The Ring Movie Reviews

This is deffinantly scary movie. DO NOT SEE THIS ALONE. Not horror but exctemley suspensful. I loved this movie so much I couldnt resist to see it once nor twice but I saw it 3 times. I saw this in a manshion very scary.

The main plot of the movie is there is this movie about this girl in a well. And surrounding it is a ring. It is based on a chineese movie called the ringu. That is the original. It is not predictable at all. Alot of wierd parts. The director is wierd from my point of view. They are already making another movie ''The ring 2.''

The cast and crew did a good job. One of my favorite parts was when the boy heard things that part was kinda wierd. If you see the movie you get a phone call that says 7days. It knows you watched it somehow.

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The ring starts with two friends talking in the bedroom about a video tape..if you watch it ..you will die within the next seven days. Then one of them says that she saw it and starts choking and falls on the floor. Then she gets up and starts laughing. The fact is she really DID see it 7 days ago and she has to die this very night if the whole thing is TRUE!!! So, next minute she goes down to the kitchen to get something. No ones home. Then the TV is switched on by itself. She goes to turn it off and the minute she turns around...it is switched on again!! Trust me....at this moment you know that this is going to be 2 hours of scary shit.....By the end of the movie....I was like...what if we die within the next 7 days...as we HAVE watched this..Trust me if the phone had rang that minute...I would have died!!! This flick is scary 100%. Naomi Watts is excellent. The plot is a bit confusing and story goes everywhere but it's okay.

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Presenting the Ghost Fashion Week. Ghosts are going really high fashion. 12th floor apartment ghosts with black straps, driving ghosts with goggles, and now a ghost which even makes 3D effects movies look outdated.

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What would you do if you had to endure labour pains and all that came out was nothing? Cant even comprehend? Right? That was how I felt about 'The Ring' on first watching. And after that all I wanted was to be heard and find out about this movie (emotions please, come on even ghosts have them, so why cnat I?). I wanted a ring formed so that someone actually helped me. And nothing happened. And then Suyog happened to me and I was a bit enlightened (Iam in a sea of dumbness (the kind which comes from not having watched a single sensible movie in past half year), so that does not say much. This is more about how I felt about movie on one viewing. How I feel now? Read on in the comments else in 7 days.........

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Just in case you did not get even after watching the movie what is the big thing about the ring [whether it is pseudo philosophy, the solar eclipse by stone on top of the well duh!, or the ring as in endless journey across the circumference, keep thinking] let me tell you - It is Nothing (/what appears, find it out right at the end of the movie */)! This is a whole truck load of bull excreta served. Looks like the original writer could not proceed further beyond a point and the replacement ended up writing something completely different and hence the last 30 minutes of the movie and the rest of the movie are as different as cheese and chalk /I still maintain this */.

Film ends putting more questions than answering any (do they plan a sequel to answer it?). First of all why the heck a tape??? (/* Yes why a tape. Is it a ghost story or Urban Legend? /) Why was Samara(what a name?) like this in her life and more importantly in her death (/ if you are also suitably brain dead like me, read on in the comments section /) and how on earth did she chance upon this sweet little boy once she was a ghost (used a random number generator or was the boy a privileged (???) chap?). And the ghost, even if she did all this illogical stuff (she was insane you know!), why did she tell peeps that they are going to die? And then ofcourse, why the hell does she spare the main heroine? Since she is mother of the kid or has she got some sympathy for her? (/Read on in comments /) And why the heck does she never sleep in her life and death? (/Stupid me, she never slept in her life, so how can she in death, but why she did not in her life itself? /) Why she goes out to spook the peeps is not answered as well and why only allow the privilege of being spooked to only those who watched the damn tape (/tring tring*/). There are more questions, why the hell her father commit a ghastly suicide and why in such a whacko fashion? But I did get one answer: why 7 days only, and no it is not because God made the world in 7 days.

And what is the trick? After 7 days be right where she was when was dead? Nah! that could not be true. (/Comments section if you want answers */) Maybe they were just too hi-fi and I am so brain dead (/how obvious*/) that I could not get it. So if anyone did get any clue to above questions, please do enlighten me in comments, I will be highly thankful, really, since I did not know what to do when I was watching the movie - feel scared, sorry for the poor soul or look for some answers somewhere. It does not help that this spook fest is not done by Ram Gopal Verma who would have advised me graciously (eat your popcorn in DMH, nails in Bhoot and probably, Chhat Papri in MMDBCH).

