Curiosity did more than just kill the cat.... (The Ring (DVD))

Member Name: Sarah_Louise

Product:	The Ring (DVD)
Date:	03/04/03 (162 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Not predictable - especially the end, Eerie, Kind of scary (always a good thing!)

Disadvantages: The horse scene was unnecessary

Well, I finally got to see "The Ring" last weekend. I'd tried the week earlier but some idiot (that'll be me then!) didn't think to check the cinema times and phone up. I assumed those in the local newspaper would be correct, is that such a crime? Needless to say we missed the film and ended up seeing "Maid In Manhattan" instead.

I can tell you right from the start, The Ring is a whole lot better than Maid In Manhattan. In fact it isn't in the same league as Maid In Manhattan!

The Ring is a remake of a cult Japanese horror film, Ringu (which is said to be even more disturbing than the remake).

From the trailers you saw on TV you gather its about a video tape, and, with it being called a horror you presume someone not too nice happens. If you're like me though who avoids reading many opinions/reviews on a film before you've seen it in case someone gives a spoiler with no prior warning, you don't really know much more about the film from the trailers you see on TV. I went into the cinema not really knowing what to expect.

For those who haven't yet seen it and would like to know what its about please continue reading!.

The Ring, starring Naomi Watts, is indeed about a video tape. A rumour starts doing the rounds (like they do!) about a video tape. If you watch it the phone rings and a voice says '7 days' - i.e. you're going to die in 7 days. Then, in 7 days, they die a horrid death.

= = = Spoiler from here until you see the pig = = =

The film starts with a scene of two teenage girls talking, the end up talking about the said video tape. They laugh it off until they notice the TV downstairs keeps turning itself on. One girl ends up watching the tape. You can guess the rest from here.

Naomi Watts plays the part of a journalist, Rachel, who gets wind of these mysterious deaths after her niece dies in a mysterious way (her niece wa
s one of the girls in the opening scenes). She sets about investigating the mysterious videotape. In true horror movie fashion, the main character soon becomes the main victim. She ends up watching the tape and has just 7 days to figure out how it kills people. If she doesn't figure it out and stop it within 7 days then its bye bye to her! To add another twist to it all her son ends up watching it. Now it's a race against time. She needs to fathom it out before she dies. If she doesn't figure it out before she dies then who'll fathom it out to save her son? Her son has just 4 days longer to live than her. Her friend ends up being involved and see's the video tape too, a day later than her. The days tick on, she learns lots about the background to the tape and thinks she gets to the bottom of the twisted tale. When she realises she's on day 8 she thinks everything is over with. She assumes no one else will be killed. That is until day 9. Her friend, who saw the tape the day after her, dies in a gruesome way like the others. Just what is happening? Why was she saved? How will her son be saved?

For the answer you'll just have to watch yourself!!

:@ (that was the pig by the way!)

This film, to me, was more disturbing than anything else. It's a bit gory (nothing too bad) and it doesn't really make you jump very much.

Gore wise you'll be faced with an impaled finger (i.e. a tiny bit of blood), someone electrocuting themselves in a bathtub of water and the way in which people who've seen the video tapes die - i.e. through sheer fear they have a heart attack, their faces get frozen into shape and distorted.

It's the plain disturbing nature that puts it into the horror genre for me though.

I think what makes it more disturbing is the fact that the 'baddy' in the film, i.e. Sumara (the young girl who does the killing) is a cute, innocent looking girl. She's
not evil looking, she doesn't have a scary voice, she's not a mutant and her head doesn't spin 360 degree's like in The Exorcist or anything of the sort. She's just a normal looking, cute little girl. She's not mentally well which means she's in a psychiatric hospital. She's on CCTV 24/7 and its seen she never sleeps, ever. You actually feel sorry for her, despite the fact that, in the back of your mind, you know she's a baddie and when she looks at you she's going t kill you.

The best bit about the film is the dramatic twist at the end. I love unpredictable movies (which is why I didn't love Maid In Manhattan!). The Ring certainly is unpredictable (or the ending certainly is).

You think the film is about to finish (in fact some people were so convinced they started picking up their bags, putting their coats on and the likes in the cinema). You then realise its not finished at all. There's another few scenes to go through before the end is reached.

For me, its one of those films that stays with you for days after watching it. Nothing too bad like, it didn't have me scared of having a shower (or in the case of this film, I didn't jump every time the phone rang!) but it certainly stays with you.

It's not too scary (after all, its only a 15 rating) but I wouldn't have liked it much when I was 15 (but then I was a huge wuss when it came to horror films!)

Another friend who saw this film when it first came out said that some people in the cinema walked out crying half way through. She had me worried. If other people found it really scary, how would I deal with it?? I must say, no one walked out crying when I saw it. I can't see why anyone would walk out crying.

It's not the scariest film ever made and I really can't say whether it's the scariest out this year. Its certainly one of the most disturbing though.

I have just one
gripe with the film really. I read one opinion about the film before I saw the film myself and they said (can't remember who it was!) there was a scene in the film involving a horse jumping off a boat and getting mangled in the propellers at the back. They said it was a pointless scene. At the time I remember thinking along the lines of "no scene is pointless in a movie". I can't recall a movie where I've though "what was the point in that scene?" That was until I saw The Ring anyway. I now see why they thought what they did. I agree wholeheartedly. There really was no point in that scene in my opinion. We didn't learn anything from it at all and it didn't really add anything to the film. I'm not just saying this because I'm a huge horse lover, I'm simply saying it seems like a bit of a wasted scene to me.

Apart from that though this film gets my vote for most disturbing film this year.

So, to conclude, well worth the £4 cinema ticket and 80p bus ticket (half of course, I can still pass as a 15 year old!)

Don't just take my word for it though, on the BBC film website The Ring got the following votes:

1/5 stars: 7%
2/5 stars: 4%
3/5 stars: 11%
4/5 stars: 31%
5/5 stars: 46%


= = = Boring Bits = = =


Director:

Gore Verbinski

Starring:
Naomi Watts
Martin Henderson
Brain Cox

Length:
115 mins (add on an extra 20 minutes for the trailers and adverts at the start of course!)

Genres:
Horror
Thriller

More info:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/01/28/the_ring _2003_review.shtml#rating

Summary: