Unnecessary but better than expected

Rating: 5/10 (23 March 2003)

'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' was sold out so I grudgingly went to see this. Usually I hate supernatural horror but I enjoyed the original Japanese version of 'The Ring'. Despite its inherently implausable premise (a haunted video tape) the Japanese movie had enough atmosphere and interesting scenes and characters to make it a worthwhile piece of film.
Surprisingly, the American remake is not a total disaster. Of course, it has been Hollywood-ized greatly and, needless to say, it doesn't improve on the original, but it is not without merit.
There is some interesting imagery and some chilling moments (though most of the scares come from unexpected loud noises). Funnily enough, I could detect an influence from the trashy horror movie 'Final Destination' -particularly the water motif and a sequence towards the end.
The writer and director have tried to explain the story of Samara more than the original did. This works in some respects but really could have been developed further (and the CGI used near the end was not necessary).
The worst change is the new version of the video tape which is crap. Not scary at all -it looks too professional and well made. Also, the soundtrack throughout the film is too overpowering -a bit of subtlety would have been nice.
Naomi Watts has had some bad press for her acting in this film but I thought she was fine. The actor who annoyed me most was the one playing the little boy -he just did a poor impression of Haley Joel Osment in the 'Sixth Sense'.
The more you think about the film, the more stupid it seems, but whilst you're actually watching it, it is an effective and quietly disturbing movie. Still, see the original!
5/10