You could be forgiven for expecting to see Hobbits when viewing The Ring (R16) but the film contains nothing so wholesome.

Rating: Null/10 (29 May 2003)

In director Gore Verbinski's horror/thriller flick a young journalist called Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) is forced to investigate a mysterious video cassette which is believed to have caused the death of her niece. Helping her solve the mystery of the ring, which appears on the short video, is her former partner Noah (Martin Henderson) who also happens to be a video expert. To top it all off their son, Aidan (David Dorfman), is receiving strange messages from beyond the grave. Nothing is as expected in this unusual film  a remake of the 1998 film Ringu. Watts performance as Keller is entirely believable, with the audience wondering what fate may befall her following her viewing of the video, although her skills as a journalist leave a lot to be desired  I may have missed it but I didn't even see her carrying a notebook. Henderson, too, delivers a good performance eventually having the audience eating out of his hand. Dorfman's turn as Aidan is nothing but spooky. The film mixes horror, as it opens with the death of the ill fated teen, before turning into a thriller, with the search for the origin of the tape, including elements of the mystery genre too, as to how and why the child is receiving such messages. There's a stab or two at moral responsibility, when the true parentage of the child is revealed, but otherwise the film is fairly dark with plenty of sinister overtones. Not recommended for the feint of heart. The Ring is now showing at Te Awamutu's Regent Theatre.