In Ringu, journalist Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) investigates the urban legend of a cursed videotape that reportedly causes anyone who watches it to receive a phone call warning that they will die in seven days. When her own niece Tomoko (Yuko Takeuchi) dies under mysterious circumstances after watching the tape, Reiko begins to dig deeper, tracking down the tape and watching it herself.
After viewing the tape, Reiko experiences disturbing visions and receives the dreaded phone call. Desperate to save her own life and that of her young son Yoichi (Rikiya Otaka), she teams up with her ex-husband Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada) to try to uncover the origins of the curse and break it before time runs out.
As Reiko and Ryuji unravel the dark secrets of the videotape and the strange girl who appears in it, they find themselves being pursued by an unknown figure intent on stopping them from discovering the truth. With the clock ticking down and the stakes higher than ever, Reiko must use all her investigative skills to uncover the source of the curse and find a way to break it before it's too late.
