“The Ring” serves as a solid horror movie and an excellent remake. Based off the 1998 Japanese horror film “Ringu” which I covered and enjoyed, the 2002 version remains one of the top horror movies of the century.
Have you heard about this video tape that kills you when you watch it?
Both films follow the same premise. A mysterious video tape is endowed with a curse. Anyone who watches the tape will die exactly seven days later. The movie chronicles the life of Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) a reporter who views the tape while doing researching a story.
Rachel lives with her spooky and baleful looking son Aidan (David Dorfman). Though originally skeptical of the curse, Rachel begins to notice strange things. She encounters the disturbing images from the tape and becomes convinced that the curse is real. With the help of a former love interest (Martin Henderson), Rachel begins an investigation into the source of the video tape, and the horror behind the mayhem.
“The Ring” has no gore and only a handful of shocking and effective jump scares. The terror comes from the ticking seven day clock Rachel is up against. The movie features some great chilling moments, specifically the tape itself, which plays back in an eerie resolution and reveals a series of random and ghostly images.
Things from 2002 add to the tension. A ringing phone. Static blaring from a TV. A scene towards the end is one of the most iconic moments in horror film history.
The noir atmosphere adds to the effect.
Naomi Watts is a perfect female lead; beautiful in a way that beautiful used to actually mean something, and properly helpless as should be the case for a terrific terrifying tale. She flashes Sinatra-like blue eyes and since much of the movie depicts close-ups of her, I didn’t mind.
At 1:55 it is a touch too long. The scares are well balanced and the gist is more mystery than horror. Set against the gloomy backdrop of Seattle, the noir atmosphere adds to the effect.
Guess what? We are 99 days from October 1st. “The Ring” is a good horror movie, and a good remake. For a double bill, watch it with “Ringu” and decide for yourself which is the better version.
“The Ring” is currently available to stream on Netflix.
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