HALF-DROWNED HOUND 
Ringu (1998)
My main gripe with the Ringu vs The Ring beef is that both of them are solid films; it's just a matter of which part you're more interested in: the horror or the tragedy. Ringu is undoubtedly the more horrific of the two.
I have to admit that it took a couple viewings of Ringu to really appreciate it, but once you appreciate it, you really do. The score in particular- which, if you've read all my reviews, you'll find is vital to me- is understated yet effective, only present when absolutely necessary and bringing with it a deep eeriness. (The song that plays over the credits is also a total banger.) Between the unsettling stings, the film almost lets you relax; we see Reiko accompanying her son to his grandfather's house and watching the two of them fish, for example, between scenes about mysterious curses. Also, this probably goes without saying, but the 'crawling out of the TV' scene is unbearable on the first watch- and this is coming from someone who's very hard to disturb with even a good horror movie.
Ringu, being an adaptation, has the unique advantage opportunity to improve upon another piece of art. Not too many adaptations do this, as we all know, but the choices made in Ringu to distinguish it from Ring are certainly appreciated. It definitely benefits from having a female lead, as opposed to book!Asakawa, who's an accomplice to violent misogyny, and making Ryuji (said violent misogynist) less absolutely unbearable. also, they made the first scene kinda gay, which I appreciate. gotta get a little yurious with it. It's definitely a movie that's a breath of fresh air.
One thing (and really the only thing) that was a bit of a letdown about Ringu- which, to clarify, is exclusively a me thing and not an actual lack of quality, but worth mentioning anyway, I suppose- is the relative lack of actual investigation, considering the story is centered around a journalist. I'm not going to say it's a copout to have a deuteragonist with psychic powers, because it isn't, and because it may very well be a cultural thing that I'd be a dickwad for insulting, but it's just not my cup of tea so much as a crime procedural-adjacent film would be. On the other hand, I do think the lack of emphasis on research and tangible evidence does lend more unsettling aspects to it. It's ungrounded from the 'real' world, shoving you outside the bounds of logic and the soothing methodicalness of more conventional mystery-solving tactics. As I said, it really is a matter of preference.
As a final note: I hate to spend half the review comparing the three versions of Ring, but in such a culturally ubiquitous universe- did anyone else see the Sadako Neopet?- it's hard to separate the three from each other. So, I'm sorry about that. I'll leave you with this, in a vacuum: Ringu is an excellent film that utilizes both silence and sound to portray a harrowing story that's fully worthy of the reputation it's gained.