I Am Now Terrified of my Own Phone.

Rating: 10/10 (24 December 2002)

This movie scared the bejeezus out of me.
The one point I'll grant is that Blair Witch kinda wigged me a little too, and about 50% of America, it seems, hated that flick. So I don't know where everyone else comes down on the U.S. remake of "The Ring." But, ahem, it scared the bejeezus out of ME.
Gore Verbinski is just the Man. "The Mexican" was well-paced and clever (I don't care what you say; the character, tone and script were well-thought out and original, which America abhors next to, say, anything with J.Lo. in it). "Mouse Hunt" was cute, original and visually interesting, for a kids film (which the Harry Potter films were not, history will prove me right). This one, just, wow. The imagery, the pacing, the way he respects silence, the tone, the filmmakers have always got one more surprise in their back pocket, right up until the credits roll...
The whole opening scene does it. "AH! She's closing the fridge, is their something behind the door?!" to "WHY is the camera framing the stairs as she walks up them, what are THEY gonna do..?!"
Drove me crazy. Had me wound up tighter than a Network Exec during sweeps week. And it will be SO much scarier on video. In fact, I refuse to watch it on video. The phone might ring.
The one weak point is Brian Cox. Great character actor, but he's also the most famous face in this film, so I don't buy him for a second as the guy he's supposed to be playing. So the scenes he's in are ruined; the film is not.
I shudder to think how the original could be scarier... just to be safe, though, I think I won't watch it. 10/10.