Ringu (1998): Does it live up to the hype?

Bloody Disgusting, along with other listicles on the net, hailed Ringu as one of the best ’90s horror films of all time. Universally the film is held in high regard. Boasting an almost-perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes (98%), it also had a solid audience rating of 7.2 /10 on IMDb.

But as I delved into this cinematic gem, I couldn’t help but wonder: does it truly live up to the hype?