""RING"" "SEPTEMBER 5, SUNDAY" "A grade-school boy was on holiday down in Izu with his family." "He wanted to go out and play... but there was a TV show he didn't want to miss." "So he recorded it on the VCR in their room." "But the channels down there are different from Tokyo." "No station there uses that channel, so it should've been blank." "But when he played it back home, there was a woman on the screen." ""You will die in one week", she said." "The kid stopped the tape, and then the phone rang." ""You saw it"." "And a week later the kid died." "What's wrong, Tomoko?" " Who told you that?" " Everyone's talking about it." " Yoko?" " No, not her." "What?" "I saw a weird video the other day." " Where?" " With Yoko and the rest." "Did all of you go and spend the night somewhere?" "Nothing happened." "But that night..." "Iwata found this weird video, and we all watched it." "Why 'weird'?" "It's hard to say." "Just after it ended, someone phoned us." "Some kind of prank call." "Yuck!" "We all heard that story." "Today's one week." "Come on!" "You're just trying to scare me." "I had you going!" " I don't believe you!" " You're so easy to fool!" "Did you all really spend the night there?" " What happened?" " I'm not telling!" " Confess!" " It 's a secret!" "Is it true?" "Masami!" "Masami!" "Hello?" "She's right here." "Hello?" "Mom!" "A friend came over." "OK." "Yeah, yeah..." "Extra innings." "They'll be late." "Don't scare me like that." "Look who's talking!" "I'm going to tell everyone tomorrow." "I'm going to the toilet." "Don't go upstairs without me." "There's this video curse everyone's talking about..." "Yes." "Have you heard what kind of video it is?" " Don't look at the camera." " I'm sorry." "Again." "Have you heard what kind of film it is?" "I heard that suddenly there's this scary woman... who says "you will die in one week"." "They say if you watch late-night TV she appears." "And then the phone rings." "Late-night TV?" "What channel?" "I heard it was on a local channel down in Izu." "Izu?" "And is there really someone who died a week later?" "No one that we know." "What?" "A high school student I know told me... a girl who'd seen it died on a date with her boyfriend." "An accident?" "No." "They were found dead in a parked car." "He'd seen the video, too." "It was in the paper two or three days ago." "Do you know what school?" "No." "My friend heard it from somewhere else." " Ms. Asakawa, here." " Thanks." "About ten years ago... a pop singer killed herself and people saw her ghost on TV." "But everyone you ask about this one... talks about the Izu Peninsula." "Maybe that 's where this one started." "Where did they see the woman whose lips went up to her ears?" "Further west, in Gifu." "That was after a big traffic accident down there." "Yeah?" "These stories get started when people die horrible deaths." " So what happened in Izu?" " I don't know." " Anyway, I'm going." " Good night." "YOUNG COUPLE FOUND DEAD IN CAR." "A 19 YEAR-OLD TOKYO BOY AND A 17 YEAR-OLD YOKOHAMA GIRL" "WERE FOUND DEAD IN A CAR ON THE MORNING OF SEPT. 6" "Take care of it, will you?" "Weren't you leaving early today?" "Okazaki, will you do something for me." "Can you find this high school for me?" " Sure." " Call me when you find it." "Yoichi!" "You're changed already!" "I put your clothes out, too." "We've got to hurry." "Did Grandpa call?" "No." "Why did Tomoko die?" "Some strange disease, I guess." "Zip me up." "Do kid die, too?" "Sometimes they get sick." "But don't talk about that at Aunt Yoshimi's, OK?" "Tomoko played with you, didn't she?" "Dad..." " How's Yoshimi?" " She's lying down." "Better leave her alone." "I'll go help." "Yoichi, come sit here." "Reiko..." "Does anyone know why Tomoko died?" " No." " But the police did an autopsy." "There was no evidence of a crime." "People don't just die like that." "And it 's a closed coffin." "Isn't that strange?" "Yoichi..." "You shouldn't come in here." "Go downstairs." "Go on." " Hello?" " It's Okazaki." "I found the name of the high school." "Seikei Academy in Yokohama." "Thank you." "IN LOVING MEMORY SEKEI ACADEMY" "Excuse me... was the girl who died in the car a friend of yours, too?" "If