Ringu vs Fudoh: The Next GenerationRinguThis is the first J-Horror film I have ever seen. I am not much of a horror movie fan. I saw the remake (
The Ring) several years ago and remember enjoying it for its creepy atmosphere. I am sure most of you have seen the remake/original so I wont go to deep into the plot. A videotape exists that will kill you 7 days after you watch it. Upon hearing of some recent deaths a reporter comes to investigate the tape, watches it, then must try to figure out what it is to save her life and that of her family.
The original is better than the remake (as is common). The creepy atmosphere that I remember from the remake is more intense here. It is slow to begin, but pays off in the final act with a genuinely creepy conclusion. The reason I keep saying creepy, is that the movie is not very scary. It is more of a disturbing mystery than a true horror film. I would say it is effective in creating atmosphere but no real scares.
Fudoh: The New GenerationThis is my first "Yakuza" film as well (Boy I am ignorant of Asian cinema). It is directed by Takashi Miike, probably more famous for
Audition and
Ichi the Killer (neither of which I have seen). After seeing the film and reading a little about Miike, it appears that subtlety in not a word he holds dear.
Fudoh is silly, ultra-violent, ridiculous, stupid, laughable, gory, predicable, misogynistic, and yes, even fun, in a few parts.
The plot is simple and standard; 1) Boy sees father kill his brother; 2) Boy vows revenge; 3) boy grows up; 4) boy enlists a group of psychotic children, hermaphrodites, strippers with superpower vaginas, and giants, to exact said revenge. Oh wait, maybe number 4 is not standard!
Over-the-top is a serious understatement for this movie. At first I was going with the movie and smiling at its audacity. But Miike continues to amp up the violence until it is cartoonish. When people are shot they are shot dozens and dozens of times at close range and still do not die. When they bleed they bleed oceans of blood; enough to fill a car in one scene. All woman in this world are both beautiful and psychotic killers. There is a ridiculously laughable "love scene" between a woman and a hermaphroditic child. It is perhaps the worse sex scene in motion picture history. Then in one final attempt at subtly, the movie ends in a pathetic attempt at a cliff-hanger, the result of which is utterly obvious and completely irrelevant. Time magazine called this one of the ten best films of 1997. All I can say to that is WTF!
Verdict: I would not say I loved either film.
Ringu is perhaps a B level film, while
Fudoh is a C/D level film. So really this makes the verdict simple and
Ringu must move on. I will, however, be very surprised if it makes it too much further. Compared to my last bracket matchup, these two films were terrible.
P.S. One of my favorite American genre's is gangster films so I was really looking forward to seeing a Yakuza film. Perhaps someone could point me to a good/great one. Perhaps more along the lines of "The Godfather" than "Mickey Blue Eyes".