Final Destination meets Begotten meets Sixth Sense

Rating: Null/10 (7 October 2002)

When I first saw the trailer for this on apple, I was astounded Dreamworks would be releasing this. At first glimpse, it looks to be this profoundly existential subconscious head trip. Later previews would reveal more of the 'mainstream' parts. I got to see this remake of the Japanese cult hit 'Ringu' recently. Call it Final Destination meets Begotten meets the Sixth Sense with a cryptic blend of ornate visuals, The Ring starts off oddly enough like something straight out of Scream. This alone could make quite a few film buffs gasp. And yes, for the first 15 minutes there is this sort of Urban LEgends feel, with angsty high schoolers talking of the suspected tape as if it was out of a Wes Craven film. However, soon after the movie begins to unfold into a starkly different direction, a woven fabric of unstelling images, blue tones, and effectively shuddering ambience.
Namoi Watts, fresh off her find muck duties on David Lynch's brilliant Mulholland Drive, sinks into this one with an almighty honestness.
Throughout the movie a lot of comparisons will automatically pop in your head. The kid from Sixth Sense, along with a lot of 'havent we heard this before' dialogue. But it is what you havent seen before thats really unsettling.
A really great film will explain a certain technology most of the viewing public doesnt know about. One Hour Photo delved deep into the inner working of a photo lab. Red Violin explained the sound detective aspect of musical restoration. And here we get a peak into the world of audio visual exploration. And boy is it effective. The tape in question might not be all that scary in a general sense...but more in that finding a video casste on the side of the road in a Barstow truck stop kind of way...that David Lynch creepiness that hits ya a few days later.
As the film develops, we get more a feel of dread than any sort of happy revelation, somthing that expands to great effect later on. All I'll say is that top of the barn small room scene has to be one of the most effective use of ornate cisuals since the tapestry sequence in The Cell. This to me is also the most unnerving film Ive seen since Twin Peaks fire Walk With Me. Some may feel the ending gets a bit too outlandish, but within the perimeters of the film it works wonders.