Following the success of Ring and Ring 2, Toho Studios were quick to set up another instalment for the budding franchise. Determining a route forward, however, proved challenging. Koji Suzuki’s literary sequel to Ring, Rasen, had already been adapted as Spiral in 1998 and had been a commercial disappointment. Ring 2 was entirely original to the screen, but without any obvious avenues to extend its story still further. Suzuki’s third novel in the series, 1998’s Loop, pushed the entire Ring concept in a new and contention direction involving virtual reality and simulated universes – an approach that jarred with the more supernatural angle the films had adopted.

An ultimate decision was made to adapt the short story “Lemon Heart”, Suzuki’s prequel detailing the original fate of the psychic girl-turned-ghost Sadako. When director Hideo Nakata proved disinterested in helming the new film, he was replaced by Norio Tsuruta. It was Tsuruta’s feature debut, following a number of direct-to-video horror films.

Ring 0: Birthday makes for an odd contrast to the previous Ring films. It is set 30 years earlier, and thus takes place without the video technology that typified the franchise. Sadako, previously a creepy plot cypher without much detail, is the central character. She invites the audience’s sympathy as she is progressively ostracised by the community around her.

The film picks up in the wake of Sadako’s mother’s death. A withdrawn 19-year-old Sadako (Yukie Nakama) joins a local drama club, but before long people are turning against her and dying in mysterious circumstances. She forms a romantic attachment to the club’s sound designer (Seiichi Tanabe), setting her against his resentful girlfriend (Kumiko Aso).

The usual difficulties of writing a prequel are obvious and unavoidable. The audience knows going into the film where Sadako’s story will end, and any attempts made to surprise or upset that back story feel clumsy and slightly confusing to watch. These problems compound as the film develops, culminating in a tiresome climax. As for what develops to replace the tech-folklore angle of the previous works, it is enough to note that Brian De Palma’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie (1976) cast a heavy shadow.

Oddly stilted dialogue prevents the cast from making any kind of impression. While there is some invention to the film’s cinematography it has a deeply grainy texture that makes everything look rather cheap. There are some interesting ideas – including Sadako’s abilities expanding to audio tape and even other people’s dreams – but they are underdeveloped. In a sense the film is the result of some impressively bold choices. It is not a horror film so much as a thriller, and when it gains the opportunity to unsettle or frighten it chooses not to take it. If it was a good thriller there would be more than enough justification for the film to exist, but instead it is an unnecessary exercise that fails to even exploit its source material.

Ring O was released in Japanese cinemas on a double bill with Toshiyuki Mizutani’s horror film Isola. Dreamworks Pictures would release a remake of the original Ring two years later, but in Japan it would take another 10 years before the franchise was picked up again. For now it ends here, in disappointment.