A truly worthy remake of one of the scariest films of all time.

Rating: 8/10 (15 November 2002)

It had its faults, but The Ring was genuinely scary. At a point in life where chainmail and urban legends are at the maximum, I entered this film with caution, and was rather put off by the opening scene. "Well, this is just Scream all over again." Two minutes later I took that back, and sat transfixed to the screen, afraid to watch, afraid to shut my eyes (unlike my companion in the seat next to me, who assumed the feotal possition for 95% of the film).
Perhaps the creepiest part was the tape itself, and I walked out with a strong desire to hire the Japanese films on DVD and get the full story, rather than wait for the next film (which there no doubt will be, knowing Hollywood and its ability to ruin a good film in order to get a great franchise). Would you know it? None of my local video stores had the DVDs AT ALL! Which really annoyed me, because I am really intrigued by the whole idea.
I liked the reference to rear window, with the man in the cast. To the "constructive criticsm": The plot was easily deciphered. I managed to string together everything 25 minuted before the climax of the film (and I am NOT talking about the ending.) Things neatly fell into place for me.
I should like to compare the USA version to the Jap, and the original text, and see if it was realy easy to solve, or if the US version fell short due to writers dumbing down the text so that every Tom Dick and Harry will be able to understand it, even if they have had their eyes poked out and their ears blown off. An above average pyscological thriller could have become a GREAT one, with a much tighter, interlectual script (like "The Usual Suspects" crossed with "The Shining"). But "The Ring" was a fresh idea, with an interesting plot and impressive visuals. It was a nice change from the Hohum prequel to a brilliant thriller of 1992. Worthy use of my $10.50