Awful, not scary at all

Rating: Null/10 (21 October 2002)

I went to see this movie with high expectations of being scared. I was really disappointed.
***SPOILERS*** I do not want to analyze the film. It was horrible and do not recommend it to anyone. I kept hearing from critics and friends that the videotape in the movie was very "disturbing & creepy". Well, there was a bit of creepiness to it, but it was definitely not disturbing. It looked like a NIN video without the music. Random images that seemed to not make any sense. What we learn later in the movie, is that these images are all clues to solving the mysterious tape. Unfortunatley, it has nothing to do with what the audience is looking forward to...how to live past the seven days.
We learn that the tape is really a recording of a murdered girls brain activity from a psychiactic session. In essense, the subconscience of a mental and mysterious young girl. Her name, Samara, is even odd. She was adopted by a couple who raised horses and lived with them until she started to act odd. They sent her to the head doctors and was brought back only to be cast away in a barn. Her mother, Anna, was also mentally disturbed. It reminded me of post martum depression. Anyway, she ends up throwing Samara down a well where she last 7 days until she dies. The Ring is actually the mouth of a stone well with a giant plug over it.
What made me hate this movie is the cheesey dialogue. One good example was when they finally figure out that the girl was trapped in a well. Noah (Rachels ex) asks "how long can someone live in a well", Rachel replies "seven days". This may not seem cheesey, but by this time you've heard the phrase "seven days" enough to vomit. You could see that reply coming from day 1.
The only redeeming thing about this movie is at the end, when she (Samara) comes out of the TV. That was pretty creepy, and they should of had more of that. They should have had more of the kid, Aidan. He could of been used much more effectively in creating a scary atmosphere. In my opinion, there should have been more deaths, and the creepy girl should have been used more. I thought the movie was solved once Rachel picked the fly off of the TV. A cool effect, but it gave away too much. At the end, I just didn't care about the characters or the tape.