Rasen (1998)

Trivia: Koji Suzuki, author of the original novels upon which the "Ringu" films are based, has a cameo in the fairground scene. He's the smiling father on the train-ride that the camera focuses on for a few seconds.

TedStixon

Trivia: The author of the original novels, Koji Suzuki, worked closely with the producers of the film during the writing process. This might explain why the film re-introduces many of the book series' sci-fi elements that were omitted from the first film.

TedStixon

Trivia: This sequel was filmed and released at the same time in 1998 as the first film - "Ringu." As the films were based on an incredibly popular book series, the studio thought that releasing the first movie and its sequel simultaneously would drastically increase profits - fans could see the first movie, then immediately pay for another ticket to see the sequel right after. Unfortunately, this tactic backfired. Few people saw this sequel in theaters and it garnered poor word-of-mouth, despite the fact the first film became incredibly popular. As a result, one year later, a new sequel - "Ringu 2" was produced that ignored this film entirely.

TedStixon

Trivia: The film's writer/director, Joji Iida, had previously worked on the "Ring" franchise before. He wrote a 1995 Japanese TV-movie based on the original novel ("Ring") that proceeded the hit 1998 film adaptation. So in a strange, roundabout way, the film could also be viewed as being a sequel to the TV-movie.

TedStixon