And still I finished it. And how? No, no I did not close the eyes and think of K3G (and no not MPKDH either, in hindsight that would have been more scary). Well I kept admiring the camera work (looks like this is the only thing going on), the camera work esp. of the tree and the haunted images is amazing. Some of the background score works as well though mostly it is the camera and the art direction which gives a cloudy (literally) look to the whole movie. And was that Island brought out creditably or not. Editing is also praise worthy which keeps you interested for some portion of the movie, poor chap did not have the luxury of a climax (literally). And I kept waiting for the horses and there are exactly two scenes with them (duh!). What else was good? Humn the heroine was hot! She looked smashing in some scenes, too bad that there were no scenes (I mean scenes). As it is her acting seems stuck on expressions of surprise and stoicism, she is either this cold lady or surprised lady, nothing more nothing less. The male lead, who ever he was has a supporting role at best and the kid was good but suffered from a horrible character sketch. Just why the hell does he start seeing all this?

Overall, not at all a spook fest. Still you can watch it, since so many peeps watched it anyway (it is a hit right?), so maybe the thing that was wrong was me and not the movie. But one advise on my experience, dont look for any reason (or if someone could put it in comments section if they found any , please come back and read it here :)). Since she never sleeps, a sequel may please be made to tell us just why the hell? I will recommend it so that possibly some one sees what I did not and hence, tells me.

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Question: Why the hell are the ghosts so fond of killing. Well if the ghost kills me, first thing I'll do after I get killed (means I am too a ghost now) is give that ghost a tough time. Any insights?

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The Ring is one of the freakyest movies made in recent times. Honestly it scared the hell out of me. The movie has the best plot for a scary movie I have seen in a while. If you have a weak heart stay home. There is not a normal horror movies with scary skulls instead it is one of those movies where you comeout and say Oh My GOD what was that. The movie is very well made and I am not going to give out any plot go watch it and wait for the call you will know what I mean. It has amazying picturization with Nine Inch Nails video symbolism going thru the whole movie Check it out. You Live once so might as well get scared once in a while it is very well done movie. Go Watch it.....

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Still reading my reviews after the Thums-up! one? You are dafter than I thought!!! ;) Anyway I thought I'd write something worthy of your intellect this time. Trust me, I'm not patronizing you.

I'd hate to regurgitate the plot for the umpteenth time. I think the film deserves a bit more of a poke under the surface than that. If you're only interested in things that make you jump then you really haven't gotten beyond the 'roller-coaster' mentality of watching a film. If you are keen to explore a more psychological horror then this is a flick for you…..

It's basically a good old folklore ghost story yarn about looking in that trunk in your weird uncle's attic that you've been told not to go near. The trunk is replaced by mysterious unmarked videotape and lo and behold (!), some weirdo Japanese minimalist brainwashing material has been recorded on it, and why not? This is Hollywood using a good thing that the Japanese film industry just couldn't sell to an International audience (unless they were Art House nuts; good news if you are a committed 'Ringer'! There are seven in the Japanese series now). Having realised that 'Six Sense' and even 'Signs' were good for a certain customer (All hail to my old mate, Knight for bravely directing those two films), Hollywood extended its appeal from the recent teenage slash movies to something a wee bit more intelligent. Back to that mysterious trunk in the attic….

You know it's wrong to look, you've been told and you've been warned, but people just can't help themselves; can they? On goes the video and our heroine (or anti-heroine) is bombarded with the weirdo minimalist stuff I mentioned earlier. She was warned!! Even the kid who ended up in the nut house knew at the beginning of the film (and to her shock found out that her best pal had watched the minimalist Japanese junk) and saw the consequence of 'seven days later'… but OK our main character looks and then goes threw the worst seven days of her life. The creepy child's voice on the other end of the phone… ''Seven days.'' And you know our heroine is screwed!

As time progresses, she's screwed, her son's screwed and her ex-boyfriend is most definitely screwed; all by a phantasm that can't be gracious enough to accept it's dead and just get lost in the nether world. Get the picture? But then again if you were a little girl who'd been pushed down the old well in the woods (C'est quoi?), only to die a week later, you'd be a little angry at the world yourself. Especially if it was your loving mum that did the deed on you. And that's the jist of it my friends; an angry dead girl, taking out her paranormal temper tantrum on anyone daft enough to watch her dodgy video! She's so fed-up with everyone that even having her long lost body found and put to rest doesn't pacify her titanic sized foot stamping rage. Oh she's a real meanie! She doesn't take to backing off even when you've done the best you could for her!

