The Ring 4K Blu-Ray Box Set Is Only $39 At Amazon

Fans of horror movies revolving around cursed VHS tapes and half-human, half-demon ghosts who crawl out of televisions can score a fantastic deal on The Ring Collection. Released last year with a $90 retail price, the three-film 4K Blu-ray box set is on sale for only $39 at Amazon. This is a new all-time low for The Ring Collection, which you'll need if you want to watch The Ring 2 and Rings on 4K Blu-ray; neither sequel has received a standalone 4K release.

If you only want the first (and best) film in the series, The Ring Limited Edition Steelbook is discounted to only $19 (was $35), which is the lowest price yet and actually slightly cheaper than the standard edition 4K Blu-ray ($20.29). And if you're interested in comparing the Hollywood version of The Ring to the original Japanese film, Arrow Video's 4K Blu-ray restoration of Ringu is available for $35 (was $50). Alternatively, the Ringu 4-Film Collection is discounted to $46.69, which is an all-time low for this Blu-ray box set.

The Ring Limited Edition Steelbook

The Ring Series on 4K:

• The Ring Collection (4K) -- $39 ($90)
• The Ring Limited Edition Steelbook (4K) -- $19 ($35)
• The Ring (4K) -- $20.29

Ringu Series (Japanese):

• Ringu 4-Film Collection: Special Edition (Blu-ray) -- $46.69 ($100)
• Ringu: Special Edition (4K) -- $35 ($50)
• Ringu: Special Edition (Blu-ray) -- $17

The Ring Series on DVD:

• The Ring Collection (DVD) -- Sold out
• The Ring + The Ring 2 (DVD) -- $6.32 ($10)
• The Ring (DVD) -- $6.83 ($10)
• The Ring 2 (DVD) -- $6.19 ($10)
• Rings (DVD)-- $8.69 ($10)

The Ring Series on Blu-ray:

• The Ring (Blu-ray) -- $22.49
• Rings (Blu-ray) -- $9.55

It'd be nice if The Ring Collection included the awesome steelbook case. The cover resembles the staticky picture quality of the VHS tape from the film and features Samara in front of the well. Interior art depicts Samara sitting in the middle of the plain room, and the slipcase captures the moment when the tape cuts to black.

The Ring helped kickstart a new wave of horror movies back in the early 2000s. The first film, a 2002 remake of the 1998 Japanese film and directed by Gore Verbinski, set the ground rules for the franchise. It's clearly from an older time, as the entire premise revolved around watching a haunted VHS tape full of nightmarish images, getting a creepy phone call prophesying your death, and then meeting a gruesome end seven days later.

You can read about the Japanese film series and the original book series that inspired the worldwide phenomenon below.

Ringu and its original sequel Spiral actually debuted in theaters on the same day. Ringu was a big hit with audiences, but Spiral flopped. As a result, Spiral was effectively "erased" by Ringu 2 the following year.

Outside of the number 2 next to the title, Ringu and The Ring Two take different approaches to telling a sequel story. What they do share is a director. Hideo Nakata, the director of Ringu and Ringu 2, also directed The Ring Two. The Japanese sequel picks up a month after Ringu. The 2000 movie Ring 0 is a prequel to Ringu.

The Japanese films are more faithful to Koji Suzuki's novels and stories. The Hollywood versions borrow pieces from the books and Japanese films--Rings, for instance, was inspired by the book Spiral--but many aspects aren't found anywhere in the source material.

Ring Book Series by Koji Suzuki

The Ring by Koji Suzuki

Suzuki's series includes six books, and five of them are available in English. If you like the movie series and haven't read the books, four of the novels and the short story collection Birthday are available for $14 or less in paperback. Stories in Birthday served as the inspiration for Ringu 0. And if you plan on watching the Japanese movies, reading the books first could enhance your overall experience.

The Ring Books in Paperback:

1. Ring: A Novel -- $14
2. Spiral: A Novel -- $11.16 ($14)
3. Loop: A Novel -- $13 ($14)
4. Birthday: Stories -- $14
5. S: A Novel -- $11.10 ($15)

We'd also recommend a couple of Suzuki's books outside of Ring. Suzuki's short story collection Dark Water is available in paperback for $13 at Amazon. Dark Water was adapted for film by Ringu director Hideo Nakata. You can get Dark Water Special Edition on Blu-ray and DVD for $21 (was $35) at Amazon. Just like Ringu, Dark Water received a Hollywood remake starring Jennifer Connelly and John C. Reilly.

You can also get his Shirley Jackson Award-winning novel Edge for $13.90 (was $15). Other Suzuki novels that have been translated to English include the love stories The Shining Sea and Paradise.

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