Ringu

At the 1999 edition of Fantasia, programmers pushed RINGU hard, to anyone who’d listen. A North American premiere, it was still unknown, and many professionals were skeptical. A videotape transmits a curse that systematically kills its victims after seven days? An atmospheric feature film devoid of gratuitous jumpscares, nettlesome music, or even the slightest drop of blood, yet terrifies even the most seasoned viewers? But after the screening at the Imperial, where the crowd screamed in terror, the same skeptics rushed to be the first to talk about it, the film was acquired by a major distributor and a remake went into production. RINGU went on to influence world horror cinema for over a decade, and director Hideo Nakata was bestowed the title of “master of horror”. An instant classic that boosted Fantasia’s credibility enormously, it was a first choice when creating this special series. Want to have some fun? Take someone who’s never seen RINGU to this must-see screening… there will be screaming!