I doubt that Hollywood will take this pintsize horror for another outing but there's something femininely cerebral about this movie that most muscle bound horror movies lack and it's all the more sinister for it. One final word; if your holiday snaps come back with warped faces where relaxed smiles should be, you're screwed too! You should watch the film to know what I mean.

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As far as I know the first Ring Occured in 1996 based on the japanese hit Ringu. beautiful storyline wherein the TV sceen played a horror on 2 movie goers with fatalities.

Please be advised to surely watch it since it is one movie not to be missed. If you watch and dont like the movie right to me , I will send you the expenses that were occured to you by watching the film,

This Film gives the Psychic of a person if you start belive in the supernatural like the GOD for EG,

anyway taking no further, I would like to end this on the note that TAKE CARE

joel@davlin.co.in

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So, you proud yourself by saying you never are scared by scary movies? Okay then, get a ticket to The Ring, and watch the movie without a companion. If you don’t pee in your pants you’ll run to the restroom. Well, I used to believe movies can’t scare me, but there were surely 2 scenes that scared the hell out of me. But the movie is not just about getting scared; it’s about a mind boggling, brilliant and intelligent script, and some superb performances by some unknown faces.

It always keeps you guessing; if you are not at the edge of the seat, you are probably under your seat. The whole thing that is happening is so vague; you just can’t contemplate what could be the climax you just leave it for time to tell you. The movie starts off from where the Sixth Sense leaves it. It picks up the idea and takes you to a long journey. If the Sixth Sense had a positive and nice ending, don’t expect the same here. There is no mercy here.

The feel of the movie is good, it goes well with the plot. You feel wet and cloudy and dark, kind of misty too – bluish grey. The actors have done a great job. The little girl wins the all the Oscar for the scariest thing on earth. The little boy keeps you lost in the maze. The special-effects are subtle and crisp. The camera work? Well I bow down sir! Whoever you are, there is nobody better than you. If for nothing, watch the movie for the camerawork, and the landscapes.

This movie is a JUST DO NOT MISS movie. If you have not watched the movie yet, watch it within the next 7 days, or I’ll hunt you down and kill you. Kidding. BTW, am not gonna have kids ever in my life.

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I'm not really fond of scary movies, but I've watched a few of the ''best'' (e.g. The Shining, Exorcist, The Birds, Carrie, Ringu). NONE OF THOSE MOVIES COMPARE TO THE AMERICAN VERSION OF THE RING.

That is the scariest thing I've ever seen! I have a VCR, and that thing scares me. I watched it about 6 months ago, and the images still linger in my mind. I only watched it once, and am afraid that if I watched it again, I'd be even more scared.

It's not in your face scary which is a good thing. It's CREEPY. Whenever I take showers, I don't want to open the curtain because I wonder if SHE's on the other side waiting for me.

There aren't major effects in this movie (except for this one part) but yet it's pretty disturbing.

The end is kind of weird. Like, you think it's over, but then there's more.

I think that a lot of it makes you think. It's kind of a murder-mystery kind of thing, but some of the things that they say in the movie, you have to think about and piece together yourself. I'm still left with many questions regarding the history, but watching the Japanese version didn't really help me because it just left me with even more questions.

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With all the ''stay in the light'' movies they've been coming out with, it was refreshing to see something new-something that actually had a point to it. The special affects were okay. Nothing great. The only really great special affects was when the little girl crawls out of tv. Now that was great. I would go buy that DVD just for that scene if didn't already have it. It was a dark movie, which was cool. The plot kept twisting and turning causing you to rethink what you've thought was going on through most of the movie.

If you want to see it, I say go for it, but don't spend too much money and don't \get your hopes up too high. It's not worth the 9 bucks I spent seeing it at the theater.

Now you want to see a great movie..Ringu is awesome! That movie will scare the living crap out of you.

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I waited patently for this horror movie to come out on DVD. I figured this was going to be the best horror flick of the new year. The Ring.

I have read the reviews of everyone who watched the movie and wrote their thoughts about it. I however might be one of the people who didn’t really care for the movie. Or should I say I really didn’t think the movie was scary at all.

I believe what took away the fear, or the horror of this movie was the fact I recently watch another horror flick that was release a few months ago called Fear Dot Com. Both this movie and The Ring have almost the same story line. The Ring deals with a video tape, and Fear Dot Com of course deals with a website. In both these movies if you see the video you have 7 days to live, if you go to the website you have 7 days to live.

