Review - Warning MAJOR SPOILERS here

Rating: Null/10 (21 October 2002)

Before I begin, I want to make it clear that I've never reviewed a movie before, so this is completely outside the realm of what I am used to. I review music. That is what I do. I'm not going to go do my homework on IMDB and every Naomi Watts fan site to reference facts here. Oh, and let it just be known that I could care less about box office figures, (although they kicked ass this weekend) nor do I care about what those who call themselves movie critics say. These things have never, ever dictated my choice in moviegoing. This is merely MY opinion of this movie. Period. I've not seen the original, and I know nothing about this movie other than what I saw on Saturday night, capice?
That said, all you purists out there who pride themselves on the fact on how you have "read the book", or those who have seen the Japanese version and hate the US version and those who get their underwear all twisted up about the motives of a director and dialogue and the way certain scenes are shot in such and such film - more power to you, but please, give a sister a break, aight?
Again- DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS MOVIE. There are probably going to be some spoilers that will ruin it for you. Last chance....
Cast/Acting: No matter what we would like to believe about ourselves or about what "real" people look like, eye candy is a love/hate thing. Naomi Watts stars in this movie as Seattle newspaper reporter and mother to 6-year old son, Rachel Keller. Watts not only played her part well as did everyone else, but she did so with class and a subtle style that didn't seem overly immersed in the fact that she's gorgeous. Newcomer (I guess?) Martin Hendersen plays Noah, the father of Rachel's son Aidan (acted with well-done intensity by a young David Dorfman) with rugged good looks and gorgeous blue eyes who partners with her in trying to unravel the mystery behind the videotape.
Otherworldly gorgeous Rachel Bella (Becca) and willowy Amber Tamblyn (Katie) are the ill-fated teenagers who kick off the first body count scene. Their friends are equally sublime in the looks department, as we later find out when Rachel not-so-casually smokes a cigarette with them outside, while looking for some answers during Katie's wake. This is the one time I was most distracted by the eye candy. One would think all teenagers were supermodels. At least the ones in this flick were. Even Daveigh Chase, who played the evil little girl, Samara, was stunning.
Casting was well constructed and the acting jobs, although not Oscar caliber (and what horror flick other than Silence of the Lambs is ever recognized by the Academy anyway, really) were solid.
Plot: A videotape containing disturbing "footage" that literally frightens it's viewers to death 7 days after they view it. The sudden and unexplained deaths of several teenagers including her niece and the desperate pleas of her sister who has lost her daughter and is still searching for answers sends a young mother/reporter on a mission to find out the cause.

The story itself is a good one for a horror movie. Basic, urban legend-type stuff. But there were a LOT of loose ends that were never tied. It was as if there were things added at an attempt to add some depth to a not-so-deep movie. Horses going mad and becoming suicidal, stuff about the relationship between Rachel and Noah that the viewer is never given, unanswered questions about who actually put the footage on the tape, how it got there, and how it originated, etc. Is the fly real? Is the girl actually inside the videotape? Lots of preposterous fantasy stuff only movies can get away with, of course. But the entire layout is a bit of a mind****, which, in a sense is good. However, there are large holes, which don't usually sit well with me.
Location/Sets: Seattle has my heart in so many ways. I really enjoyed the gloom and the rain, which is to a scary movie as flour is to a cake. The sets were done very well. A big spooky barn, lots of water, not an overabundance of long, dark hallways or creaky staircases that usually up the cheese factor. Pretty straightforward, realistic and believable. Although the apartment building Rachel lives in with her son made me feel very claustrophobic and dizzy. Not much else to say here.
Fear Factor: On a scale of 1-10, I'd give this movie a solid 8. There were several cheap shots where the scene would be very quiet and then suddenly a loud BANG! or a scene change would startle you, but the most frightening element was the tension and the waiting, I think. Everyone was waiting to see what would happen on the 7th day...
Best Scene: Definitely, without a doubt, the best and most terrifying scene is the grand finale. This is the most climactic scene, which takes place in Noah's loft. He's still trying to sort out the details and come to terms with things when his television set mysteriously turns itself on, and that foreboding static fills the screen. On the screen, he sees Samara climbing slowly out of the stone well where he and "Rachel" assumed was her final resting place. Her hair is hanging in wet, swollen tangles over her face, and her shoulders crack and she lurches forward like a bloodthirsty zombie in her dripping, filthy dress. He can't move from his chair or tear his eyes from the television screen as it begins to flood the floor with water. He lunges to get away but stumbles backwards, smashing into some shelves and onto the floor.
At some point, Noah scrambles back into the chair, still watching with eyes wide open, his body frozen in fear. Slowly and deliberately, Samara's arm comes through the screen and stretches to the floor as the rest of her hideous limbs come through and take form. The mere sight of her becoming life-size before him and then finally the horrifying vision of her sends him into a full-scale panic attack, literally scaring him to death. This scene was chilling beyond description and it's definitely what you remember most when you leave the theater... as well as when you try to fall asleep that night.
Details/Moments Noted: Katie's face in the closet. The horse on the ferry that leapt to it's drowning death - very disturbing. The electrocution scene. The discovery of the Samara's loft in the barn. The endless entrail-like organ coming out of the screaming throat. The videotape sequence itself. And, of course, the scene with Samara emerging from the well - creep city.
One part of the movie that did stand out in my mind was a particular scene in which Rachel is standing on her balcony. She somewhat voyeuristically scans the interiors of several apartments and their residents as life goes on inside each living space. She notices how many televisions are in the homes of these people, and how they are being used. One woman sneaks outside to her balcony to smoke while her child sits in front of the television. Someone confined to a wheelchair eats his dinner in front of his television. Another person has a television on his bureau, near his bed. It's as though the message here is that television is the enemy, and not the videotape or the deaths that are resulting from the footage therein. Interesting metaphor, anyway, although I'm not sure who was trying to make the point or why.
Recap: Good stuff. Worth the ridiculous price of movies these days, I suppose. Better in the theater than on video for the fun of sharing the screams and chills with others. Although I guess I can almost go with the PG-13 rating, I didn't see one kid under 16 in that theater and I have to agree, I think it's a little too much for kids under 16.