The ring (2003) (Ring (DVD))

Member Name: GR-Design

Product:	Ring (DVD)
Date:	12/03/03 (115 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see op

Disadvantages: see op

** I am fully aware that this is not the correct category and this category is for the Japanese version of the film, however, I'm now bored of waiting for dooyoo to put this on the site, the film will be in the bargain basement before I have got my review up otherwise! **

The Ring was a film I had been looking forward to seeing for quite some time. I?ve read many an opinion on the Japanese version, also entitled The Ring and it?s follow up ?Ringu?. When I heard that they were making an English version of the film I was getting a little excited. I?m one of those that cannot be bothered reading subtitles in a film as I think it takes away the enjoyment, so even though I had heard good things about The Ring, I never did get round to watching it.

So, it came out over here, and guess who was one of the first in line to see it, yes, me! I was looking forward to this, I was looking forward to being completely shocked and mentally damaged. I wanted something like The Blair Witch Project gave me at the cinema a few years ago, and this I thought was the film to do it. You see it only takes a few opinions, a few televised commercials etc and I believe the hype, just as I did with 28 Day?s Later. I can?t help it, I?m a sucker for these hyped up films that promise you thrills, spills and hiding behind your seat frightening horrific moments?.I?ve never got any of that in any film though I have to say?.needless to say, this one didn?t give me it either

It?s a good film though, and deserved of it?s highly recommended reviews, I just wish people would stop saying how scary things are when they really are not?now put this film into the ?weird? classification and it will come out tops sitting proudly alongside some other very weird films.

The film was directed by Gore Verbinski (what a great name for a bloke directing a horror film!). He hasn?t directed many films, but the ones he has directed seem to be well recognised, such as Mouse Hunt and T
he Mexican, he?s also the creator of the Budweiser Frogs (give this bloke a medal!) so I?m happy watching any film directed by him! The budget for the film was $45m, a pretty hefty budget, but it claimed back no less than $128m in the US and it seems to still be being shown over there. It?s also done well in Spain, and I suppose I should give it a chance before I start raving about how much money it has taken over here (ok ok, I don?t have any figures so couldn?t tell you even if I tried!)

The film gives you a damn good start. We meet two girls, the typical type of American teens yabbering on about nothing until they start talking about the evil ?tape?. This is the tape that?s supposed to kill you if you watch it, and guess what, one of the girls has watched it. She doesn?t believe any of it and makes a joke out of things, that is until the TV comes to haunt her. We progress to her funeral and see flashbacks of what happened. This is one gruesome death and the one flash you will see at the start of the film of the dead girl will be enough to get you prepared for the rest of the film.

Naomi Watts, Aunty of the girl who was killed decides to do a little detective work to see what caused her niece?s heart to just stop and what had caused the burn type wounds that were etched all over her body. She died in a way that left her paralysed in the way she looked when her heart stopped, you could see the terror in her face, something really did scare her, but it wasn?t a prank. Her friend has ended up in a mental hospital, so Naomi decides to give her a visit to see what happened. The tape is mentioned and Naomi is getting curious, how can a tape when viewed kill you? This is what the film is all about and Naomi is going to find out.

She tracks down the tape and starts doing some investigations. She finds out that Naomi?s boyfriend was also killed at exactly the same time that her niece was killed, pure coincidence? There has to be something behind
it, and Naomi soon finds herself coming up with other people who have coincidentally died. Surely it can?t be the tape?or can it? She gives the tape a watch, and straight afterwards, the phone rings. The ?person? on the other end just says ?7 days? and hangs up. That?s it?but Naomi still not believing decides to drag some other people into the equation and goes on a detective mystery after the tape and finds some shocking revelations.

To say this film is scary is wrong. The film simply isn?t, your always waiting for the inevitable to come, your always waiting for that one thing that?s just around the corner. However, the film does un-nerve you, and that it does well. There is always a twist in the story right around the corner to throw you off your path.

There are special effects throughout this film and they are damn good ones. There?s a scene where a horse is let loose and the horse has gone insane. How they did some of the stuff with this horse is beyond me, and there?s a bit in here than animal lovers will absolutely hate, especially horse lovers, it?s a good job I have a keen eye and could see that it is a computer generated horse, as good as it was, it really did look real. Other effects are also damn good, and really will draw you into the film.

Acting is generally spot on all round, even from the lesser known actors. The boy who play?s Naomi?s son in the film (David Dorfman) is absolutely superb. You know the kid who gave the extra atmosphere to ?The Shining?, well he?s a bit like this. He?s as good an actor as Haley Joel Osmont (Sixth Sense) and really does give the film that extra bit of excitement as he gives his mum clues throughout the film, how does he know all this stuff?!?

Well, this is the problem with the film. There are so many loopholes is barley believable. How did these images get to tape, how did they get to where they were, where did Naomi get all her clues from?what the hell is happening? There?s a twi
st at the end of the film that leaves you thinking ?but what if? which is always particularly bad unless it?s supposed to be a movie that does this kind of thing (ala Cube). It just didn?t leave me feeling fulfilled, maybe this is what the sequel is for, I really don?t know, but I did think we trundled through the movie just watching pictures and thinking we had made sense of it, but you haven?t, you will always think ?well how did that get there, how did that happen?

Overall, this is why I have to give the film 4 out of 5. It was thoroughly entertaining, it was a complete break from the norm and it was brutally weird. To me it was just a shame that things were not linked together properly. I don?t mind a film that makes me think, infact, those films are nearly always the best, but a film like this keeps you thinking and then makes you think it made no sense whatsoever.

Go see it, you will like it, it might even frighten some of you, I know Final Destination 2 did?.but don?t expect the film to wrap itself up nicely at the end, because it simply doesn?t!

An entertaining and welcome film.

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