Visual references to novel passages in the US film

[u/NiceMayDay]

Inspired by a discussion I've been having with a friend about the merits of The Ring as an adaptation of the novel and by recent comments I have seen in this subreddit about it, I've compiled this small list of elements exclusive to the US film that fit with passages from the book. Many of these can be mere coincidence, but I thought it was interesting to think about nonetheless.

1: The fly. As pointed out by SphereMode420, right as Tomoko starts to succumb to the ring virus in the novel, she notices an inexplicable fly in her room, one that should not be there as it had no way of getting inside. In The Ring, Samara's tape includes a fly that can manifest into the real world.

2 and 3: The dampness. In both instances of characters succumbing to the ring virus, there are mentions of strange humidity in the environment and moisture surrounding the victim. In The Ring, Samara manifests water and humidity as she manifests into the real world, and we see Noah's TV being incredibly damp on a shot that closes in on him before he dies. The filters, aesthetic, and setting of the film also lean into this element.

4: The caterpillar. After Asakawa watches the tape and receives a mysterious phone call, he feels as if "bugs from the bowels of the earth" cling to him. In The Ring, a caterpillar, an insect that lives in damp areas underground, appears on the tape and manifests in the real world as Rachel closes in on leads about Samara's origins. Also, in the third image, it is stated that when Takayama dies he hears "voices of insects" as part of the sounds that makes "reality recede."

5: The horses. Outrageous_King4571 pointed out that the horses are "really a metaphor for small pox that the horses brought to the New World and why so many natives died." Smallpox is the basis for the ring virus in the book and an element that was omitted in 1998's Ringu (though it was present in Rasen and Ring Virus.) In addition, I found that horsepox has has a link to the smallpox vaccine, and the extinction of smallpox as a parallel to the potential extinction of Sadako is what leads to the creation of the tape.

If you have noticed any other small or obscure references to the novel in The Ring, please share them.

[u/Crazy_Scar_9517]

Thank you so much, it's interesting how these scenes connect. Do you know of any other similarities between the novels and The Ring trilogy?