The Perfect Horror Movie

Rating: Null/10 (11 March 2003)

The American adaptation of the Ring is the perfect horror movie, or at least as close to perfect as Hollywood has yet come.
The number one ingredient in a horror film is: Ta Da! The horror! And is logic and reason horrifying? No! Logic and reason are the opiates we impose upon the random chaos we call our lives in order to not succumb to the horror of the dream-like chaos our lives really are.
I think American horror is all too often comforting. Bad things happen, but there is always a way to rationalize it. There are a few American films that break this mold. When I watched the re-release of the Exorcist in 2000, seeing it for the first time without commercials, I realized that what made it so scary was the movie made no sense. There were suggestions of what might be going on with little Regan, but until late in the film, we are never really sure. And then there's no real reason a little girl should have to suffer like this.
This is the essence of horror. And this is what the Ring offers! I was amazed and highly disturbed as I watched this film. The film is a nightmare on celluloid, or DVD in my case, and its Evil is not ashamed of being evil. In fact, it revels in it. The movie even toys with the expectations of the viewer.
At least, I was led to believe that things were winding down to a disappointing Spielbergian ending, but then Zap-Zot-Zowie, the film smacks me in the face with a wooden chair. And I never even saw it coming.
I haven't seen the Japanese original yet, but I look forward to it. If you have read this far in my review and haven't seen the movie yet, shame on you. You are cheating yourself out of a virtual nervous breakdown.