An Entertaining But Silly Horror Flick

Rating: 6/10 (8 September 2019)

"The Ring" is more or less a run of the mill horror flick: after a young woman is murdered by a mysterious killer, our heroine must race against time to find the culprit before she herself becomes their next victim. If you've seen "Psycho," "Halloween," "A Nightmare on Elm Street," or nearly any other horror movie ever made you've already seen "The Ring." The film is well made with impressive cinematography and capable performances, and overall I found it mostly entertaining. But what begins as an intriguing story with a creative premise devolves into a cliched and silly murder mystery with some of the most annoying tropes in horror movie history. I won't spoil anything for those who haven't seen "The Ring," but this is one of those movies where the story relies on our main characters making obviously dumb choices, and a disappointing twist ending ruins the third act. The central mystery is never truly resolved and crucial plot points are often left unexplained. I found "The Ring" mostly fun, but ultimately unnecessary. 6/10.