An urban legend says that whoever watches this video-tape will die a miserable and mysterious death at the mercy of a vengeful ghost in exactly seven days. Would your curiosity nudge you to watch the tape? Based on the simple but gripping premise of a serial killing ghost hunting down humans that let their curiosity get the better of themselves, The Ring, sparked a new wave of terror and suspense in J-Horror, and inspired a whole new genre of supernatural-horror films worldwide. Use our guide below on how to watch all movies in The Ring franchise and where to find them streaming online using platforms like Netflix, Prime Video and more.
The franchise officially began with Koji Suzuki’s 1991 novel Ring. It was the first of a trilogy, and was followed by Spiral, and Loop. The novel was first adapted to film in 1998 by Hideo Nakata, after the trilogy was officially released. The movie was an instant commercial and critical success, and marked the beginning of a very lucrative J-Horror film franchise that extended to 13 films across different languages.
The Ring franchise includes 9 Japanese films, 3 American movies, and 1 Korean adaptation. While the core premise of the story remains the same, each version offers a different cultural and cinematic experience on the legend of Sadaku or Samara.
For those looking to dive into the world of The Ring, the order in which you watch the films can greatly influence your experience. We’ll separate the films based on their language to make it easier to follow each version’s unique storyline and evolution.
The chronological order for Japanese Ring films
If you want to get deep into the Ring franchise consider starting with the original Japanese Ring movies. With nine movies under their belt, the franchise explores Sadako’s curse and the story to its fullest, staying closest to Suzuki’s novels. Here’s the chronological order to watch all the Japanese movies:
Ringu 0: Birthday
A prequel to the original Ring series, this film focuses on Sadako’s backstory, and highlights the terrible and tragic events in her life that led to her becoming a cursed spirit.
Ringu
The first movie in the original trilogy, the film introduces the premise of the cursed videotape, and the story of Sadako.
Rasen
Released at the same time as Ringu, the sequel follows the story of Suzuki’s second novel, Spiral. However, this film is often overlooked as it wasn’t received well at the time of its release, and was overshadowed by Ringu 2.
Ringu 2
An alternate and more popular sequel to The Ring, Ringu 2, strays from the story of the books and directly continues from where the first movie left off.
Ringu: Kanzenban
Kanzenban loosely translates to "the complete version." While not nearly as popular as the 1998 film Ringu, Ringu: Kanzenban is a direct-to-TV movie that closely follows the original story from Koji Suzuki’s book, making only very slight changes to the source material. Although this was the first release in the franchise, it makes more sense to place it here in the list, as it isn’t as widely recognized or iconic as the later films.
Sadako 3D
Set years after the events of Ringu, this film marked the revival of the Ring franchise. The film explores the effect of the Ring curse in the viral internet era society.
Sadako 3D 2
The film continues the events of Sadako 3D, and explores how the curse affects a new generation of people in the digital age.
Sadako vs Kayako
The Ring served as a direct inspiration for The Grudge. Sadako vs Kayako is non-canonical but a pretty entertaining mash-up pitting Sadako against Kayako, the ghost from Grudge.
Sadako (2019)
The most recent entry in the series, Sadako further explores her origins and the continued spread of the curse.
The chronological order for the American films
The American films are much simpler and direct to follow, as the watch order and release order for the films is the same, making it easier for fans to enjoy the story without worrying too much about shifting timelines or prequels. Here’s the correct order to watch the American Ring movies:
The Korean Remake
In addition to the Japanese and American films, the series also includes one Korean remake titled, The Ring Virus. Released in 1999, the film is a direct adaptation of the original Japanese Ringu, taking inspiration from both the Japanese and American versions while introducing its own distinct Korean flair.
How to watch all The Ring films in release order
Interested in watching all the Ring movies in release order? Scroll down below to JustWatch’s streaming guide. We’ve listed the movies in release order, separated by Japanese, American, and Korean adaptations to avoid any confusion with language.
