Released on:

October 18, 2002

Runtime: 109 minutes

Genre: (Horror)

 

Now this is one heck of a scary movie. I mean... it was really scary!!

"The Ring" stars Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, and Daveigh Chase. Many people may not know who these actors/actresses are, but that will change pretty soon. Each of them did an awesome performance. David Dorfman was pretty creepy playing the little boy Aiden, and Daveigh Chase was even creepier playing the vengeful spirit Samara. Oh man! Was she ever scary!!! You really must see this movie to understand what I am talking about.

The biggest treat in "the Ring" has to be Naomi Watts. Naomi last starred in David Lynch's hit sleeper "Mulholland Drive". If you haven't seen it, go rent it. I guarantee that you will like it! Don't try to figure the movie out though. I've watched the movie over four times already, and in each viewing, I came up with a different theory of what the movie is about.

In "Mulholland Drive", Naomi Watts played the roles of both wide-eyed actress Betty Elms, and the psychotic Diane Selwyn. Her performance was so convincing in that film that I actually believed that the roles were played by two different actresses. I later checked the credits at the end and realized that both were played by her. I knew from then that with her versatility and talent, she will get far in Hollywood. I just hope that with "the Ring," she'll get the recognition that she well deserve.

"The Ring" is based on the 1998 Japanese Horror film of the same name, "Ringu". The original Japanese version of this film is considered one of Japan's top grossing movies in the Box Office. The DVD is not available in the United States yet but I'm sure that I can get my hands on it somehow.

The premise of "the Ring" is kind of what you will expect from a typical horror/slasher flick. There's a videotape that is circling among a group of friends. Whoever views the tape will only have 7 days left to live. All who watched it died, and now a curious reporter is trying to find the cause of it. Simple plot, huh? But it worked.

What separates it from the other failed horror films is that it is well performed and that it has a great script to work from. The screenplay is written by Hiroshi Takahashi who has adapted it from the novel "Ringu" written by Koji Suzuki. The Ring is directed by Gore Verbinski who directed the recent Brad Pitt/ Juliet Roberts film, "the Mexican."

Conclusion: The movie was great, but it left many questions unanswered. I'm sure that it was done deliberately by the director so that there would be room for a sequel. Watch this movie only if you have the stomache for scary movies.

 

Overall Score: A