But lets get back to the Ring

Naomi Watts plays a young reporter named Rachael. One day her sisters daughter ends up dead, and the mother want’s Rachael to find out the mystery behind her daughter’s death. You see the girl and her boyfriend and two other friends were at a cabin one night, and they watched this movie. Once the movie was over the phone rang and the person’s voice told them they had only 7 more days to live! Well at 10:00pm on the 7th day the girl and her 3 other friends all died. The one girl’s friend actually witnessed the death of her friend and they found her in a closet with fear all over her face. She looked like she was frozen in fear.

Rachael goes outside and hears a few girls talking about this video tape and how all 4 of them watched it and ended up dead. I guess there is a curse of some sort on this video. So Rachael begins her search for the tape. Now her son Aiden played by David Dorfman is kind of a depressed child. He always draws these wacked drawings of death and weird stuff. Aiden was very close to his cousin who just died, this was also the reason Rachael wanted to find out why she died.

Rachael, Aiden and Noah, who is played by Martin Henderson all watched the tape, so each one of them now has 7 days to live. Rachael finds herself hunting down the cause behind the video. What lies ahead for the 3 of them is spooky as heck. Will time run out for the 3, or will they survive?

My thoughts

The whole story is kind of weird, and there isn’t really any scary parts that I felt were worth screaming over. I believe the only thing that came remotely close to being scary was the very ending of the movie. What happens at the end is kind of freaky and if I seen what happened in real life I too would die of a heart attack!

Besides the ending the rest of the movie was rather boring. The search for answers took way to long, I did however like the part on the boat with the horse. I did like David in the movie he played an important role and with out him I don’t believe the movie would of been such a hit. David was the one who could see pictures from the girl in the movie.

This wasn’t a nail bitting horror flick for me, I have seen better. I love Stephen King and I’m waiting to see his new release coming out soon called “Dream catcher”. Now his movies are always freaky, or should I say most the time they are. This is just a generic form of Fear Dot Com. I still think it is worth watching cause it does have it’s good moments.

The actors done great, and their story line fit them. The director could have made the movie more scary if he showed the scary parts more often instead of just a flash of the scary parts.

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This is really scary..

The Movie goes like this.

The movie starts to girls talking about killer videotape. It’s said so that soon after the person watches the tape the phone will ring and there starts his countdown. The seventh day you are sure you are dead. It is the curse of the tape, the cottage no. 12, and the lady who commits suicide in the tape, who’s Samara, who is Mr. & Mrs. Morgan.

The movie is full of suspense and you make sure you keep the receiver down when u watch the movie. It ‘s absolutely so scary and rings can cause you sudden death.

Then comes Rachel who happens to watch the tape and comes to know that her days are counted. She shows the same to her b/f and keeps the tape hidden. As soon as you watch the tape the phone rings and you photos are blurred.

Now Rachel’s son happens to watch the tape by mistake, this kid’s got vague images of the past & future and produces the same in his drawing sheets.

Now to save the kid and her b/f Rachel goes in search of the truth, she meets Mr. Morgan, reaches the Haunted Island and rest is all (hey it difficult to write)….. Hey what’s happening.? I can’t…. Who’s that, who switched on the television?

This movie is so well narrated. The plot is simple and done so brilliantly. I don’t know what makes this movie different from the other movies, but this is absolutely scary.

The film stars are Naomi Watts, good looking, unhappy to see her face death. She’s got the talent that makes you bite your nails. The hero is Martin (Noah), good for the role.

so watch for the fun.

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It may not be common knowledge that foreign language movies are remade in Hollywood, just like it happens across the various languages in India. Ideas 'imported' from European countries are probably the maximum of the lot; but this one surprisingly comes from Japan.

This is indeed a horror movie, but certainly unusual in terms of the story and the manner in which it is told. Basically, it's about people dying in 7 days after watching a particular strange video-cassette. If that itself is interesting enough, you might be more pleased to see possibly one of the best horror movies of your life-time. You may not be disappointed even when you see a possible sequel being set up at the end. What more, the movie even makes a social comment indirectly.

The largely unknown cast aid the director in securing the total undivided attention of the audience. All of them perform creditably well though. The special effects, cinematography, audiography and background score are all excellently orchestrated to provide for undisturbed viewing. Another notable accomplishment is the optimal level of intelligence displayed in the screenplay, which doesn't leave the viewer too confused.

Be ready for a few shocking scenes, particularly because they aren't like what one is usually fed upon. Herald a new paradigm in this genre of movies...

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My dear ones

I wouldn’t sleep last night; I didn’t pick the phone it was ringing continuously. Do u know why?

I saw a movie and the next seven days going to be real scary. After watching this movie I am finding it difficult to watch any other tapes.

The Movie goes like this.

