i agree with most of you but i have to say that the ring is one exception is doesn´t photocopy frame by frame the original and it expands the mythology in new ways while it keeps respecting the essence of the source. Then they made the second one and screw it up.

Personally I found that 'Ringu' wormed its parasitic head under my skin and with each scene buried itself deeper into my consciousness. The films slow-moving style was a sure-fire way to inject dread into the bloodstream in such a way that, by the end of the movie when Sadako manages to scrabble into the real world, my nerves are totally shredded and I, too, have been infected by the curse. It's the cumulative effect of what's gone before that gets me at the end. Filmmaking using a clever cocktail of pyschological and mythological elements. I didn't get anything like this from watching the American remake. It wasn't a bad film in its ow right - but by associating with the original movie it lets itself down badly, for me at least. Let's face it - the American version was made to appeal to the people who cannot bear to watch subtitled movies. Because of the 'Ringu's widespread acclaim the American producers thought they were on to a moneyspinner with a remake. It does translate poorly as a film, but I can't help thinking - why the need for a translation at all?

I also read the book by Koji Suzuki (translated, of course) a few years later, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it not only enjoyable, but there was a neat little observational twist to the plot that added a new dimension for me. Not a match for the film in this instance, but still worth reading.