The Ring

Plot synopsis:
The story begins with two teenage girls discussing the events of the previous weekend, during which one of them, Katie Embry (played by Amber Tamblyn), went to a cabin in the mountains to spend time with some friends. While talking, the subject of a supposedly cursed videotape is brought up. The other girl, Rebecca 'Becca' Kotler (played by Rachael Bella), states that anyone who watches this video receives a phone call, in which a voice says, "you will die in seven days." Then, exactly seven days (to the minute) after viewing the tape, the viewer dies. Katie reveals in horror that she had watched that video at the cabin last weekend with three friends, exactly seven days earlier. After a series of unexplainable occurrences, involving a television in the house turning itself on and eerie sounds, Katie is mysteriously killed while Becca has the misfortune of watching, causing her to be institutionalized in a mental hospital.The film then introduces Katie's aunt, Rachel (played by Naomi Watts), a journalist living in Seattle. Her son, Aidan, was not only Katie's cousin but also a good friend, and seems to be sensitive to psychic occurrences. Aidan's teacher brings to Rachel's attention that he had been drawing pictures of his cousin dead in the ground for days before Katie actually died. At Katie's funeral, Rachel's sister asks her to investigate her daughter's death, and, as she begins, she learns of the videotape. Her investigation leads her to the same cabin in the mountains where Katie and her friends had watched the tape. There, she finds the tape and eventually watches it. After that the phone rings and a girl says - seven days. The next day she calls Noah, Aiden's father, to see the video. Noah is sarcastic and skeptical about the link between the videos and the deaths, but Rachel becomes increasingly convinced after pictures taken of her show her face severely distorted - an effect that was present in the pictures of Katie and her friends the day after watching the tape. Noah watches the tape, and asks her to make a copy for further investigation. Unfortunately, just as Rachel is beginning to truly fear there is something dangerous about this tape, Aidan watches it a couple of days later. On the same day, Noah calls Rachel and tells her that he believes her claims about the tape, after he sees himself in a convenience store camera with a blurry face. As he talks to her on the phone, we see a pile of developed photographs that Noah has recently taken of himself...all with his face distorted.After viewing the tape, strange things begin to happen to Rachel, and presumably anyone else who had viewed the cursed images. She experiences terrible nightmares, nose bleeds, and curious surreal situations (such as when she pauses a section of the cursed tape in which a fly is running across the screen, she finds she is able to pluck it from the monitor). Rachel's investigation turns to the tape itself, which contains a seemingly random series of disturbing, grainy, black and white images. Investigating those images leads Rachel to Anna Morgan (the woman seen in the tape) who lived on Moesko Island with her husband and daughter, and raised horses. Rachel discovers that a mysterious tragedy befell the Morgan ranch, in which all the horses seemed to go mad, killing themselves attempting to flee the ranch. This presumably caused Anna Morgan to become severely depressed, and shortly after taking residence at a mental institution, to commit suicide.Rachel goes to the Morgan's house and finds Richard Morgan who refuses to talk about the video or his daughter. Rachel goes to see the local doctor to ask about the Morgan family. The old doctor tells her that Anna wanted a child more than anything, but was never able to successfully carry a fetus to term. One winter they left and returned with Samara whom they adopted. But after some time Anna started complaining about visions that only happened when Samara was around, so she sent them both to a mental institute on the continent. Noah goes to the institute and finds Anna Morgan's file and discovers that a video is missing. Rachel goes back to the Morgans' house, where she discovers the tapes of Samara's conversations with the doctor. Samara timidly explains that she does not intentionally hurt the people around her, but "it won't stop." After watching the video of Samara's conversation, Rachel is confronted by Richard Morgan, who has taken all the electronics in the house into his bathroom as the bathtub is overflowing with water. He states the girl was evil, and then promptly kills himself by lying in the bathtub and turning on the electronics via a switch-controlled extension cord around his neck.Noah arrives at the house just after Richard's death, and together with Rachel, he goes to the barn to discover a little room where Samara was kept by her father. Behind the wallpaper they discover a burned image of a tree recognizable from the video tape, and Rachel remembers seeing it near the cabin at Shelter Mountain Inn. From this, we begin to gather that Samara had the supernatural ability to inadvertently burn images into the things around her - including the minds of the horses and the minds of her parents, driving her mother to kill herself. Rachel and Noah depart the Morgan farm and arrive at Shelter Mountain Inn, and discover a well underneath the floor. Rachel is led to where Samara was killed; at the bottom of a well. A strike from a falling TV, presumably perpetrated by Samara, results in Rachel falling into stuck in the well and finding