The movie starts to girls talking about killer videotape. It’s said so that soon after the person watches the tape the phone will ring and there starts his countdown. The seventh day you are sure you are dead. It is the curse of the tape, the cottage no. 12, and the lady who commits suicide in the tape, who’s Samara, who is Mr. & Mrs. Morgan.

The movie is full of suspense and you make sure you keep the receiver down when u watch the movie. It ‘s absolutely so scary and rings can cause you sudden death.

Then comes Rachel who happens to watch the tape and comes to know that her days are counted. She shows the same to her b/f and keeps the tape hidden. As soon as you watch the tape the phone rings and you photos are blurred.

Now Rachel’s son happens to watch the tape by mistake, this kid’s got vague images of the past & future and produces the same in his drawing sheets.

Now to save the kid and her b/f Rachel goes in search of the truth, she meets Mr. Morgan, reaches the Haunted Island and rest is all (hey it difficult to write)….. Hey what’s happening.? I can’t…. Who’s that, who switched on the television?

This movie is so well narrated. The plot is simple and done so brilliantly. I don’t know what makes this movie different from the other movies, but this is absolutely scary.

The film stars are Naomi Watts, good looking, unhappy to see her face death. She’s got the talent that makes you bite your nails. The hero is Martin (Noah), good for the role.

My request to you all.

1. Don’t watch this movie alone.

   
   




2. Would recommend you to watch it in a theatre for there will be so many scared ones near by (you will not be the only one)

   
   




3. If you had a recent attack don’t watch the movie, it will not take even 7 days for your funeral.

   
   




4. Keep your phones away from yourself.

   
   

I am sorry to say I will be OK after 7 days, if I pass the 7 days.

But THE RING is a must watch horror movie what do you say?

Denny

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The Ring, A C-Grade Movie, Performed by B-Grade Artists and Marketed as A-Grade Stuff. Horror, is what the movie is categorized as, but in the late hours of the night when I watched this flick, horror was the last thing on my mind.

Two Opposite Poles of a Magnet Attracts because .........

Now what kind of statement is this?, does it horrifies you, or is this statement thrills you or does it make you curious. As far as I'm concerned, the former 2 statements doesn't hold good, but yes, the first impression of the statement does make me curious. But then, I know the answer, and hope you do so, then why is the first impression making us curious. From where I stand, it is something to do with the mind!!!, which always seeks an answer, whether we know the answer or not.

All the above 3 statement are differentiated with a very thin line, so when we watch the movie we should ask ourselves what are we looking for.

My Personal Experience with Movies are :

Horror : If its a horror, you always feel getting out of the room. But you can't because the ghost in the flick will haunt you outside the room, so you want to be in a company.

Thrill : If its a thriller, you grab your seat as if your are a politician. And though thrillers don't have repeat values; still you feel like watching it again. And then you always explain the climax to all the Movie-go-ers you know.

Curious : These are movies that keeps you seated on to your seat as a thriller does, but once the curiosity factor is lost, the movie is of no use. And you forget about these kind of movie very soon. Usually these movie are C-Grade, and are full of shit.

Coming back to the movie, The Ring, its made as a Horror movie, Bad in that case; Thriller it is, but is I will put in the category of Curious.

Plot :

There is this VHS-Tape, which when once viewed, the viewer gets killed in 7 forthcoming days. One young teenage girl, dies of sudden heart stoppage, without any proper medical reasons. Her aunt, Rachel Keller(Naomi Watts) goes after, looking for appropriate reason. She also comes across the Tape, and she watches it. The tape is a documentary of a combination of weird and disturbing pictures. The pictures are not horrific, but do make you very curious.

She shows the tape to her friend, and who as good knowledge of Video and Sound Editing. But he also is mystified with the origin of the tape. Meanwhile her only son Aidan(David Dorfmann),watches the Tape accidently, her son has a added gift of Premonitions. The realization of her sons death, to happen, worries her, and she set out to look for some answers.

If I reveal the plot hereon you will lose the curiosity factor to, so while Rachel finds the answers, why don't you too.

Direction :

Nothing to write about. Average.

Attraction :

The kid, David Dorfmann, has an excellent performance.

Naomi Watts is Okay.

The documentary on VHS-Tape is Good.

Flaws :

Not a Horror movie at all.

Lose on Plot.

Special Effects, Not Good.

Overall :

You can easily let this movie go by. Believe you me, its not going to get Nominated to Grammy/Oscar for any category.