there's anything you know..." "They all died the same day." "Yoko and Tomoko." "And Iwata, too, on his motorbike." " They saw the video..." " The video?" "Yoko told us they'd all seen this weird video..." "When it was over, they got a phone call." "Tomoko saw it, too?" "Where?" "They all went and stayed over somewhere." "The girl who was with Tomoko when she died..." "She went crazy." "She's in hospital." "She won't go anywhere there's a TV." "The girl was named Tsuji Yoko, 17... in 3rd year at Seikei Academy." "The boy was Nomi Tadahiko, 19, doing a college prep year." "The car doors were locked." "I've never seen a corpse that looked like that." "Cause of death?" "Unknown." "Their hearts just stopped." " Drugs?" " Nothing in the autopsy." "They were getting down to it, then they just died." "It doesn't make sense." "Yoichi was at the funeral?" "He used to go upstairs and play in her room." "Yes." "THE PHOTO SHOP" "I found Tomoko here." "Tomoko!" "Izu..." "I might be late tonight." "Put your supper in the microwave, OK?" "OK." "Mom..." "Tomoko saw the curse video." "Why did you say that?" "Don't say anything about that at school, you hear?" "I won't." "Bye." "SEPTEMBER 13, MONDAY" "IZU PARKWAY" "This is crazy!" "IZU PACIFIC LAND" ""My dad's fat." "My mom's fat." "So I'm fat, too."" " You're here alone?" " It 's work." "These people stayed here on August 29th." "Did you notice anything unusual?" "Just a minute." "August 29th..." "That tape..." "That one." "What is it?" "This one?" "Someone must have left it." "ERUPTION" "SADA" "A week!" "SEPTEMBER 14, TUESDAY" "So Yoichi's in school?" "Grade one." "How are you, Ryuji?" "Same as always." "What are you doing?" "Teaching at a university." "So there was a phone call?" "Yes." "So this phone'll ring after I see it?" "Four people died, all on the same day." "Go to a shrine and get exercised." "Take my picture." "Face this way." "Come on!" "It 's over." "No phone call." "Copy this for me." "I'll take a good look at it." "It 's not certain death yet." "It 's a video." "Someone made it." "I'll check who stayed there." "Also for pirate broadcasts." "SEPTEMBER 15, WEDNESDAY" " From the Izu bureau." " Thanks." "Why do you want that list of customers?" "I just need to check something." "Was it you?" "Did you do this?" " Sorry I'm late." " What 's wrong?" "Nothing." "Well?" "No one I phoned took a tape to the cabin." "And they all sounded normal, not like they'd make a tape like this." "Pirate stations?" "There's no record of an illegal broadcast anywhere in Izu." "Here's the copy." "Asakawa..." "Have you ever seen this woman?" "No." "This shot 's weird." "From that angle, the cameraman should appear in the mirror." "What do you mean?" "Well, you could fix it with special effects, but..." ""Eruption"..." "Which eruption?" "You can't read it on a regular home TV." "Come in." "Takano, a student of mine." "Asakawa." "My ex-wife." "How do you do." "I'm Takano." "I'm Asakawa." "Sir, the publisher wants your essay." "Why did they tell you that?" "They couldn't find you." "Ask them to extend the deadline a week." "Me?" "Ask them yourself!" "Ok, OK." "No good..." ""Sada"..." "Is Yoichi alright alone?" "He's used to it." "Whoever did this left a sign, subconsciously." "He wants to be stopped." "Wait..." "Do you hear that?" "It sounds like some sort of dialect." "What does it mean?" "I'll check tomorrow." "...who says "you will die in one week"." "They say if you watch late-night TV she appears." "And then the phone rings." "SEPTEMBER 16, THURSDAY" "I heard it was on a local channel down in Izu." " Hello?" " I found it." "It's a dialect." "It's something about 'brine" and "goblins"." "A dialect from where?" "Oshima Island." "The volcano there." "Hello." "Yoichi?" "I'll be late tonight." "You're OK, alone?" "I'm sorry." "MT MIHARAYAMA ERUPTS" "Here." "But it 's a long time ago." "DID LOCAL WOMAN PREDICT ERUPTION?" " What is it?" " Do you have an Oshima Bureau?" " I think so." "A correspondent." " Get me the number." "Tonight." "Why?" "You've only got four days left." "I'll handle it with your correspondent." "You stay with Yoichi." "Grandpa!" "Well!" "Hello!" "SEPTEMBER 17, FRIDAY" "Let's go out and go