Do you like scary movies? No, really. After the self knowing, irony by numbers of Scream I truly thought that horror as a genre had had its day and I'd never be scared by a film ever again. The dull art school posturing of Blair Witch Project only served to re-enforce that belief. So whats gone wrong? Well, we're all so knowing these days, safe in our 21st century homes - we just don't scare that easy. Monsters, zombies, vampires, even serial killers - it all seems so, well, old fashioned. They don't fit readilly into our world, we can't feel the threat.
This is where Ring steps in. Made a year before Blair Witch with an equally miniscule budget, Ring is a contender for the scariest movie ever made. The premise is simple and very modern: A new rumour is doing the rounds in the school yards of Japan - that a group of teenagers had watched a disturbing video of indecipherable images and that exactly a week later they all died a horrifying (yet unidentified) death. It's the perfect urban myth. Reiko, a cynical journalist sets out to investigate the story, manages to track down the tape and, inevitably, her curiosity drives her to watch it. . . .
Cue a seven day race against time as Reiko realises with terror that she has unleashed the unearthly curse within the tape. Can she discover the meaning behind those unsettling videotape images in time?
Its hard to pin down exactly why Ring is scary. It's a traditional Japanese ghost story, but it's the modern spin that makes it so disturbing. Televisions, videotapes, normally so familiar and benign to us are given a deeply sinister presence. It's been done before in Videodrome or even Poltergeist, but never like this.
The camerawork is sparse and atmospheric and the use of soundtrack creates a sense of dread throughout. In a world of formulaic 'shock' endings, the conclusion of Ring is, put simply, the most terrifying ever committed to film. Ever. The true horror of Ring won't neccesarily hit you at the time of viewing. But Ring is a movie that will leave lasting chilling images days, months after you view it. Believe me, if you have been brought up thinking Hollywood blood guts and 'he's behind you' is the last word in scares, get ready for a shock.
Dark, moody, and creepy as hell. Don't watch it alone. And make sure you unplug the tv afterwards...
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2000 - Horror - Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Carmen Electra, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, James Van Der Beek, Keenen Ivory Wayans
Saw both the original and the remake. Thought this was better with the scary twist at the end. Good review *
Heidavey 27.12.2002 20:18
see this before it is remade. Not quite enough for a VH but still helpful. Oh and how can subtitles be a disadvantage. Its better than dubbed surely? D.
Sep 10th, 2002
very helpful by (73%):
helpful by (27%):
