THE LAST THING YOU SEE BEFORE YOU DIE IS BAD ACTING.

Rating: Null/10 (7 December 2002)

The main problem with the Ring is pacing. What starts out as a fairly creepshow affair turns more and more mundane as the movie progresses. Scenes we are supposed to be shocked or startled by prove to be silly and anticlimactic, and the final scene is very run of the mill. There was hope within this movie for something truly maddening and goosebump-ridden, but the hamfisted acting of the lead female character torpedoes the overall effect.
The scene on the ferry is pointless and far too long. Other scenes prove too melodramatic for what happens onscreen to provide any punch - the scene with the girl's father and the bathroom is a prime example.
However, some scenes are fairly spooky. The barn setting and the little boy's fugues when he is drawing are effective.
But this movie has way too much hype going for it for the payoff you get. Another example of wanting more than Hollywood can deliver.

See it if you absolutely have to spend money trying to scare yourself, but dont' be surprised if you find yourself laughing at the screen more than partway through.