Ring Page #6

INT. ASAKAWA�S APARTMENT - DAY

Ryuji puts his bag down, looks around the apartment. The interior is dark,

ominous somehow. He takes his JACKET off and wanders into the living room.

Asakawa is in the kitchen behind him, preparing TEA. Ryuji spies the

collection of FRAMED PHOTOGRAPHS in living room.

RYUJI:

Yoichi�s in elementary school

already, is he?

ASAKAWA:

His first year. What about you,

Ryuji? How have you been

recently?

RYUJI:

Same as always.

She takes a seat next to him, serves the tea. On the coffee table

before them is a VIDEOTAPE in a plain, unmarked case.

ASAKAWA:

And money is...?

RYUJI:

I�m teaching at university.

Ryuji picks up his cup of tea but stops, grimacing, before it is to his

lips. He rubs his forehead as if experiencing a sudden headache. Ryuji

shakes it off and quickly regains his composure.

RYUJI:

Anyway. You said that the phone rang?

ASAKAWA:

That�s right.

RYUJI:

So if I watch it too, that phone over

there--

He gestures with his mug

RYUJI (cont�d)

--should ring.

ASAKAWA:

Ryuji, four people have already

died. On the same day!

RYUJI:

(flippant)

Well, why don�t you try calling

an exorcist?

He takes a sip of his tea. Asakawa reaches quickly, grabs something

from the bookshelf behind her-- a POLAROID CAMERA. She shoves it

into Ryuji�s hands, then turns to look down at the floor.

ASAKAWA:

Take my picture.

Ryuji raises the camera to his eye.

RYUJI:

Turn this way.

ASAKAWA:

(unmoving)

Hurry up and take it.

Ryuji snaps off a shot. It comes out the other end and he takes it,

waits impatiently for an image to appear. When it does, all he can

do is pass it wordlessly over to Asakawa. Her face is twisted,

misshapen.

Just like the picture of Tomoko and her friends.

Asakawa stares at it, horrified. By the time she finally looks up,

Ryuji has already risen from his seat and slid the videotape into the

VCR. Again, the screen is filled with static, only to be replaced

with what looks like the moon. Asakawa slams the Polaroid on the

coffee table and goes outside onto the veranda.

EXT. VERANDA - DAY

Asakawa stares out at a view of the houses shaded in cloud and rain.

There is a knock on the glass door behind her. A moment later,

Ryuji slides the door open.

RYUJI:

It�s over.

Asakawa re-enters her apartment.

INT. ASAKAWA�S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - DAY

RYUJI:

Well, it looks like your phone�s not

ringing.

Ryuji pops the tape from the deck, hands it to Asakawa.

RYUJI:

Make me a copy of this, will you?

I�d like to do a little research

of my own. There�s no reason to

write us off as dead just yet.

He dramatically takes a seat.

RYUJI(cont�d)

If there�s a video, that means that

somebody had to make it.

ASAKAWA:

There�s the guest list from the

cottage to look into... and the

possibility of someone hacking

into the local station�s broadcast

signals.

Asakawa pulls a NOTEPAD from her purse and begins busily scribbling

away.

INT. NEWS STATION - DAY

Okazaki putters around.

Caption-� �September 15th. Tuesday.�

INT. NEWS STATION - VIEWING BOOTH � DAY

Asakawa sits by herself, reviewing the videotape. She is replaying

the very last scene, an outdoor shot of a well. She stares at it

carefully, and notices...

The tape ends, filling the screen with static. A split-second

afterwards, there is a KNOCK on the door and Okazaki enters, holding

a FILE. Asakawa momentarily forgets about the video.

OKAZAKI:

(handing her the file)

Here�s that guest list you wanted.

ASAKAWA:

Oh, thanks.

OKAZAKI:

What are you gonna do with this?

ASAKAWA:

Uh... sorry, I�m working on

something personal.

EXT. IN FRONT OF A TRAIN STATION - DAY

Some quick shots of a FOUNTAIN gushing water, PIGEONS flapping away

looking agitated. CUT to Ryuji sitting on a BENCH. He�s deep in

thought, writing in a NOTEPAD. There are multitudes of PEOPLE about

him, and we can hear the sounds of their coming and going. A PAIR

OF LEGS attached to a woman in white dress, hose, and pumps appears,

heading directly for Ryuji. Her pace is slow, rhythmical, and as

that pace progresses all other sounds FADE into the background, so

that all we can hear is the CLOMP, CLOMP as those legs walk to stand

just before Ryuji. The pumps are scuffed, dirtied with grime.

A gust of WIND rips by. Ryuji fights the urge to look up as in his

ears rings the same hollowed, multi-voiced BABBLING heard on the

videotape. The sound grows stronger.

RYUJI (VO)

So, it was you. You did it.

The babbling fades, disappears as slowly the world�s normal

background sounds return. Ryuji looks up, but the woman in white

is nowhere to be seen.

EXT. OUTSIDE RYUJI�S APARTMENT � AFTERNOON

Ryuji rides up on a BICYCLE. He turns the corner towards his

apartment and finds Asakawa seated on the steps, waiting for him.

RYUJI:

Hey.

Asakawa notes in his face that something is wrong.

ASAKAWA:

What happened to you?

RYUJI:

(gruffly)

Nothing.

He enters the building, carrying his bicycle. Asakawa follows.

INT. HALLWAY - AFTERNOON

The two walk down the hallway towards the FRONT DOOR to Ryuji�s

apartment. He unlocks the door and they enter.

INT. RYUJI�S APARTMENT � AFTERNOON

Ryuji and Asakawa enter the living room.

RYUJI:

So, what�d you come up with?

ASAKAWA:

I don�t think any of the guests on

the list brought the tape with them.

I couldn�t confirm it face-to-face

of course, but even over the phone I

got the feeling they were all being

upfront with me.

RYUJI:

How about the other angle? Pirate

signals or...

Asakawa shakes her head.

ASAKAWA:

There�re no traces of any illegal

television signals being broadcast

around Izu.

She reaches into her purse, pulls out a large white ENVELOPE.

ASAKAWA:

Here�s that copy of the videotape

you wanted.

Ryuji tears the package open. He squats down on the tatami in

frontof his TV and slides the tape in. Asakawa sits on the

tatami as well, but positions herself away from the TV and keeps

her eyes averted. Ryuji glares over his shoulder at her.

RYUJI:

(sternly)

Asakawa.

She reluctantly scoots closer, looks up at the screen. Ryuji

fast-forwards the tape a bit, stopping at the scene where the

woman is brushing her long hair before an oval mirror. He puts

the video on frame-by-frame.

RYUJI:

Have you ever seen this woman?

Asakawa regards the screen intently.

ASAKAWA:

No...

The tape advances to the scene where the mirror suddenly changes

positions. When it does, we can again see the small figure in the

white gown, a figure with long black hair. When Ryuji sees this

his body stiffens, becomes tense. Asakawa notices but says nothing.

She also notices something else.

ASAKAWA:

(excitedly)

There�s something strange about

this shot.

She takes the remote from Ryuji, rewinds it a ways. Onscreen, the

woman begins coming her long hair again.

ASAKAWA:

From this angle, the mirror should

be reflecting whoever�s filming.

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