If there is a date that changed everything in the world
of Asian horror films within the last ten years it is January 31,
1998. A tidal wave of pop culture and guerilla marketing culminated
in the very successful release of Ringu (The Ring). Hideo Nakata's
very chilling story about a cursed videotape and the secrets it
reveals was a smash in Japan, and rumors of its high fear factor
spread through the horror grapevine. The effectiveness and profits
of The Ring opened a new cycle of filmmaking in Asia, and produced
a thirst in the rest of the world for more of the same. Still, the
wave was about to crest.
