hello! i know it's been a while, and my sincerest apologies everyone for being away for so long. i'm...
hello! i know it's been a while, and my sincerest apologies everyone for being away for so long. i'm going to catch up on as many ops as i can in the next few weeks! sorry again x
Member since:04.02.2003
Reviews:19
Members who trust:38
I saw the first advert for this film about 6 months ago, and to be honest, it looked quite crap. The title itself seemed quite laughable, and many adolescent boys that I know pointed out the connotations of it. It looked like another rubbish teen flick (I know that sounds strange coming from a sixteen year old) with no plot, crap acting, and a pretty blonde. Since it came out, I’ve heard people raving about how scary and brilliant it is, but these reviews came from the sort of people that enjoy teen flicks with no plot, crap acting and a pretty blonde. But whilst at work the other day, I was talking to a friend of mine who likes many of the films that I do and said that ‘The Ring’ was worth a watch. So I thought ‘what the hell!’
Five minutes into the film, ‘what the hell?!?!?!’ is exactly what was running through my head. It begins with two sixteen year old girls talking about strange videotape, after you watch it the phone rings and a voice says, ‘Seven days.’ Seven days later, you die. But I am glad to announce that it does get better from here on. One of the girls, Katie (Amber Tamblyn) realises that she had watched a creepy tape exactly even days earlier! (What’s a girl to do!) The girls dismiss it as a silly urban legend. Then at exactly 10 o’clock (the time that Katie and three of her friends had watched the tape a week earlier) the phone rings. Katie begins
to freak out. Turns out to be her mother. She then realises that something is a little strange. Unable to find her friend, she approaches her bedroom cautiously, once in there, something happens to her, although it is not clear what. It is discovered that she suffered some sort of stroke. Four days later, Katie’s aunty, Rachel, (Naomi Watts) and cousin, Aidan, (David Dorfman) attend her funeral. Katie’s mother who is puzzled by her death asks Rachael, who is a reporter to try and find out if there is anything that could have caused her sixteen year old daughter’s heart to just stop.
Rachael discovers that Katie’s boyfriend and two of her friends also died at exactly 10 o’clock on the same night as she. She then hears of this videotape that they had all watched, so she travels to the shack that they apparently watched the video a week before they died, and watches the tape. It contains a series of disturbing shots including a mysterious woman throwing herself off a cliff, a lighthouse, a box of fingers etc. These images are clues as to the history behind the videotape. After she watches it, the phone rings and a voice on the other end says, “Seven days”. She begins to believe the story about the tape. She shows that tape to her ex boyfriend, Noah (Martin Henderson) to see what he thinks. (Which I thought was a bit harsh. I mean, I don’t get on with one on two of my ex’s, but still, I thought that showing him a killer videotape was a bit over the top). Rachael later finds Aidan watching the tape. Rachael and Noah are forced to use their remaining time to try and discover the secrets of the tape in order to save the lives of their son and their own.
It is not 100% clear where the tape has actually come from. It has a lot to do with a strange little girl named Samara (Daveigh Chase). Who is contacting Aidan, or so we are told. We never actually see this, and why she is speaking to him is also a mystery. My only conclusion is that they were trying to give this film a feel of the ‘Sixth Sense’ and ‘The Shining’, but didn’t quite manage to pull it off. How the tape was made and by who, also unexplained, implied but not made clear. Not wanting to give too much about the film away, I’ll shut up now, but lots of things in ‘The Ring’ are not explained, those who have seen it will know exactly what I’m talking about, for example, why doesn't everyone who watches the tape die, you know exactly who it is that I am referring to. You leave the film trying to draw your own conclusions, and with a film this complicated, it hurts after a while. I watched this film and expected the mystery unfold there and then, but no, I guess I’m going to have to wait for the sequel.
I’m not a big fan of these slash horror movies, and ‘The Ring’ is definitely not one of these, it more of a psychological horror, as well as being incredibly jumpy. Parts are quite disturbing. E.g. some of the corpses left a few distressing images in my mind. If you’ve seen it, you’ll what I mean by the horses. Which is another part of the story in which an extremely brief explanation is given. However, it isn’t as scary as many had told me. It’s creepy, I agree but spine-chillingly terrifying it is not.
A good performance from Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive), but had limited expressions (mainly realisation) and wasn’t always convincing in her role. Very good performances from both David Dorfman (Bounce) and Martin Henderson (Windtalkers). I can see David Dorfman being the next Haley Joel Osment, I haven’t seen any of this little rising star’s other films but having seen his acting in ‘The Ring’, I will be sure to make an effort to see them and watch out for him in the future. A Fantastic performance from another young up and coming actor, Daveigh Chase (Lilo & Stitch) playing the evil Samara. Although we don’t really see a lot of her, she is believable and commendable. She plays many different parts whilst playing this afraid, troubled, wicked little girl. Another one that I will be sure to watch out for. Unfortunately, Samara bears an uncanny resemblance to a girl I know, and I will probably be approaching her with caution in the future.
There aren’t many affects used, but those that are used, like in the videotape itself, are good. The film doesn’t really need many affects, and little as possible have been used to make to film more psychosomatic that in your face gore and violence.
The music to the film was really effective. It built tension and suspense throughout. The music was appropriate to particular scenes and was only used when it was completely necessary.
The film is based on the Japanese film, Ringu, released back in 1998, which I haven’t seen, but I have heard is slightly better, but I’ll have to wait for Ringu’s DVD release to make a judgement.
Overall, this was a very well done film, with a gripping plot and fascinating twists. I would recommend ‘The Ring’ to anyone.
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I've seen the orginal, your not missing much trust me! Good concise review. Keep up the good work.
jenni_a 21.06.2003 22:13
When I saw this film I was quite disappointed, I'm not a huge horror fan as I believe horrors should scare you and none I seen have really bothered me I tend to end up laughing and this was no exception but I thought the storyine was better than others I've seen although you're right it wasn't well explained which made it quite complex, I left the cinema explaining what the ending meant to my friends. Great op love Jenni xx :o)
Dawsoj2 28.05.2003 14:19
Good op, I must admit I saw the film and I hated it. Personaly I loved the Japenese version, and as i watched that one first I think it ruined the US version for me. The thing is though the Japenese version is a trilogy, it goes Ring O, Ring, and Ring 2.
All good and I would recommend them to anyone.
James
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: 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)
![The Ring [DVD] [2003]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78523730.jpg "The Ring [DVD] [2003]")
Mar 11th, 2003
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