Samara's body. Samara, or at any rate, the not-completely-dead body of Samara, uses her ability to show Rachel that Anna attempted to smother Samara with a garbage bag in order to end the madness created by Samara's ability, dumping her body in the well afterwards. However, we see Samara's eyes open as she sinks and watches her mother close the well, and a horrified Rachel realizes that Samara was still alive. Rachel notifies the authorities, and Samara, whose body rapidly decomposes in Rachel's arms after Rachel awakes from the vision, is given a proper burial, presumably putting her spirit to rest. Noah asks her how long could you survive trapped in a well, and Rachel guesses that you could survive seven days.At this point it seems that everything is well again, and Rachel informs Aidan that they will no longer be troubled by Samara. However, Aidan quickly corrects her and says that Samara's spirit has been released, evident by the bruises on his arm, given by Samara in a nightmare that Rachel also experienced. In the film's most unsettling and memorable scene, Noah is going over some film prints in his apartment when his TV turns on to static, in the same fashion that Rachel's niece Katie experienced before her death. Noah turns it off casually before the TV turns itself on again, which alerts Noah. He is then treated to a recurring image of a well, in which a long-haired female figure (Samara) crawls out of the well and slowly walks toward the screen. It intensifies as Noah quickly backs away and Samara literally crawls out of the television set. Noah knocks over a shelf in fear and crawls away before turning around, only to have Samara stare directly at him, causing his inevitable death which Rachel discovers after racing to his apartment. Rachel rushes home and destroys the tape in hysterics, unable to understand why she was spared but Noah was killed. She realizes that the only way to escape Samara after watching the video is to make a copy of the tape and show it to someone else, thus continuing the cycle. Rachel made a copy to show to Noah, while Noah made no copies. The movie ends with Rachel helping Aiden to make a copy of the tape.As the tape copy is made, Aidan turns to his mother, Rachel and asks her who was to see the tape?

Tags: fantasy, suspenseful, murder, mystery, stupid, paranormal, horror, flashback, good versus evil, psychedelic, revenge

Review:
Not even the annoying teens making their phones ring to scare their friends (when you see the movie you will understand why) were a powerful enough distraction to undo the terror we felt.Definitely see it, make sure you have as big a TV as you can get your hands on when you rent it, and that you watch it at night in the dark...if you want the full effect.
Before I saw The Ring, I used to think of horror movies as something about a supernatural (sometimes not supernatural) force that gobbles up people in bizarre series of deaths usually accompanied by blood and gore.
For I have seen both movies and in my personal opinion the producers of The Ring have made the story a bit deeper and of course with the music and special effects scarier.A particular thing worth mentioning is the work done by the child actor David Dorfman (playing the role of Aidan).
And Ehren Kruger, in his script for the movie has given a major role to Aidan as opposed to lesser important role given to Aidan's Japanese counterpart.Full credit to the Ring's makers for a very fine adaptation of the original Ringu.
Well crafted, extremely well developed and perfectly executed this remake of the 1998 Japanese Horror film Ringu' is one movie to fit into your top 10 scare flicks.
What follows is an exposition mystery about the chilling origins of the tape, and the power behind the sudden death of each viewer.Notably, there is nothing terribly exceptional about the acting in this film, it is by no means truly award worthy.
I haven't seen the original movie and so I will avoid any comparison.The starting point promises great things and Verbinski will deliver them throughout his flick.
The main character, Rachel wants to investigate about a mysterious and cursed videotape which causes the death of the viewer seven days after the latter watched it.
A rarity that rivals the original, honoring it while also functioning well as its own artistic piece."The Ring", a 2002 horror film from director Gore Verbinski, is one such film.Taking inspiration from the worldwide phenomena that is director Hideo Nakata's Japanese thriller "Ringu" (or "Ring"; inspired by the novels of Koji Suzuki), "The Ring" is a stirring, thrilling and often chilling excursion into the world of supernatural terror.After her niece is killed under mysterious circumstances, journalist Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) probes her death, soon discovering it is connected to a mysterious video cassette containing a series of disturbing and twisted images...
Together with her ex Noah (Martin Henderson) and young son Aiden (David Dorfman), Rachel must solve the mystery of this supernatural video in order to save her life.One of the most important things a remake must do in order to justify its own existence is to not only give honor and homage to the original, but also explore the concept, storyline and characters in new, relevant and interesting ways.
While most noticeable in the obvious and necessary differences in American and Japanese cultures and horror, the film also does a lot of other new and interesting things with the very concept itself and the characters to differentiate the two stories.
