The mysterious atmosphere makes this film

Rating: 7/10 (16 January 2014)

"The Ring" is a psychological horror film from 2002, an American remake of the 1998 Japanese film "Ringu", which in turn was based on the 1991 book. The story revolves around a VHS tape that is cursed: whoever watches it will die in seven days. A reporter (Naomi Watts) catches wind of it and watches the video. She starts to sense that the curse is real and tries to find the answer.
Shot mostly in Washington state (with some parts in Oregon and California), "The Ring" is a polished film with a nice, haunting vibe, which can be attributed to the excellent cinematography, the thick forests and constant rain. Watts and Martin Henderson are worthy protagonists as well.
Unfortunately, the back story of the ghostly girl is convoluted and too much is left unexplained (Why do horses go nuts on two occasions? Why is the little girl evil? Where did she come from? And the chronology of the back-story is hard to figure out), but maybe the answers are there if you rack your brains. I'll do that the next time I watch the film.
Another positive is that the ghostly element is actually rather chilling. This is important to me because ghost flicks normally bore me. After all, what can an immaterial ghost do to you anyway? Not much except maybe make objects fly in a whirlwind of negative energy. So what's to be scared of? They're dead and can't do any significant harm. "The Ring" effectively changes this and makes the apparition frightful. Other films have followed suit, like 2004's "The Grudge" and it's sequels.
Speaking of subsequent films, many of them have taken elements of "The Ring" and made better films, at least as far as the story goes; for instance, the excellent "From Within" (2008). But it's hard to beat the mysterious ambiance of "The Ring." Some complain about one or two false endings, but the movie couldn't end without revealing what killed the girl in the opening teaser.
The film runs 115 minutes.
GRADE: B