FREAKY!!!

Rating: Null/10 (30 January 2003)

********************WARNING!!!! SPOILERS!!!***************************
I really hadn't heard that much hype about "The Ring". It was Thursday night, a three-day weekend, and I didn't think twice about going to see a scary movie (I do not fare well with horror flicks)-- I just wanted to have a good time. Wish I knew what I was getting myself into...
The movie, at first glance, seems a bit corny-- the girls talking about the video tape seems a bit abrupt and urban-legendish. However, the movie got creepy when the TV kept turning on by itself...and I can't even describe how freaked out I got when they showed Katie's corpse. Whoever did that model is a genius-- I don't think I've ever seen a more disturbing image in my life!! I was really tempted to get up and walk out of the movie theatre right then and there, but the movie sucked me in, and I decided to stick it out.

Well, the movie got scarier-- the plot is absorbing, the cinemetography was outstanding, and the acting was more than believable-- especially the little boy. His eyes were really freaky when he was imploring his mother, "You weren't supposed to help her!" And who would believe that Samara was the same girl who did the voice of Lilo from "Lilo and Stitch"?! The great thing about the movie was that it didn't spell out the plot for the audience-- the writer of the screenplay obviously thought a bit higher of the IQ's of the viewers, and certain aspects left to the imagination are much much creepier than spoonfeeding the plot to the audience. And the other thing that sets this apart from other creepy flicks is that the plot doesn't end with the usual "the-ghost-was-an-innocent-child-whose-murder-was-uncovered-and-whose-undisc overed-corpse-was-put-to-rest-so-now-everyone's-happy" note that most ghost stories end with. Samara was purely evil, and while the movie doesn't explain why, the fact that she just won't quit even when the movie ends was enough to freak me out. *shudder* I'm never having kids.
And of course, I must comment on the creepiest scene in the movie-- initially, throughout the movie, people (mostly middle school girls scattered throughout the theatre) would let out a scream or two at the scary parts (i.e. the centipede, and the corpse in the closet). However, when Samara starts walking toward the screen and out of the TV, they were screaming NONSTOP. That is probably the most memorable scene in any horror flick, next to the head-revolving scene from "The Exorcist". People were literally trying to crawl back in their seats.
Like I mentioned before, I don't fare well with horror flicks, and I spent most of the time hiding behind my coat through this one. But let me tell you, if you're going for an actual SCARY movie, not just a slasher that will make you sick to your stomach, then I highly recommend this one. The plot will make you think, the cinemotography is great-- and I really can't think of anything wrong with it. I give it a 10 out of 10.