the ring and dark water: the same thing?
 

ok is it just me or did The Ring and Dark Water have almost identical themes? honestly i went to see that movie thinking it was gonna be good and it ended up that after the first 15 minutes i could predict exactly what as gonna happen. i had seen the ring like 3 days before i went to see Dark Water and it was exactly the same... do you agree with me?

Not...at...all.

*SPOILER*

First of all, the stories was completely different.

Second, in "the ring" the ghost is evil and kills people. In "Dark water" it´s good and wants help/momma.

Third, in "the ring" the ghost has been killed. In "Dark water" it had died by accident.



I rest my case

If we're talking the American versions...

Dark Water is The Ring in an apartment building. Angra, those "differences" you made are so minor. Both thematically deal with family relationships and water. They both have a young ghost girl with black hair that covers her face. Both deal with parents who've abandoned their child in one way or another. Both have that "suprise, she's not gone!" ending... both have a single parent with one child who's too smart for his/her own good.

That's really similar.

..No doubt...I'd have to agree...

Japanese literature and theater have a few stock ghost stories that they have reinterpreted for ages. Ju-on and the Ring also have remarkably similar themes. Victimized families, cries for help, long black hair motifs, blue faces, the dead returning to correct wrongs..etc. If we're going to keep Americanizing these movies, we need to realize they're from an older more ritual-driven culture with very specific traditions. To make things meaningful or new to an American audience, you really have to reinterpret and find how to show these things to Americans in a way they find more significant. Something's not a cliche if it's pasted to the core of a country's folklore. If you see the movie Kwaidan you can see how far back these reach and how resonant the ghost stories are. Water is also traditionally in occult circles, literature, dream interpretation and films, the element of emotion, particularly sorrow. So, unshed tears as well as well water and such are outpouring. Black Water and the Ring, the work of the same author, are signs of someone really concerned about repression in their country.

There are some similarities with other Asian folklore. I grew up in a small town in the Philippines, situated in what many people like to call a "virgin" rainforest rife with supernatural entities, witchcraft, and what-nots. Hearing stories from neighbors about sightings and personally witnessing strange occurences became a part of everyday life. My point being that in this context, Japanese movies like Ju-On and Dark Water scared me like no other film ever has.

Doc Faustus pretty much has the right of it with his post. I suppose you could draw a parallel between the Japanese ghost archetype with the Western vampire or werewolf myths.

If we're talking about the Hollywood remakes though... Yeah, they might as well be the same.

the ring and dark water are basicly the same movie, the grudge too. think of it this way.

ghost, water, stupid ass movie. need i say more

Ignoranus...

I agree....


Dark water and The ring are different movies.


that is all I have to say about this