Seeing “The Ring” will give you nightmares for the rest of your life.

Inspired by novels written by obscure author Suzuki Koji, the original version of the film called “Ringu,” was released in Tokyo in 1998. Directed by Hideo Nakata, the critically-acclaimed horror film became a cult classic for the most unlikely demographic — girls in their teens and twenties.

Having spun out a sequel and a prequel in Japan, and now working on a third, Nakata has created an American version of “Ringu.” While some fans claim it doesn’t do justice to its predecessor, it’s pretty damn good.

-The story of “The Ring” revolves around a mysterious video tape that causes whomever watches it to die exactly seven days later. Following the death of her niece, who watched the tape with three other friends who also died, cutthroat reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) sets out to discover more about the tape’s origins.

From the very first frame of this film, director Nakata uses the art of suspense in such a tactful way that you find yourself tense with fear before anything happens. Once things do start happening, however, and the mystery of the tape starts to unfold, each image grows more terrifying.

Naomi Watts, best known for her performance in “Mulholland Drive,” brings a Hitchcockian element to the film by using facial expressions that exhibit the true look of horror. When she screams, you want to scream; and when she is in danger, you feel like bolting for the door.

Convincingly portraying a single mother and investigative journalist, Watts hints at normalcy in the film, relaxing viewers and gaining their trust, only to turn around and freak them out in every other scene.

The plot of “The Ring” is a very original idea that cannot be explained but must be experienced. The fear lies not so much in what is shown but in what your mind makes of it. The movie is scary in the theater, but even more so hours later.

Academy Award-winning makeup artist Rick Baker lends his cosmetic effects to the bone-chilling corpses that the mysterious video in this film leaves behind. If anyone has ever seen the paintings of Francis Bacon, they may have just a small idea of what these poor saps end up looking like. (Think hamburger on the sidewalk during a heat wave.)

The irony of “The Ring” is that urban legend tells us there is a film out there so frightening it actually ends up killing you. For anyone with a weak heart or a weak stomach, “The Ring” may be that film.