Not Just a Good Horror Movie, but A Great Film.

Rating: Null/10 (15 October 2002)

In my opinion, Hollywood has either had a difficult time getting horror movies right through the 1990's or reality for some of us has become much more frightening. Some of the more recognizable films such as the "Scream" and the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" films failed to scare me like "The Exorcist" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" did, due mainly to predictability. I find it ironic that in this time period, when most of us are still shaken by recent events, that we are given two of the scariest movies in awhile; "Signs" and "The Ring". "The Ring" is beautifully rendered film. The cinematography and attention to detail is first rate, clearly the cast and crew had a lot of respect for the story since the film didn't look as though it was just rushed for Halloween. The actual video that is killing off people in the film has got to be the scariest short film that I've ever seen. The combination of the visuals and the sound effects are something you don't want in you head when walking down a poorly lit street at night alone. Creating this kind of fear in a film isn't easy, especially without blood, gore and excessive violence, none of which are in the film. I thought the story was pretty original. A journalist (Naomi Watts) has seven days to figure out how a videotape is killing off those who watch it before she and her son, both of whom have already watched it, are killed. One of the best things about the plot and the way that it unfolds is that, unlike a lot of Hollywood films, it doesn't spell everything out for the viewer. It allows room for the viewer to figure out certain things for him/herself without leaving massive plotholes or ending up the result of lazy writing. Like a sculpture or a painting, everyone who sees this will have their own interpretation of how certain events occurred in the film, thus making the audience think and keeping the film in their heads for awhile. One element that will determine how much people will enjoy or be frightened by this film are their beliefs. Some of my friends didn't enjoy Signs because it dealt with two things that they didn't believe in, aliens and religion. The Ring deals somewhat with the afterlife. I might be wrong in assuming this, but I think that if you're an individual who only believes in things that you can physically interact with as opposed to an person who believes in things that you can't see or hear, then some of the subject matter in both films may seem laughable. The subject matter may also seem funny if reality for you is, or has been, more frightening than the film itself. Regardless of the above, The Ring isn't just a good horror movie, but a great film. I do get the impression that we may see a R Rated version on DVD next year as it appeared to look as though they were holding back a little on the gore. I might be wrong.