Hideo Nakata's 1998 J-horror sensation "Ring" ("Ringu") revolves around images, mainly the distortion of photographs that denote Sadako's (Rie Inō) marked victims, and the eerie, anxiety-inducing cursed tape that comes alive in grotesque ways. Even Gore Verbinski's 2002 remake employs this photographic distortion — smudged and blurred faces that hint at the tragedy that befell the ones photographed, as if their very souls were smudged out of the frame.
The idea that photographs capture the essence of our souls is not recent, nor is its relation to spirit photography far-fetched, as the shadows and aberrations captured are often considered proof of something amiss. When Nakata was asked about this concept in an interview with Offscreen, the director affirmed that the idea for the smudged photos was inspired by a real-life woman who could allegedly manipulate objects with her clairvoyance, just like Sadako's influence manipulated the photographs:
"Mister Takahashi, who wrote the script with me,...
The idea that photographs capture the essence of our souls is not recent, nor is its relation to spirit photography far-fetched, as the shadows and aberrations captured are often considered proof of something amiss. When Nakata was asked about this concept in an interview with Offscreen, the director affirmed that the idea for the smudged photos was inspired by a real-life woman who could allegedly manipulate objects with her clairvoyance, just like Sadako's influence manipulated the photographs:
"Mister Takahashi, who wrote the script with me,...
- 5/26/2024
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
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