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Naomi Watts in The Ring.
It’s been two-and-a-half years since The Ring was released. Garnering a domestic gross of nearly $130 million, a sequel was inevitable. And on March 18, 2005, The Ring Two will hit theaters nationwide. The Ring is the epitome of a contemporary trend in horror films: the psychological thriller. The Blair Witch Project helped renew this trend’s popularity… a trend that seems to be cyclical, or ring-like if you will (I know, that was cheap) — Psycho (1960), The Shining (1980), Blair Witch (1999). The sequel actually comes on the heels of another outstanding psychological thriller, The Jacket, starring Adrien Brody.
With the impending release of its sequel, I think it’s a great time to take a look back at The Ring, the film which made you think twice about not only your ringing phone, but your VHS tapes, as well.
You don’t still watch VHS tapes, do you?
The creepy opening scene features two high-school aged girls having a sleepover of sorts. After the requisite “what did you do with your boyfriend” shtick, Becca (Rachel Bella) recounts an old urban legend surrounding a certain videotape. Upon viewing the tape, your phone will ring and on the other end is a woman telling you “in seven days, you will die.” Then, seven days later, you actually do die.
Katie (Amber Tamblyn) first jokes about having seen the tape, but it soon becomes clear she did watch it… exactly one week prior with her boyfriend and two other friends. Just after 10PM, the television turns on by itself… water leaks from the set… the urban legend is NOT a legend after all.
Katie’s unexplainable death sparks her aunt Rachel (the always-exquisite Naomi Watts), an investigative reporter for a large local newspaper, to attempt to determine just what happened that night. After some less-than-amazing sleuthing, Rachel’s investigation brings her to Shelter Mountain Inn — the place Katie and her friends spent the night and watched the video.
Rachel, having rented a cabin, manages to find the tape in question and proceeds to watch it. This is the viewer’s first look at the nightmarishly abstract scenes contained in the video. After ending just as abruptly as it began, the phone in the cabin rings… even though no one knows Rachel is there. She pick up the phone, and a voice tells her in seven days, she will die.
A long stretch of over-exposition and a lack of action dominates the film for the next half hour. At this point, Rachel’s extremely creepy son Aidan (David Dorfman) has seen the tape, as well as his newly-revealed father Noah (Martin Henderson). Determined to save her son and former lover, Rachel heads to Moesko Island: a location contained in a few of the tape’s scenes.
The trip to Moesko Island opens many more doors behind the origin of the tape, as well as the personages contained therein: Anna Morgan, a horse breeder who committed suicide, and her daughter Samara, institutionalized for some unknown reason. The clock is ticking as Rachel has less than a day to solve this mystery, or she’ll become just another victim.
One of the things I like most about this film is its color. Drowned in dull blues and grays, the entire look of the movie is one of coldness and eeriness. Coupled with many scenes of beautifully desolate locations, The Ring manages to instill a certain uneasiness to the viewer not seen since the likes of The Shining.
Naomi Watts is outstanding in her portrayal of the strong, but emotional Rachel Keller. I don’t know what it is about the luscious Watts, but she manages to remain just as hot while coughing up a two-foot long necklace in one scene. Quite an amazing feat! For you superficial, T&A-lovers out there, you’ll be upset to realize Watts only gets down to bra and panties in once scene. Note: for “the goods”, go ahead and rent Mulholland Drive.
The amazingly versatile Brian Cox makes a brief, but powerful appearance as Richard Morgan — husband of Anna, and father of Samara. Daveigh Chase provides a frighteningly disturbing performance as the aforementioned Samara. This voice of Lilo, from the Lilo and Stitch cartoon, steals two scenes in particular… you will definitely know them when you see them.
Gore? Not here. Unless you count a few nosebleeds or distorted faces, The Ring is decidedly gore-free. But like many movies in the past have proven, excessive gore does not equate to a scary film.
I originally saw The Ring before the original Japanese version Ringu, so I really didn’t know what I was missing. While The Ring is definitely a great thriller/horror, Ringu focuses less on the investigation of the tape, and more on the horror aspect of it. In doing so, the original is faster-paced, and creepier. But, leaps of logic aside, The Ring manages to suck the viewer into the film immediately, and it doesn’t let go for the duration. Both films are definitely worth picking up.
The ending, which seemed like a cop-out of sorts, will hopefully be touched upon in the upcoming sequel, The Ring Two. From the trailers and images released thus far, the sequel should definitely be a worthy follow-up to a film that managed to make even me squirm a little in the theaters.
Truth be told, seeing The Ring in the theaters was an event. It was a radically different horror film than Americans have seen before... it was a phenomenon. The dreary blue gray tint... the edge-of-your-seat tension... The Ring was the kind of movie you talked about (and thought about) for a week after. It’s effect is very reminiscent to that of The Blair Witch Project, raising the bar for The Ring Two to levels which will be hard to reach.
Flick Figures: 8 dead bodies (3 only alluded to)” unsuccessful card trick; multiple nosebleeds; severe arm contusions; detached fingernails; 1 intentional self-electrocution; dubious internet searching; gratuitous bra and panties; suffocation with a garbage bag; necklace regurgitation; skeleton in the well; disturbing drawings; suicidal equine; and one hot mother!
Later This Week: The March edition of The Horror Hotstove returns with a sneak peek at The Amityville Horror remake, some big news surrounding the Friday the 13th series, and a brief rant directed towards Lion’s Gate.
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