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I am great fan of horror movies, but not all are that good like the ghost ship was a complete wash out, and last years 13 ghost a bigger wash out. but this movie the ring is a well compiled, amazingly well delivered movie, director of the movie has then a amazing job. this movie is amongst my fav. horror movie, it will go down only to the omen which is best horror movie yet made.

according to me this are top 5 horror movies ever made

1. omen

   
   




2. the ring

   
   




3. resident evil

   
   




4. b. stockers ''dracula''

   
   




5. the others

   
   

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If told that watching a particular video you would die in the next 7 days.................Would you still watch this tape??

I was really looking forward to release of The Ring & this was my first film in the New Year. What a way to start naya saal! After the new style of theatres playing our national anthem Jana Gana Mana, we were treated to this horror film which has been hailed as the Most Scary Film & true to its advts, the film does scare the audience & at times, the theatre was full of shrieks & gasps. I don’t want to tell the whole story but just the main theme of the movie

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The Plot:

The film starts with two young girls talking about random stuff when one friend mentions this killer videotape. As soon as anyone watches this videotape he/she receives a phone call [read: The Ring] & is told they would die after seven days. Of course, one of the girls has watched this tape with her boyfriend & two other friends & soon she shows all the symptoms of being struck by the 'curse of the tape'. After much running around the house [very scary scenes] the girl dies in of a heart attack. Her journalist aunt Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) is persuaded by her sister [the girls mom] to look into this mysterious death. Soon she discovers that all the 3 friends of this girl had died in separate incidents but at the same time! On prodding the other friends Rachel finds out about this ''deadly video'' & is lucky enough to get a hold on the tape. Well, she is daring [or shall we say stupid?] to view the video. The video is a documentary with really weird, disturbing & spooky images - a lighthouse, dying horses, ugly worms, a beautiful woman at sea & at home, later she is jumping off a cliff. This video starts and ends abruptly, leaving the viewer scared & confused of the contents. Confirming the myth of the tape is the ring [tring tringgggggg] that follows immediately after the video has ended. Now, Rachel has only 7 days to live!

Believing that death is near her, Rachel is still stupid enough to let this video be seen by none other than her boyfriend and also manages to keep the tape lying around, giving her son a chance to view it. Thus, all three of them are on a 7-day doom. This leaves Rachel with no choice but to keep on investigating the original of this tape & to unravel the mystery of the images on the tape. What she discovers is very frightening tale of haunting characters & mysterious events..........

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The Film / Performances:

This film is adapted from a hit Japanese trilogy called -- Ringu. The plot of the film is simple but the way of presentation is very different than the regular cut slash horror movies. The whole idea of a killer video was truly unique & scary. The Ring is a slick & highly effective horror film. Concentrating more on the videotape & the story behind it makes the film more scary along with its special effects & sounds, which startle the audience time n again. Even when the audience is ready to leave the theatre assuming the film has come to an end, there is more surprise as the film continues for a few more minutes! This climax shot is perhaps one of the most fast paced & scary shot in the whole film. This film was good but with a few small changes could have been much much better.

Naomi Watts has a striking resemblance to Nicole Kidman but she lacks the personality & charm of Nicole. Her performance as the inquisitive then victimized reporter seems like her best effort & she has done a good job. Martin Henderson as Noah does his bit, which doesn’t need much more than backing up Naomi & looking good ;) The girl who plays the Ghost in the movie is dressed like the possessed girl in The Exorcist & even though she doesn’t show much of her face, when she does its truly haunting!

The star of the film is surely the kid David Dorfman, who plays Rachael’s son Aidan. He reminds one of the gifted child-actors Haley Joel Osment who gave a superb performance in ''The sixth sense'', but it’s not fair to compare the two as Haley's role was more backed up by a strong script. David gives a credible performance as the depressed boy who is haunted by the ghost.

Special mention must be made of the music composer Hans Zimmer who came out with an excellent soundtrack for the film, it made the movie scary at the right times!

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My Word:

This movie is absolutely SCARY! Right from the first shot you feel the tension which remains till the end of 115 minutes. While watching the video tape with Rachel, I wondered if it would kill all of us too! ;) Then, in the end, you are left with a feeling of..........well? what happened? is this all??? what about this? and that? Lots of scenes don't make sense with the story and leaves many questions unanswered. But then if everything is answered, what is there to wonder after it is over? The very fact that we keep discussing the reasons & the possibilities of this movie.......makes it a hit ! Also considering that this film is based on a triology, we can expect the questions to be answered in the sequel. Me surely gonna watch that too.

Even with all its plot holes, The Ring is a must watch for all HORROR FANS :)))

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The Ring is perfectly timed for those looking to be psychologically ravaged this Halloween by the scarey sights and sounds of horror & terror on screen.

