Worthy Interpretation Of A Horror Masterpiece!

Rating: Null/10 (24 February 2003)

As a fan of the original Japanese version of "Ring" ("Ringu") I am pleased to say that "The Ring" (starring the great Naomi Watts from the David Lynch masterpiece "Mulholland Drive") for the most part complements the original cycle of films and stands as one of the best American horror pictures of recent years.
At first I thought the film had already blown it in the first scene. Hideo Nakata's original opens with a nod to horror movies like "Scream", only Japanese style. The American take on the same scene however, seemed to speed up the telling of the urban myth that sets up the film's premise and came across more like a second rate "Scream" clone than a well crafted homage. However, as the opening sequence goes on, it's handling improves and it reveals that this remake is quite capable of serving up scares of it's own.
The pace is more urgent in this version and the first few days of the curse fly past. Events and characters also play out differently and much of the revelations are last day rather than spread out. Such is the tension (a combination of direction and Naomi Watts's brilliant and riveting performance) that I almost completely forgot that something we're led to believe about Rachel (Watts) 's uncovering of the curse and impending doom is a red herring.
"The Ring" retains the dreary rainy grey look of Hideo Nakata's original and the music and sound effects are also eerily reminiscent, which helps keep the creepy mood and gives the story an
unsettling atmosphere. There are also a few teasing nods to scenes and events from the Japanese sequels "Ring 2" and "Ring 0: Birthday". One of "The Ring"'s strengths though is that it can both complement and differentiate from the Japanese cycle and stand in it's own right. Sometimes I was unsure of what would play out and how it would play out from the original story. If you're comfortably familiar with "Ring" there's still a few surprises in store. Brian Cox (of "Manhunter" fame) plays a character who is actually an amalgamation of two characters from the original and the protagonist's mother is a bit different to Shizuko (her Japanese equivalent). Shockingly so in one crucial scene. There's also a real heart in your throat scene on the ferry involving a horse which is completely new and very effective. Another main difference is that Noah initiallly seems oafish and gets properly involved in Rachel's investigation of the cursed tape a lot later on than in the Japanese version. The film also concentrates more on building a family link between characters making their fate more emotionally important to the viewer.
Now to some criticism of the film. The backstory of Samara and the curse doesn't play out as effectively as that for
Sadako in "Ring" (1998) and seems a bit half sketched in comparison. Unfortunately the scary finale is one place (like the initial opening) where this film suffers in comparison to it's predeccesor, seeming more overblown and more sped up at the expense of subtlety and building tension. This scene did seem to work well enough, it has to be said on audience members who probably hadn't seen the original, judging by their nervous giggles when the credits came up.
Overall if you're a fan of horror that dares to be creative and genuinely scary, I'd urge you to see both this well crafted, spine-tingling, supernatural thriller and the terrifying Japanese films that inspired it.