The Ring - USA - 2002 - Possible Spoiler

Rating: Null/10 (5 January 2003)

Well, I watched The Ring. An extreme disappointment.
This film was just never able to envelope you in the way that Hideo Nakata's original could. I never developed any attachment to the characters, and I was never afraid at any point in the film. It was a big mistake to try and Americanize a story that is based upon Japanese myth, legend, and some fact. The "horse" avenue ended in a dead end and it was just stupid to include it ( this is of course a result of trying to put an American spin on a Japanese story ).It lacks the focus, imagination and the "chill" of the original. Even the flash scenes of the victims were a disappointment. The only things I liked about the film were a couple of subtle things that help to further clarify the original story. The reference to there being no "signature time track" on the tape, and the meaning of the 7 day period between watching and dying ( the number of days she survived in the well ).
I consider this a misguided and botched attempt to improve on an original film, and the attempt ended in dismal failure.
I suggest that if he wants to improve on the original, he should use his money and influence to try and arrange to have the original Japanese Ring dubbed in English, digitally enhanced, and made available on a special edition DVD with region1 encoding in wide screen.
This is the only way that the original will be improved upon, and he could have done this for a hell of a lot less money than he spent in screwing up the original. Well, I've said my piece....and I'm sticking by it !!! Later !!