And part of me wants to hail The Ring as the best psychological horror film since The Sixth Sense, or The Silence of the Lambs and compare it to movies such as Psycho, or The Exorcist, not only for its horror but for its mystery as well. But I just can't, because in the end The Ring leaves you asking, ''ok... so what???,'' which is too bad, because if The Ring hadn't left me asking that specific question, it would have undoubtedly been the best horror movie I've seen in a long, long time.

The Ring is based on the Japanese hit Ringu, and tells the suspenseful story of a strange and supernatural videotape that is chock-full of spooky ghoulish sounds and breathtakingly haunting imagery. Of course, urban legend has it that if you watch this tape, the phone will ring and seven days later you'll end up dead. And a group of teens does just that, and proves the legend to be possibly true when they themselves end up dead seven days later.

As such, the aunt of one of the teens, Racheal Keller, begins an investigation to discover the mystery behind the tape. Played by Naomi Watts, who is perhaps best known for her role in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, carries herself well as Racheal Keller, balancing both her fears for her family with her quest for the truth as part of her job as an investigative journalist.

In the end, The Ring does do everything it should do to be suspenseful, surreal and very scary. Overall, it's general setup is interesting and the characters are drawn out well by director Gore Verbinski. I loved the beginning that seemed to set the movie up as being another Scream ripoff, but quickly veered in an opposite direction that soundly assured me that this movie would not be another Scream clone (and it's interesting, because the screenwriter of The Ring also wrote Scream 3). And kudos must go to composer Hans Zimmer for creating a soundtrack that so wonderfully sets an ominous and creepy tone that highlights the many freaky scenes, making them all the more memorable.

Of particular notice is up and comer David Dorfman, as Racheal's son, who will undoubtedly be compared to Haley Joel Osment, but nonetheless gives a credible performance as the boy who may know too much. If nothing else, Dorfman's character only proves that children in literature always know the answer, and the adults should start listening a little more!

In the end though, The Ring leaves you hanging, and shaking your head in disbelief. For all the fright and horror The Ring puts you through, the resolution is disappointing at best. There are no revelations about religion or the depths of the human soul or of the strange power of obsession and possession.

And I do admit that the absence of this would be fine if the movie weren't so driven to find these things. In the end, it feels as if they had only put another few weeks of thought into the screenplay, they easily could have come up with some sound explanations and insights to more deftly explain the horror that surrounds them all.

You may not die before you see The Ring, but you will be haunted, even if you do end up feeling empty inside.

Grade: B

(Movie originally reviewed on October 12, 2002)

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The movie The Ring (remake of a Japanese short story), is one of the scariest movies of the year. What makes this movie scary is not gruesome special effects or sounds merely to startle us. But it has a disturbing twist, a story about pure evil that haunts movie goers long after they left the theatre. The movie is about a cursed videotape that mysteriously leaves watchers dead seven days after they watched the movie. The acting is not that bad either, and there are some cheesy moments, like seeing another kid that can see something that none of us can. But the movie is indeed well-made and well directed. Because of its simplicity, its easy to concentrate on the scary scenes rather than get caught up trying to understand whats going on. You wont get startled or grossed out, but this movie will leave you bothered for days on end.

Many critics did not like the movie for its simple plot. For sure, the prospect of a haunted video tape seems better suited for a teen-age slasher film. But this movie lives to its billing, and it portrays the movie because they presented their material in a haunted manner--without giving too much away.

If you like this film, you'll also enjoy the movie Frailty, also another well-made film. If you're still up to watching some really great film, there is a movie on tape called: Bully, Requiem for a Dream, L.I.E., and Virgin Suicides. All Great movies.

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Much of Gore Verbinski’s The Ring appears to take place in the same anonymous city that was the threatening milieu of bloodshed in David Fincher’s classic Seven, so much so that I was almost surprised that journalist Rachel Keller didn’t, perchance by coincidence, bump into police inspectors’ Somerset and Mills; almost surprised. So similar are the atmospheres of both films that The Ring even goes so far as to adopt the seven day doom-countdown that was the foundation of Andrew Kevin Walker’s commonplace premise.The Ring is far from the magnificence of Seven but it holds to a nice pace on the trail of its predecessor(s) swapping the occasional banter between the detective Odd Couple for the stone-faced melancholia of an investigatory wonder-babe (Naomi Watts, sans the Mulholland Drive lesbianism, but just as phenomenal) opposite her depressed, precocious moppet son (surprisingly well played by David Dorfman.)

