The Ring

my only real issue with the remake is they put too much stuff in the video

it is also amazing how the the faces of the ppl killed by the tape in the remake look even more terrifying than in the og

some combo of drowned, strangled, and decayed

it may be that I had a poor VHS copy of the original, if so that was a blessing.

the characterisation I didn't like was expanding on the journalist / mother's life as a stressed professional single mum, it wasn't so much that it was a change from the original, it was just that it felt like they were trying to humanize her / build identification with her, which for me works against the mood of the film.

but yeah, making the kid a generic creepy kid would also go on my list.

It sounds like what you liked about the original is that it was... inscrutable

the characterisation I didn't like was expanding on the journalist / mother's life as a stressed professional single mum, it wasn't so much that it was a change from the original, it was just that it felt like they were trying to humanize her / build identification with her, which for me works against the mood of the film.

there's literally not much more material on this in the remake than there is in the original, they even have the same line of dialogue about it (can't remember exactly what it is but it's something like "he's used to me being away")