fishing!" "Grandpa!" "You've got one!" "And he got away..." "You're not very good at this." "Let's try it again." "Let 's fish over here this time." "Oh, you're home..." " Hello?" " Your man on Oshima says... our woman is probably the one who predicted the eruption." "Her name was Yamamura Shizuko." "She threw herself into the volcano 4O years ago." "What do we do now?" "Go down there, I guess." "I'll go tomorrow." "Oshima?" "But I've only got three days left!" "I know." "I've got four." "I'll call again." "Is something wrong?" "No, just work." "Auntie..." "Yoichi?" "Yoichi!" "Did you bring that?" "You did, didn't you?" "Why?" "Tomoko..." "Tomoko told me to." "I was careless." "I sensed something at your place." "I thought it was the video." "Tomoko?" "She's not Tomoko anymore." "Yoichi can see her too, then..." "It 's all my fault." "It should have ended with Tomoko and the others." "I wonder..." "Who did the story start with?" "Stories like that don't start with anyone." "People feel anxious, and rumors start flying." "Anxious?" "Or people start them hoping things will turn out like this." "Mr. Hayatsu?" "Sorry you've had to come way out here." "This way." "SEPTEMBER 18, SATURDAY" "The Yamamuras... used to run big fishing crews here." "They're all but out of the business now." "Shizuko's cousin is still alive." "His son and daughter-in-law run an inn." "I've booked you into there tonight." "Why did Shizuko commit suicide?" "They say she went crazy." "The paper had written some things about her." "She was famous all over the island after she predicted the eruption." "It had always been said that she had strange powers." "She was what they call "a seer"." "After that a professor showed up." "You've heard of him." "Heihachiro." "Wasn't he fired?" "He brought Shizuko to Tokyo and did experiments with her." "He was trying to prove the existence of ESP." "The papers built him up, then smashed him." "The media haven't changed much in 4O years." "I remember something about that." "Didn't someone die?" "Dr. Ikuma disappeared after his university fired him." "I doubt if he's still alive." "Even if we find him, so what?" "They say Shizuko had a daughter." "Anyone here?" " Hello." " Welcome." "I'll leave you here." "This way." "One room?" "Two, please." "This way." "Um..." "Please." "Wait!" "Please, tell me about Shizuko!" " I have nothing to say." " And about her daughter?" "There was no daughter." "Not hungry?" "Ryuji... when I die, be with me..." "Cut it out." "Please!" "And then... if you learn anything, try to save Yoichi." "Stop it!" "The girl with Tomoko lost her mind." "Who knows what will happen to me?" "You'll be all right!" "Because I'm not "normal"?" "Maybe all three of us should just die out!" "Good idea." "We shouldn't have had a kid in the first place." "Stop it!" "There's still two days." " Excuse me..." " Come in." "You were asking about Shizuko..." "This is all that 's left." "Is this Dr. Ikuma?" "Yes." "It was before I came here." " Anyway..." " Thank you." ""Frolic in brine goblins be thine."" "SEPTEMBER 19, SUNDAY" "You'd best head home early." "There's a storm coming tonight." "What was Shizuko like?" "She was a strange one." "She'd sit out here the whole day long." "Day in, day out, just staring at the sea." "The fishermen all hated her." "For us, the sea is unlucky." "Every year, it swallows some of us." "And she'd just stare at it..." ""Frolic in brine, goblins be thine..."" "If you play in the sea the goblins come for you." "Shizuko could read minds." "She would know things about people they didn't want known." "That could be painful." "Go home!" "I have some abilities that way myself." "You're the one who told people about Shizuko, aren't you?" "You called Dr. Ikuma." "I did what?" "You thought you could make money from Shizuko." "You took money from the newspapers, too." "Shut up!" "Tell me about her daughter." " What happened to her?" " I don't know!" "She should have been with Shizuko!" "You were there... when Shizuko had her demonstration..." "Correct." "Correct." "Correct." "Correct." "Correct." "This is a fraud!" "Nothing but a vulgar magical show!" "You don't fool me." "Dr. Ikuma is deceiving you!" "He's making a