Some standard plot conventionalism dictates this cinematic function into a sometimes rote exercise but its unconventional study of tragedy and madness is a lavishly lucubrated exploration. Being based off a hit Japanese adaptation of Kôji Suzuki’s Ringu markets it as another rather avaricious Americanization of a foreign film too new too require a reconstruct. And aside from Ringu, the concept was explored earlier this year in William Malone’s ridiculous Fear Dot Com. That said and true, indubitably, The Ring is mesmerizing. A rousing masterwork from veteran commercial virtuoso Verbinski whose previous film work includes The Mexican, the oft-underrated Mouse Hunt, and was partly (but wisely went unaccredited) responsible for the abominable crap-fest The Time Machine. With The Ring Verbinski doesn’t quite generate the personal passion piece of his career, which is quite a shame, but rather an art house-horror film in the spotlight of the mainstream and orchestrates The Ring into a sumptuous retelling, as misbegotten as it may be.

What was made a cartoonish and needlessly convoluted tale about true-apocryphal legends in Fear Dot Com is redeemed to diabolical heights, and though the brainlessness is still nearly intact, things look and feel much better. The Ring is an endlessly grim vision of stone and precipitation fusions, an apocalyptic journey into dark cerebral waters of bridging the apparitional and the technological, not becoming the lethargic tale with a gorgeous exterior one may expect. Accruals of music video mayhem poised against depressing, azure lighting, with vivid cinematic composure, accredit the photography as no less than first rate. In place of Fear Dot Com’s ludicrously hideous, off-putting but occasionally enrapturing moody set work, The Ring elegantly indulges in disconnected detachment and its disillusioned baggage while heartedly engaging the dank atmosphere as an essential component.

Opening in Scream mode, which introduces the urban legend of a deadly video cassette that kills its viewers after seven days, we see the results in a teenage girl’s grisly and bizarre demise. Rachel Keller (Watts), the aunt of the mysteriously expired girl, vows to the mother (her sister) to use her journalist position and skills to investigate the inexplicable death. Using rumors of the tape and a set of photos Rachel discovers that her niece viewed the mythical tape at a secluded mountainous, cabin get-a-way with some friends. Along the dismal path Rachel segues into the inevitable and watches the tape herself, which plays like a NIN music video and features unutterable murkiness despite it being described as a typical product by a “film school” student, and Rachel realizes its ominous ramifications, warned against her, are real.

The Ring takes the tired absorption of contemporary technology with fantastical elements but doesn’t bother to dote on the more exasperating or unrealistic facets, rather it keenly focuses on the horror and depression of the foreground’s mood. Though, I am beginning to tire of utterly illogical and unexplained wraithlike inventions (i.e. how the tape was made is never actually discussed), which may infuriate The Ring’s most unsuspecting viewers. This requires some belief in the paranormal and the supernaturally transcendental, yet ingeniously the atypical conclusion redeems most flaws. And that the film makes interesting use of subliminal images, and emphasizes that the background (which is rather rare) meet the foreground with decadent results, advocates its attractive extravagance.

The Ring is also something of a frightening stir; like Signs, it uses more than simple “sound effect screeches and jump” tactics but conceives and conjures an outlandish death march through a hall of invisible horror. Vindictive malevolence, that’s alarmingly appealing as opposed to the incredulous and inaccessible revenge-of-the-dead-whore theme in Fear Dot Com, incites the cold facelessness of looming fatality in a supreme, though derivative, utilization of the “clock” script device. Beautifully arresting a ferocious visualization of ghostly sadism and hoarsely translating it into an eccentric context (script by Ehren Kruger), it reveals issues in parental dysfunctions and the delusions of madness and disappointment’s burden. Though any character dynamics are almost purely coincidental in The Ring, it still makes gallant attempts by introducing the tape’s origins as something to do with a barmy, suicidal horse farmer (the always superb Brian Cox) and recollections of his once-revered wife, but now notorious for her insanity.

I may be going on another unwarranted rant but I’m really distrusting films these days that ardently employ pristine, precious little girls to appear in doll-form and forebodingly warn protagonists about imminent annihilation, scare them, or simply hover about creepily. Fortunately The Ring doesn’t fall much into that trap; true it does feature the image of a suspicious-looking little girl but it dresses the female in Satan’s little-miss-pretty outfit, much like The Exorcist’s possessed opponent, with a torn visage and decayed flesh. The actual appearance of the evil is a little bit of a disappointment, again like Signs in its unveiling of the extraterrestrial, because hidden forces of evil prove to be much more effective in constructing fear, however, Verbinski considers it with more shock value rather than an effortless unveiling ceremony via CGI.

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