Modern Horror With Classic Scary Roots

Rating: Null/10 (15 December 2003)

Don't expect gobs of gore and buckets of blood with The Ring. Director Gore Verbinski manages to drum up barrels of suspense and creepy moments without all that. The Ring is a remake of a Japanese horror thriller called Ringu. The story in short details a videocassette that when seen causes one's death within a week. Although shot almost scene for scene like Ringu for almost the first two-thirds, The Ring combines an innovative story, some solid acting, and some creepy special effects and mysterious music all to great effect. Naomi Watts stars and does a credible acting job as a mother trying to save herself and her son amidst this terrible REAL urban legend of sorts. The rest of the acting is uniformly good with Brian Cox standing out in a small yet pivotal role(and a role not in Ringu). Though you won't understand everything at the end, The Ring will provide a whale of a good time giving you some real, honest goose bumps. It's nice to see a film like this get a lot of support and yet not be trashy in any way.