The Ring (2002)

The Ring

I first saw this movie when I was 11 in theaters, it was the first horror movie I had ever seen, and it had me terrified for months.

For me it far surpassed the "borderline" from scary to too scary in a single leap.

Ever since then (6 years), however, no horror movies have been in the least bit frightening. I honestly marvel at the stuff that gets called "horror", and for the longest time I was searching for horror movies that were "actually scary", only to learn inevitably that there are very, very few.

Here is the distinguishing difference: there are movies that scare you while you watch them, and there are movies that scare you after you watch them. This is both. This is the kind of film that haunts you while you are awake in the middle of the day, or just walking around your house, or going to sleep. Your imagination (if you have one, which many people do not, and that is why they don't appreciate this film) will run wild with the imagery, sounds, and atmosphere The Ring creates, long after you have seen it.

There are plenty of problems with the film, many things that could have been done better in my opinion, but regardless there are some terrific moments in The Ring, and believe me when I say that you will create your own moments after you have seen it. It definitely is on par with its Japanese predecessor Ringu, and really stands on its own.

No gore, no cheesy slasher killers hiding in the closet, no teenagers getting chased around dark houses. This is some real psychological horror, and despite all its shortcomings, I love this film. December 29, 2008

.... and then you die

Every horror buff knows -- the horror that creeps up on you gradually is much, much scarier the one who bounces out and yells "boo" as it decapitates somebody with a machete.

And sadly, most current "horror" movies lack horror, because it's easier to substitute it with screaming blondes, blood, guts and sharp objects. But "The Ring" is soaked in foreboding, creepiness and horrific imagery. Director Gore Verbinski relies heavily on the original Japanese movie for a lot of his remake's flavor, and the result is a slow-building terror that keeps twisting right up to the end.

Single mum Rachel (Naomi Watts) is attending her niece's funeral, after she died under bizarre circumstances. Several of her friends died on the exact same day, at the same time, which (surprise surprise) makes Rachel think this isn't a coincidence. So she investigates the mountain cabin all the kids stayed at a week ago, and finds an unlabeled videotape with a series of bizarre images -- and a curse that will kill you one week afterwards.

She enlists the help of her ex-boyfriend Noah (Martin Henderson) to help her unravel and break the curse. The secret of the tape is wrapped up in a young girl, Samara, who vanished from her adoptive parents' horse farm years ago. Somehow Samara's evil rage has lived in on her curse, and it will destroy Rachel, Noah and their son unless Rachel can find a way to escape it.

Remaking Asian horror movies is one of those movie trends that is hanging on in Hollywood, with everything from "The Grudge" to "The Eye" to "Bangkok Dangerous" getting the A-list Hollywood treatment. Some are good, some are mediocre, most are wretched. But "The Ring" was the first of these, adapted from Hideo Nakata's adaptation of Koji Suzuki's novel (cue cries of "but the original was better). And it achieves the distinction of being almost as atmospheric and haunting as the original.

Most of its brilliance comes from director Gore Verbinski, who thankfully did not simply use the name and concept, and invent a teenybopper plot around that. This is actually rather similar to Nakata's adaptation -- Verbinski alters some few things from the original film, but keeps the same dark, murky atmosphere and many of the same scenes. Even the cinematography has a dark, overcast look, filled with forbidding symbolism -- lots of grey skies and overflowing water. It's as if Samara's influence is permeating everything.

And what about the horror? It comes from the building tension as Rachel's deadline creeps toward us, and brief flashes of Samara's influence -- for example, that poor horse going berserk on a ferry, or the blurred-out faces of the doomed. The entire movie is infused with the feeling that something invisible and ghastly is just waiting to attack you, and it's just waiting for the right moment.

The keystone of this movie is Naomi Watts. This talented actress is virtually perfect as the perpetually worried, perplexed Rachel; as the deadline approaches, her fear and grief are almost palpably overwhelming. Henderson is also good, whether as a flip carefree artist or as a caring ex-boyfriend. Dorfman is the one disappointment -- he seems less like a little boy than a pompous oracle, and he's almost creepier than Samara.

Which is saying something, because Daveigh Chase is utterly chilling as Samara Morgan, a creepy little devil-child with black weedy hair over her face, a white nightgown and "Omen" eyes. In keeping with the watery theme of the movie, she always seems vaguely damp.

"The Ring" is one of those rarest kinds of movies -- a remake with its own flavour, even as it sticks to the original story. Excellent direction, great acting, and the haunting determination to never, ever watch an unlabeled movie again. November 24, 2008

OOOOOver-hyped...

Wow...thought this was going to be MUCH better than it was...with so many critics putting this and its Japanese counterpart-Ringu-on their top 10 or 50 or whatever scariest films I thought this would be a classic...nope...certainly not...while there are some well done moments that build suspense, the story itself is such a mishmash of different ideas you really don't care--and the twist at the end?? That the main character went through all this stuff trying to help out a girl ghost who is actually evil?!? That was massively tacked on, as though the filmmaker/author was trying to one up the run of "twist" movies like 6th Sense and others...Overall it was a waste Naomi Watts' good looks and mediocre acting, neither scary nor fulfilling... October 27, 2008

It's all about atmoshpere

Like all masterpieces in the horror genre, this film succeeds not on the basis of gore and slash, of which there is little, but on the basis of the single most important element for a great horror film--atmosphere. The Ring uses unusual, creepy imagery (the twisted photos, the "death" film), color and shadows, unexpected episodes (the horse on the ferry, the coughing up of the medical patch), spooky settings (the remote island, the well), and truly frightening plot twists to keep the suspense and fear factor high. Some critics panned this film in favor of Ringu, but I can only guess that they were afflicted by the "if it's less popular or rarer it must be better" syndrome. I saw Ringu and found it rather absurd (and not intentionally), and not much in the way of frightening, either. Sometimes bigger budget films do get it right. The Ring is one of them. October 26, 2008

Frisson at its best!

I watched this film because I thought it was another I had seen several years ago. It wasn't. "The Ring" is much more. Another reviewer called it a cerebral exercise in terror. Exactly! What could have been so hokey became excellent frisson (that thrilling moment that makes your hair prickle).

First, the premise: An urban legend that watching this particular video, receiving a phone call immediately after watching will cause your death in exactly seven days. Don't we pooh-pooh urban legends? "The Ring" makes us consider their validity.

Second, the video itself. Where did it come from? Who made it? How? Why? So many questions, none answered, ever.

Third, again the video. What do the scenes represent? The strange, surreal images?

That brings in Naomi Watts' character, a reporter doubly bound in the story, first through her son, not unlike the boy in "The Sixth Sense" with his sixth sense for the supernatural. Aiden is definitely attuned to the other world.

Secondly, Rachal is bound to the story through her research. Her niece watched the movie and died horribly seven days later. Rachal first watches the tape, then begins investigating the images. One by one she peels off the layers of this gothic mystery/puzzle/freakshow.

Rachal's appearance in the movie parallels the changes with the story. At the beginning she is frankly beautiful, cool and assured. As revelations unfold and she begins to experience frisson, she begins a shift in appearance, becoming rumpled. By movie's end she is almost gray, as if psychologically preparing to join the urban legend dead.

The viewer's frisson builds. The ending is a nightmare. "The Ring" is definitely a cerebral experience in terror.

SPOILER ALERT:
One of those fast flashes of film reveals this: "Live birth." An intriguing bit of information that many viewers and reviewers missed or I misinterpreted. It explains better what happens at the well between Anna and Samara.

A definite see-again movie!!

Special recognition goes to Jeffrey Leach for his superb review. Please read his for a great overview of this haunting film. October 20, 2008

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