Ring 0: Birthday
2000 · Movie · NR · 99 min · ★ 6.1 · 57% critics
Set decades before the original story, this prequel follows a shy young woman trying to live a normal life while joining a theater troupe. As unsettling incidents and suspicious deaths spread, a reporter’s investigation and growing fear among the cast push her toward a dark, tragic fate that helps explain the legend to come.
Based on The Birthday
Also known as Ringu 0: Birthday · Ringu 0
Where to watch
Not currently available to stream in the US.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Original title
- リング０ バースデイ
- Years
- 2000
- Release date
- 2000-01-22
- Language
- Japanese
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 99 min
- Critic score
- 57/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.1/10 (284 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a slower, moodier prequel that leans into tragedy and creeping dread more than nonstop shocks; Not for you if you need clear answers, fast pacing, or constant scares like Ju-on: The Grudge 2.
Pros: eerie suspenseful moments; sympathetic tragic focus; intriguing backstory | Cons: slow draggy stretches; confusing late turns; fewer outright scares
Themes
- dying and death
- journalist
- based on novel or book
- theatre group
- prequel
- killer
- based on short story
- wizard
- parapsychology
Cast & crew
Yukie Nakama
as Sadako Yamamura
Seiichi Tanabe
as Hiroshi Tôyama
Kumiko Aso
as Etsuko Tachihara
Yoshiko Tanaka
as Akiko Miyaji
Takeshi Wakamatsu
as Yûsaku Shigemori
Ryushi Mizukami
as Wataru Kuno
Kaoru Okunuki
as Aiko Hazuki
Yasushi Kimura
as Togashi
Mami Hashimoto
as Joshikôsei
Daisuke Ban
as Heihachirô Ikuma
Directed by Norio Tsuruta