Since this movie is an adaptation of Mr. Koji Suzuki's Lemonheart which is among the 3 stories contained in Ringu 0: Baasudei that was released in 1999, it's sufficient say that the director did pretty well with altering some of its contents to suit the interpretation of the previous movies (Ringu and Ringu 2) which was also unparalleled. I don't think the storyline was confusing at all since it mostly concentrated on Sadako's life (Derived from Lemonheart) and doesn't really focus on the curse of the video tape. I think it depends on "how well" you understand this movie that will determine how much you appreciate it or not. Since I took the time to search for an informative website that clarified some of the scenes from the movie, I've accrued better understanding of the story and respect for it.<br /><br />What I truly love about this movie is the fact that they wanted us to feel sympathetic towards Sadako's character albeit the wickedness of what we see in Ringu and Ringu 2. Bravo to Yukie Nakama for portraying Sadako's character effectively. She's one of those few actresses that can truly set your emotions rising and falling from within. It's designed to tell us the tragic story of Sadako's life before the cursed video tape, which exceeded from my own expectations. That is what makes it unique from the previous movies. It's dramatic atmosphere haunted me and made me justify why such a character would turn out to be malevolent in Ringu.<br /><br />I can see why many are baffled by the story since the one who directed this is not Nakata Hideo and obviously lingered a bit from the previous adaptations (I guess you might say more on the book than Ringu and Ringu 2.).<br /><br />My verdict: 10/10***