MovieChat Forums > Friend Request (2017) Discussion > Unfriended plus The Ring

Unfriended plus The Ring

posted 8 years ago by svalinanikola
4 replies | jump to latest

That's pretty much what the idea of this movie is. Sure, everyone saw the Unfriended similarity but I didn't see any thread which pointed out the similarities it has to The Ring.

OK, part of the plot of The Ring deals with the main character trying to find more info about the tape and when she searches around she realizes that the images she saw on the tape are connected with things in real life. Like her finding the same tree that was on the tape, for example.

This movie had pretty much the same thing, only instead of the tape you had gifs and images on Marina's Facebook profile.

[–] prelude_zen 8 years ago

There have already been several posts with this comparison so you may not have seen them, but many people have made the connection.

The fact is that it isn't really like the ring much at all. Sure you can make a few connections here and there, just like you can with Star Wars and Flash Gordon. Google it. The fact is that nobody cares that a few people make that connection because Star wars is a powerhouse of storytelling and flash Gordon has already been forgotten about by most people.

It's much closer to the Japanese movie Kairo aka Pulse, remade just like Ringu was with Kristen Bell also as the Pulse. The fact is that the Ringu was a break out horror masterpiece that lost a lot in translation but still made for an OK remake anyway. Same with Pulse, Kairo is very good bordering great. And the remake is pretty ok too,although not nearly as good. This has more in common with unfriended because both movies are terrible and will be completely forgotten about in a short period of time. The Japanese have been so far ahead of America in the realm of horror for so long people still think these are original ideas. I still meet people who think Ring is an American horror story.

The facts are, that if you are a teenager who thinks Facebook is essential for your social life, you will probably be into this movie and the chances of you liking it are good. Nothing wrong with being young BTW. But if you are interested in actual horror and horror films, skip this entirely and check out Kairo if you haven't already.

[–] svalinanikola 8 years ago

The Japanese have been so far ahead of America in the realm of horror for

Not really, like every country, they have A LOT of terrible movies as well.

And I've checked out Kairo, I liked the themes of it, but I wouldn't call it scary.

Btw. even the japanese original, Ringu, isn't so original. It takes the whole concept of how the curse works from an old movie called Night of the Demon.

What were the things lost in translation with the remake?

I think some japanese horror movies are horribly overrated, like the Ju-On series. The events in those movies are told out of order to make them seem more complicated than they really are. You follow a bunch of characters you don't get to know well and then they die. The series is basically a subpar supernatural slasher.

Sure, some of the scares are creative, but some are also kind of comical. But scares alone can't make a horror movie good.

I never understood the appeal for that series, there are much better asian movies, like Shutter (which has a ton of jump scares, but is still better than that whole series).

Btw. you didn't really explain how this movie is much closer to Kairo? Because of the computers?

[–] Wilde_child 8 years ago

I saw some similarities to The Blair Witch films, specially towards the ending. There's even a shot in which the possessed guy faces a wall in a corner.

[–] IMDB_Vits 8 years ago

THE RING: 9/10
UNFRIENDED: 8/10
FRIEND REQUEST: 4/10