ring) is a 1999 South Korean horror film adapted from the Japanese novel Ring by Koji Suzuki. A joint project between Japan and Korea, this version has Park Eun-Suh as the creator of the cursed videotape. Although the filmmakers claimed that the film was adapted from the novel only, it differs from the novel in some ways that match the 1998 film Ring (also known as Ringu in the US), such as having a female lead character, and several scenes were directly copied,[citation needed] including some of the scenes on the videotape and the film's climax.
| The Ring Virus | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 링 |
| Revised Romanization | ring |
| McCune–Reischauer | ring |
| Directed by | Kim Dong-bin |
| Written by | Kim Dong-bin Kong Su-chang |
| Based on | Ring by Kôji Suzuki |
| Produced by | Jonathan Kim |
| Starring | Shin Eun-kyung Jung Jin-young Kim Chang-wan Bae Doona |
| Cinematography | Hwang Chul-hyun |
| Edited by | Kyung Min-ho |
| Music by | Il Won |
Release date |
|
Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
At the time of the film's production, South Korea had placed a ban on Japanese cultural imports, which would have prevented Ring from being released in the country. The Ring Virus was commissioned as a remake for the South Korean market. By late 1998 the ban had been lifted,[1][original research?] however production for the film had already progressed to near completion, and the film was released on 12 June 1999.[2]
Plot
editFollowed by the death of her niece along with her friends, journalist Hong Sun-Joo comes across a videotape containing incomprehensible images. Towards the end of the tape, she finds the curse which states that the viewer would die at the same time next week if they do not perform certain tasks. However, the next scene explaining the nature of the task has been erased. Sun-Joo and a doctor named Choi-Yul embark on a journey to break the curse placed upon them. They discover that the videotape was made by the psychic called Park Eun-Suh. Eun-Suh was an illegitimate daughter of a female psychic and was born intersex. She was romantically involved with her half-brother and worked in a night club for a while. There, a man who found out about her secrets was killed as she had the uncanny ability to protect herself. The video tape is the medium Eun-Suh uses to reveal herself to the society. Her first exposure to the media was a painful experience, which caused her to withdraw from the outside world. When it became difficult for her to relate to the society, she retaliated by infiltrating it like a virus. The way of infiltration is one-way only and any attempt to block the process ends in extremely negative consequences.
Cast
edit- Jung Jin-young as Choi Yeol
- Shin Eun-kyung as Hong Sun-joo
- Kim Chang-wan as Reporter Kim
- Bae Doona as Park Eun-suh
- Lee Seung-hyeon
- Kim Ggoch-ji
- Yu Yeon-su
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Herskovitz, Jon (9 October 1998). "S. Korea to lift ban on Japanese culture". Variety. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ Kalat 2007, pp. 277–278.
- Kalat, David (2007). J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond. Vertical Inc. ISBN 978-1-932234-08-4.
External links
edit- The Ring Virus at IMDb
- The Ring Virus at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Ring Virus at AllMovie
- Snowblood Apple Ring Comparison - comparison of Ring, The Ring, and The Ring Virus films.