"Hey! My horse!" Really rather good remake.

Rating: 7/10 (30 January 2007)

The Ring starts with a teenage girl named Rebecca Kotler (Rachael Bella) telling her friend Katie Embry (Amber Tamblyn) about a cursed videotape that if watched the viewer will get a phone call & die in exactly 7 days, of course it's all just a stupid urban legend until a very worried Kate confesses she has seen the tape & by a complete coincidence exactly 7 day ago & before the night is finished the inevitable happens... Katie's Mother Ruth (Lindsay Frost) ask's reporter & friend of the family Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) to do what she does best & investigate the mysterious circumstance's surrounding her daughter's death from apparent heart failure, Rachel agrees & soon learns of the videotape story. She retraces Katie's steps back to a motel & finds the tape which she watches & receives the phone call, as she investigates the tape & the image's on it Katie believes the story to be true & that she has a few days left before she dies unless she can figure out a way to put an end to the curse...
This American Japanese co-production was directed by Gore Verbinski & is a fine remake of the original popular Japanese horror film Ringu (1998). The script by Ehren Kruger based on the Ringu novel by Koji Suzuki I think actually improves upon the Japanese original which I have seen & liked but I liked this one more, the films start off fairly similar with the news reporter becoming involved & watching the tape herself but about half way through The Ring '02 actually tries to put a proper story to the tape & at this point it goes in it's own direction & sets about telling a decent little ghost story which in the end is quite effective. The film moves along at a good pace although not much actually happens in it so don't expect lots of gore or action as The Ring is that type of horror film which actually tries to rely on a good strong story as opposed to in-your-face special effects & loud music. The character's are good as is the dialogue, there are some genuinely creepy moments & the basic concept of watching a videotape that will kill you in 7 days is quite sinister & freaky. Everything unfolds in a satisfying fashion although not everything works perfectly, for example the ending almost seemed like the filmmakers didn't know where to go with the story & they just wanted to finish the film. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by The Ring '02 as I wasn't expecting a lot but I found myself really enjoying it & it's as simple & straight forward as that.
Director Verbinski makes this film what it is, the film has a terrific atmosphere of bleakness & gloom. He shoots everything in a grayish dull tone that gives the film an air of depression & hopelessness & it works extremely well. The cinematography is kept simple yet it is highly effective I mean I'd never have thought a single tree could have been so effective & striking, thankfully there's no annoying quick fire edits here. There are some great scenes in The Ring & some pretty creepy ones too especially the sight of a ghostly girl emerging from a TV set, forget about any violence or gore as it's not that type of film.
With a supposed budget of about $45,000,000 The Ring has that Hollywood polish about it & has excellent production values as one would expect. Apparently a fair amount of footage was cut from the final version including a sub-plot about a child killer & Samara's death was far more explicit, it would be nice to see this stuff but I doubt there will ever be a director's cut. Turned down by Jennifer Connelly, Gwyneth Paltrow & Kate Beckinsale before Watts accepted she does a good job as the lead who desperately searches for answers & the rest of the largely unknown cast does well.
The Ring is a remake which betters the original as quite a few do including The Blob (1988), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2004) that's controversial I know but it's just my opinion & The Hills Have Eyes (2006) so all this remake fever in Hollywood has actually produced it's fair share of good films & I definitely count The Ring as one of them, well worth a watch especially if you like ghost stories.