I never thought I'd see a GOOD horror movie...

Rating: Null/10 (24 January 2003)

I love horror movies, don't get me wrong. But I like them in the way that I like disco music and the 80's in general. Too fun to take too seriously. This was a good movie, and I'm not ashamed to admit, gave me the heebie-jeebies.
The biggest thing about the movie I liked, which, oddly enough, is what more people seemed to complain about, is the fact it doesn't hold your hand by going too far with exposition. You have to figure out what's going on yourself. The average movie-goes expects explanations, reasons, and absolute closure spoon-fed. I hate that. Don't insult my intelligence.
The imagery is great. Absolutely wonderful, and oh so condusive to the tense atmosphere throughout. Images and scenes in this film are disturbing, without the need to dwell on unnecessary gore and violence.

The sound does nothing to calm your nerves. I normally would not comment on the sound, except for that the last bit...oh, excuse me...
=====SPOILER=========> ...There. The last bit, when Samara came through the TV, where most filmmakers would have put in a loud orchestra hit or other sudden noise, The Ring has an odd metallic chord that grows louder, not to say "Boo!" and then let your nerves calm, but to say "Heeeeeeeeey...this is creepy."
Though I love horror movies, I would never say I've seen a good one. This was wonderful. Perhaps I'm fortunate in that I don't watch TV, so never even heard of the movie. I was bored, went to the theater, and hadn't seen that one. I was wowed.
I can't imagine the need for sequels, as the only unanswered question, really, is "What happens next?" and not knowing forces you to imagine. Just like a lot of good books, you think of what happens next in your own imagination, and I can't imagine a sequel doing justice to that.