If life hands you a lemon, you make lemonade, right? So what happens if life hands you a kumquat
If life hands you a lemon, you make lemonade, right? So what happens if life hands you a kumquat
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Let's cut to the chase, 'The Ring' is the best film I've seen in ages. It's been a very long time since I emerged from a cinema feeling shaken, emotionally drained and in desperate need of a stiff drink, the last time was probably when 'Se7en' came out. Put simply, The Ring scared the crap out of me.
There are two kinds of horror film these days, the first is the trendy, post-modern teen-slasher flick epitomised by the likes of Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer and more recently Final Destination 2. All good fun, for sure, but none of them what I'd call really 'scary', not like the classic horrors of the 70's like The Exorcist, The Shining and The Omen. Thanks to a little film called 'The Sixth Sense' though, proper 'scary' films - with proper 'scary' storylines, good acting, originality and genuine suspense are back in fashion again (Stir of Echoes, Blair Witch, The Others, What Lies Beneath etc..).
The Ring most definitely falls into the latter of these categories and, for my money, is easily the best yet. Having an intriging and chilling premise means that The Ring is on to a winner from the start, it goes something like this: There's a videotape. If you watch it, you will die seven days later. We know this because the film opens
with two teenage girls, alone in the house at night, trying to frighten each other with gory tales and urban legends. When one of the girls mentions the tape, the other confesses to having watched it a week earlier and sure enough, doesn't live to see the morning.
Brit actress Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive) plays Rachel Keller, an investigative journalist and the dead girl's aunt who, at the funeral, hears the girl's friends discussing the tape and takes it on herself to investigate further, as most common-sense-deprived, horror movie heroines are wont to do. Ok, so the investigation turns out to be ludicrously easy and Rachel soon has her hands on a copy of the tape, so what does she do then? Yes, you guessed it, she slots it into the VCR and presses 'play'....
We, the audience, get to see it too and I must say that even this left me chilled to the bone. Although the images themselves are fairly abstract and innofensive - a well, a ladder, some maggots, a woman brushing her hair etc... the tape as a whole has a supernatural, sinister presence to it that had me (and Trampsie) fidgeting uncomfortably in our seats. Maybe it's the lack of sound, or the grainy, black & white picture, or the twitchy, unearthly movement. Whatever it was, it's safe to say that if anything even remotely resembling those images ever appear on MY telly unannounced, I'll be out of that living room door quicker than a greased ferret. Anyway, I digress. When the tape finishes, the phone rings and Rachel is informed by a child's voice that she'll be dead in a week.
What follows are a series of increasingly unnerving events and revelations as Rachel's quest taps into a forty-year old mystery involving an evil curse, insane murderous women, creepy psychic children (a key ingredient in any good horror flick) and a suicidal horse. A mystery that Rachel has only seven days to unravel before she, and her son, come to an untimely and gruesome demise...
In the lead role, Naomi Watts does rather well. Her character isn't particularly likeable (she's stubborn, pushy, self involved and not what you'd call a beacon of warmth) but then again in her situation, you wouldn't exactly be a barrel of laughs either and Watts performance certainly comes across as believable.
Brian Cox (the original Hannibal Lecter) is good too, even though he plays the same role in almost every film he's in. Here he's the creepy old bloke who lives in the woods and may or may not know more about the mystery than he's letting on.
Unknown actor Martin Henderson plays a photographer and Rachel's estranged husband, Noah, who tags along for the ride and provides the (extremely sparse) light relief, while her son, Aidan, is convincingly played by David Dorfman who, while not exactly Haley Joel Osment, is engaging enough for the role.
Behind the camera, director Gore Verbinski works wonders. Not the most obvious choice for a horror movie helmer (despite the rather apt name!) seeing as his previous films include the family comedy 'Mousehunt' with Lee Evans, Nathan Lane and erm.. a mouse, and the light, romantic adventure 'The Mexican' with Julia Roberts and Brad 'ooh-what-a-big-beard-I've-got' Pitt. Although both of those films are actually quite good, you'd never have thought that he could deliver the kind of film that leaves you feeling hollow and exhausted long after the lights have come up (imagine the tagline on the posters: "From the Director of Mousehunt"!)
Rather than relying on go-for-the-throat blood and guts (although the poor horse gets a bad deal), Verbinski lets the tension and unease creep up on you, slowly at first, sinister, like a gathering storm. Subtlety and silence are the best way to unsettle an audience, that way when the big leap-out-of-your-seat moments do come, they really do pack a punch and the final moments of this film will leave cinema staff having to clean popcorn from the ceiling for weeks to come.
Alternatively, seeing as The Ring was released in America several months ago and if going out to the flicks isn't your thing, you can order the region 1 DVD from places like play.com and amazon.com, both of which are currently offering it for £14.99 (delivered) and you can leave popcorn stuck to your living room ceiling instead. You can also order 'Ringu', the original Japanese film that this was based on and is, according to many, the scariest film ever made. However, to get the full atmosphere and effect I strongly recommend catching this on the biggest screen you can find.
The Ring is everything a horror film should be, well acted, superbly directed, evil, disturbing and genuinely frightening. Pack a spare pair of undies and be prepared to be reduced to a quivering, ashen-faced wreck. Full marks from the Howiemon.
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What an excellent op!
I have seen the japaneese origional and the sequel. Was in 2 mins about whether to see this one or not, I think I probably shall now.
Toonarmy 31.08.2003 16:05
I there something wrong with me? I didn't find this scary! Intriguing about the video but not scary.
buzios 12.08.2003 02:23
I agree that it was scary - a well put together film. I saw the Japanese version also and I have to say that this version gave a few more clues as to what it was all about. Maybe I shouldn't try to read too much into it and be satisified with being well scared - but what did it all mean? I felt a little disappointed that I didn't really understand what the point was - who was the girl and what was the purpose of her strange chain letter style videos? Maybe I'm just stupid - so good op on a good film (I think).
An unexpected marriage of big-budget production values and low-budget instincts,The ... more
Ringoffers chills to be savoured. Usually when Hollywood indulges its cash-hungry game of remaking foreign films the result sacrifices much of what made the original so...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
An unexpected marriage of big-budget production values and low-budget instincts,The ... more
Ringoffers chills to be savoured. Usually when Hollywood indulges its cash-hungry game of remaking foreign films the result sacrifices much of what made the original so...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: supernatural horror, done in the best possible way Disadvantages: it makes you think, it's not gory (couldbe disadvantages depending on who you are)
pesky33 26.05.2004 (30.05.2004)
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Review of The Ring (DVD)
Advantages: Eerie, kind of scary (but more disturbing really), the ending was a real twist - unpredictablity is great! Disadvantages: The horse scene was unnecessary in my opinion
Sarah_Louise 02.04.2003 (02.04.2003)
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Review of The Ring (DVD)
Advantages: Gripping and eerie! Disadvantages: Not enough conclusions made about mysterious videotape and other parts of story, and the explanations that are given are brief
spobz 11.03.2003 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Ring (DVD)
![The Ring [DVD] [2003]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78523730.jpg "The Ring [DVD] [2003]")
Mar 7th, 2003
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