Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

In this prequel to Ring, a young Sadako becomes an actress in hopes of escaping her troubled past. But strange visions and terrifying powers begin to manifest. Ringu 0 is truly an actual zero since it was probably the biggest letdown and most boring prequel that i have ever seen in my actual life since nothing actually happened in this movie except the fact that this girl in the end fall down like 50 times every 3 or 5 seconds and that's the premise of the film, a total, colossal and quite just boring nothingness that doesn't do anything or offer anything. (0/10)

In Jôji Iida's "Rasen", Sadako explained that the reason behind her curse towards unfortunates was for others to experience pure fear, the same kind of fear she went through all alone at the bottom of a darkened well. In Norio Tsuruta's "Bâsudei", the "Sadako" series continues, except this time we follow a young woman, named Sadako(Yukie Nakama), haunted by a ghoulish alter ego with considerable power. Sadako is an apprentice for a theatrical troupe preparing in rehearsals for a play, alienated by the actors and crew who feel intimidated and uneasy around her. A sound effects engineer, Hiroshi Tôyama(Seiichi Tanabe), seems to be the only one who accepts her without contention, actually encouraging once she receives the leading role after the actress dies under suspicious, and very unusual, circumstances. The troupe and crew soon come to the understanding, thanks to a news reporter who instigates a lynch mob after the director(..who initiates a traumatic situation, accusing Sadako, an actress he put in position to become a star, of killing the lead actress)is found murdered, his body discovered by a stage hand, that they are accursed(..her photographer's snapshots reveal their distorted faces and other disturbing images). It seems that the entire troupe is cursed by the malevolent doppelganger of Sadako, and they will take matters into their own hands in order to protect themselves from the same fate as the director and lead actress, securing the wrath of an evil they'll wish they never offended. A different approach to the "Ringu" series this time making Sadako a sympathetic figure, a young woman tormented by others when, in fact, she is as much a victim as those whose lives are harmed by the vengeful ghoul. The ghoul is, in a sense, Sadako's "protector", a kind of spectre that haunts the theater, and we see how the troupe and crew always respond to our heroine with disdain and disregard. Sadako, right from the start, is treated as a derelict, placed on an island because she sends off "spook signals" to everyone. Tôyama becomes her sole friend and confident and their blossoming romance is the heart and soul of "Ringu 0-Birthday", as he attempts to rescue her from all those that find Sadako a threat..to no avail. We see how the reporter finds Sadako, understanding her past(..including Sadako's relationship to a psychiatrist named Ikuma, portrayed by Daisuke Ban, who had disappeared after being excommunicated by his colleagues and peers), with designs on destroying her life. "Bâsudei" actually has two major climaxes, the theatrical production which spirals out of control when it should've been Sadako's finest hour on stage, and the discovery of where Ikuma had been hiding the alter ego, the lynch mob, behind an attack on our heroine, coming in contact, face-to-face with a fate worse than death. Potent finale, reiterating what I mentioned in the opening sentence of my user comment, as we witness Ikuma's decision to "end all of it" in regards to Sadako. The well, as always, returns, an ominous presence acknowledging an act of betrayal, a symbol of fear, which has fueled countless miseries, lives lost thanks in part to how it was used to get rid of a "bad seed."

After the original Ringu, there were many people who tried to ride the horror wave. Not much unlike the known Hollywood tradition, the Japanese film industry made many horror movies in the same vein, as is this prequel to the original Ringu.This is one of the better movies to come out of the many copy-cats that followed the success of Ringu. It does tell you the story of the girl that lead her to become what she is (or was) in the Ringu movie, when you saw her. So if you've watched Ringu, you do know where this movie is going. Still it is more than interesting and engaging to see the journey of her! I don't know how it would feel if you'd watch this movie before Ringu, but one thing is for sure, if you like Ringu, you should watch this one too! It stays true to the original premise!

I liked Ringu 0 better than Rasen, it explained more about Sadako's history. Which you don't see too much of in any other "Ring" movies. It helped you build a person to person relationship with the character, rather then seeing her as a 'mean' abused child it portrays her as just an abused child. You sort of take pity on her through this movie, rather then thinking she's an evil spirit trying to raise hell. The actress who played Sadako was, what seemed to me, the only person that could play her. I felt they could've mixed in more suspense, and more thrills. That would have made for a better J-horror movie. It doesn't compare to the movies brought out by Tartan Asia Exteme. Such as Tale of Two Sisters, Phone, (Memento Mori, Whispering Corridors, Wishing Stairs) a trilogy, Premonition, H, Oldboy, and many others. If you enjoyed watching Rasen, Ringu 0, Ringu, and Ringu 2, you'll love the Tartan Asia Extreme movies. 'Phone' was my personal favorite, look at the acting of the little girl and you will see why.