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The Real Japanese Story That Helped Inspire ‘The Ring’

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"The Ring" 2002

The story of The Ring is actually based on a real Japenese ghost story dating back to the 16th century. As with most films, “based on a true story” means a slight push in sales. Attaching that tagline to a supernatural film adds a layer of subliminal plausibility to the plot no matter how ridiculous it is.

The Ring may seem a bit tepid now surviving the J-Horror explosion, but the concept terrified audiences back in 2002 when Gore Verbinski helmed The Ring, a remake of the Japanese movie Ringu (Ring).

However, even Ringu wasn’t an original concept. For that, we have to travel back to the times of the Japanese samurai and an ill-fated servant girl; about 300 years.

Himeji Castle is Japan’s largest, and behind its walls many years ago it is written that a great crime took place, one of the heart. A samurai named Tessan Aoyama was smitten with his servant girl named Okiku and wanted her as his mistress. But she did not reciprocate Tessan’s affection which threw him into a rage.

Determined to get what he wanted, Tessan hatched a plan. The royal family tasked Okiku with protecting 10 golden plates. Tessan thought that if he could hide one and tell her she lost it, Okiku, rather than face a death penalty would love him instead. But Tessan’s extortion plan backfired.

In one version of the story, Okiku, more willing to kill herself than love the deviant samurai, threw herself down the castle’s large stone well.

Enraged even after death, Okiku began to visit Tessan at night. The distraught spirit believed that she had indeed lost one of the plates and could be heard inside the well counting them over and over again, even smashing them against the wall in anger.

Clad in her white funeral dress—her long dark hair soiled and stringy—Okiku would crawl out of the well to visit the terrified samurai in the early hours of the morning. She looked pretty much like the modern film version. In Japanese, these ghosts are called yūrei; a spirit who is not at peace in its afterlife. 

Today, the well, now named after Okiku, still sits where it did when she threw herself into it. People have said they can still hear her counting to ten even after the castle is closed.

The fear of her haunting the castle is so real a large covering has been placed over the cistern to keep her from escaping.

Okiku's Well

Okiku’s Well

This is just one version of the story, there are many. But the result is always the same; the ghost rises from the well to terrorize the castle and its inhabitants.

In 1998 Kôji Suzuki’s novel which tapped into the legend of Okiku became a horror movie titled Ringu. It was adapted for American audiences in 2002 and translated to The Ring. 

Suzuki’s modernized story is a little different than the ancient one, but it still captures the haunting properties of Okiku and her troubled spirit who climbs out of a well to haunt the living.

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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