It begins as just another urban legend – the whispered tale of a nightmarish videotape that causes anyone who watches it to die seven days later. But when four teenagers all meet with mysterious deaths exactly one week after watching just such a tape, investigative reporter Rachel Keller (Watts) tracks down the video…and watches it. Now, the legend is coming true, the clock is ticking and Rachel has just seven days to unravel the mystery.
- Based on the novel Ring and the film Ringu.
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When looking for a “famous” scary movie to watch, I found The Ring. Since this was one of those films that everyone seemed to be talking about back when it came out, it seemed to fit right in with my idea of “famous” horror flicks. Would it still be worth watching now, or was it just the “it” thing for the moment?
Naomi Watts leads the cast in The Ring, and does a good job of it. She starts off as a busy reporter/mom, and as the film progresses, her fear heightens, which helps increase the viewer’s tension as well. David Dorfman plays her young son, and he’s creepy enough the viewer might suspect he’s behind all the strange things happening. (don’t know if that’s what the filmmakers were aiming for, but he’s unnerving anyway). Martin Henderson isn’t bad either. The rest are peppered with familiar faces (like Pauley Perrette from NCIS (TV) and Brian Cox) and do a decent job as well – though most everyone else spends little time on screen.
The story is decent, but centers around a videotape, so dates the movie a bit for audiences now. Combining horror (the videotape kills people 7 days after they watch it) with mystery (why does it do that) with a race against time (the protagonist watched the tape), The Ring keeps the viewer hooked. Since the viewer will want to find out the why – and if the protagonist survives – which will easily keep them sticking around to the end. Not a bad way to hook viewers – and something that’s been copied in a lot of horror flicks since.
The special effects are decent enough. While most of them are make-up effects (created by Rick Baker, who’s an old hat at these things), there are a few sequences involving CGI that haven’t aged at all. Not bad for a film now over 20 years old.
With director Gore Verbinski doing a good job of directing Naomi Watts and a creepy David Dorfman through a film intended to keep viewers hooked until the end, The Ring became a sensation for a reason. While it’s not a slasher flick (the body count is very low, and the deaths by videotape are not bloody), it’s still creepy enough to be worth watching even now,
