If there is a date that changed everything in the world of Asian horror films within the last ten years it is January 31, 1998. A tidal wave of pop culture and guerilla marketing culminated in the very successful release of Ringu (The Ring). Hideo Nakata's very chilling story about a cursed videotape and the secrets it reveals was a smash in Japan, and rumors of its high fear factor spread through the horror grapevine. The effectiveness and profits of The Ring opened a new cycle of filmmaking in Asia, and produced a thirst in the rest of the world for more of the same. Still, the wave was about to crest.