fool of you!" "Show us the..." "Hey!" "What 's wrong?" "He's dead." "She's a freak!" "Sadako!" "You did that!" ""Sadako"?" "Sadako killed him?" "She could simply will someone dead?" "She was a monster." "Sadako!" "Hey!" "Yes!" "When Shizuko killed herself, Ikuma took Sadako away with him." "But no one knows where they went." "Anyway, find them!" "Dr. Ikuma may be dead, but Sadako would be in her 4Os." "I'll explain later." "Hurry!" "I doubt Sadako is alive, either." "She killed a man just by willing him dead." "That 's power of a different order from her mother." "So that video..." "It 's not of this world." "It 's Sadako's fury." "She's put a curse on us." "The typhoon's too close." "The ferries have been canceled." "Try a fishing boat." "We'll pay." "A fishing boat?" "The typhoon may change course." "Your best bet is to wait." "I'll find one, then!" "Mr. Takayama!" "Mr. Takayama!" " Hello?" " Ms. Asakawa?" "I'm sorry." "There's no trace of either of them." " Hello?" " Thank you." "Yoichi!" "Izu!" "Ryuji!" "Ryuji!" "The phone didn't ring at my house." "The only place it rang was at that cabin!" "The doctor must've..." "But we're stuck here." "You can't take a boat out on a night like this!" "I'll take you." "Sadako's calling you, isn't she?" "It may be that she wants me to drown." "Take us!" "It 's strange." "I'm not afraid at all." "Sadako probably died there, before the cabin was built." "Was she Dr. Ikuma's daughter?" "He was married, with a family." "His relationship with Shizuko caused a scandal." "That helped in his being fired." "Let's find Sadako's body." "Will that lift the curse?" "Will that save Yoichi?" "It 's all we can do." "Just one day left." "I guess Sadako doesn't hate you." "Shizuko used to talk to the sea." "She'd sit there and mumble to it." "I hid once and listened." "But it wasn't human language." "SEPTEMBER 2O, MONDAY" "Hello?" "Yoichi?" "I'll be back tomorrow." "I'm bored here." "I want to get back to school." "Don't say that." "You'll hurt Grandpa's feelings." "He's laughing." "Do you want to talk to him?" "It 's OK." "I'm sorry." "I'll hurry back." "What's wrong?" "I've got something to do." "Say hello to Grandpa for me." "What time did you see the video?" "7 or 8 minutes past 7." "If the story's true, that 's your deadline." "Here." "A well!" "I knew it!" "A well?" "Her father!" "Dr. Ikuma put this lid on." "Sadako's under here." "I'll go down." "Sadako was alive!" "She tried to climb out." "Lower the buckets!" "Take it up!" "Take it up!" "Take it up!" "It 's 6 o'clock!" "I know!" "Hurry and take it up!" "Take it up!" "Asakawa!" "Damn it!" "Do you want to kill me?" "Hey!" "Asakawa!" "Trade places." "You can't lift anymore." "No!" "Then who's going to pull the pails up?" "Is this really going to do any good?" "And what happens to Yoichi?" "She'll go for him, too!" "Don't look down." "Where are you?" "Come out!" "Please!" "Where are you?" "It 's you..." "Asakawa!" "It's 7:" "1O!" "We're safe!" "Why did he kill his own... daughter?" "Maybe she wasn't his daughter." "Maybe her father... wasn't human." "The marks are gone." "It 's over." "I'll take you home." "Get some rest." "I've got a deadline." "Thank you." "Idiot!" "SEPTEMBER 21, TUESDAY" "Why?" "That 's it!" "Asakawa..." "Are you resident?" " I'm Ryuji's wife!" " The body has been taken away." "What happened?" "When I got here, he was lying on the floor." "Did he say anything to you?" "About a video, maybe?" "His face..." "Why, Ryuji?" "Will Yoichi die, too?" "Didn't we lift the curse?" "Why was I the only one saved?" "Sadako's curse was only lifted from me." "Why not you, Ryuji?" "What did I do that you didn't?" "What did I do that you didn't?" "Ryuji?" "Something I did that you didn't... to lift the curse..." "I copied it..." "I showed it to you..." "Hello, Dad?" "Yeah, I'm on my way." "I need a favor from you." "It 's for Yoichi." "They say there's one way you can see it and not die." "You have to copy it and show it to someone else within one week." " And what happens to them?" " They have to do the same thing." " So it never ends." " That's right." "It goes on and on." "But if you don't want to die, you'll do it, won't you?" "SEPTEMBER 22, WEDNESDAY"