Definitely one of the best horror-movie leads of its decade.If I were to nit-pick the film's few weaknesses, I'd have to say it's biggest issue is that it can occasionally fall for the rare cliché and predictable moment.
What he did was he basically took the premise of Ringu, a good suspenseful Japanese horror flick and made it more suspenseful and filled with creepy visuals.I am a huge horror fan, and this is one of the movies that unsettles me the most.
No jump scares, just good story telling.The movie may not answer all the questions it creates, but the viewer, if he pays attention accordingly, will be able to figure them out for himself.
The story is the same: a journalist, after losing her niece to a mysterious circumstance, investigates and discovers a cursed videotape, which gives a viewer only seven days to live.Like its predecessors, the film doesn't spend that much time on the supernatural elements, but focuses more on the mystery.
I like that there is something to the relationship between the protagonist, Rachel, and her ally, Noah, but it still seems a little weak when compared to Ringu--where one line can effortlessly show the development in the relationship.As far as a horror movie goes, The Ring is a blunt, but nonetheless creepy example.
Though I haven't yet seen 1998's "Ringu" (from Japan) - I certainly thought that 2002's "The Ring" (which was its American remake) was (as far as modern-day ghost stories go) a satisfyingly eerie tale of the supernatural.
This film actually produced some very real and powerful chills without having to resort to grinding excessive, bloody gore into my face.Featuring plenty of ghostly images to frighten the viewer, royally - Along with a mellow flow of hypnotically haunting music (composed by Hans Zimmer) to set the mood - "The Ring" certainly didn't let me down at all as its story went deep into an investigation into the deaths of those who had viewed a mysterious video tape.Impressively directed by Gore Verbinski - There was definitely no question in my mind that this talented movie-maker understood the genre of film that he was working with, completely.For me, "The Ring" was a real "gem-of-a-fright-flick" whose spooky images and scary story-line actually stayed with me long after the whole horror-show was over..
After having seen both the original Japanese "Ringu" (1998) and its American remake "The Ring" (2002), I found the latter superior in almost every aspect (atmosphere, cinematography, effects, soundtrack, acting, pace), though the script is in the usual Frankenstein-style of contemporary U.S. horror films -- borrowed pieces from everywhere put together with visible stitches all over.The original "Ringu" is part of the "new trend" in Japanese horror films (and since then imported by the U.S.) that goes like "when everything seems the quietest...when you're least expecting...it's precisely then that...NOTHING happens!" (add loud metallic noises).
"Ringu" was full of these anti-climaxes, with an annoying slow pace, but it had other major problems: a very unsympathetic male lead character with Cronenbergian "Dead Zone" ESP powers played by a deadpan actor (in the American remake this far-fetched stuff is left out); perfectly expendable characters (such as the grandfather); several plot holes impossible to come to terms with (even more than in the US version), culminating in a very confusing third act.The American remake has several assets of its own: a trimmer pace; lovely and charismatic British/Australian actress Naomi Watts; fine attempts at creating haunting images (the breathtaking horse sequence on the boat; Samara's psychiatric treatment; and especially the "short film on the videotape" itself, a gem of surrealistic inspiration and telegraphic efficiency -- no wonder, as director Gore Verbinski was a highly successful publicity director).
Besides mysterious events are happening at home her ex-husband and both of them are caught up by ominous Samara , a spectre of pale complexion and large hair .This horror film provides great load of screams, grisly killings and scary atmosphere which becomes pretty sinister with the Sadako appearing .
The motion picture is well written by Kruger and professionally realized by Gore Verbinski in similar style to original directed by Hideo Nakata , an expert on horror cinema who directed its following ¨Ringu 2 (1999)¨ ; furthermore he filmed US version , the inferior ¨Ring 2¨ also with Naomi Watts and his son played by David Dorfman..
I can't think of many films that have done a better job at creating an eerie atmosphere and a level of creepiness that never seems to erode away no matter how many times you watch it.Part of the reason I like this film so much is it has a storyline you can actually buy into.
With limited time on her hands, she tries to find a way to lift the curse.Directed by Gore Verbinski, The Ring is virtually a shot-for-shot remake of the original but its visual & sound design do give its images a distinctiveness of their own.
Camera-work is silent yet brooding, shooting locations provide a spectral aura to the film, Editing is definitely a plus, for it allows the plot to unravel at its own pace and is able to retain its mystery till the end, while Hans Zimmer's muffled score silently amplifies the eerie mood.Coming to the performances, Naomi Watts carries the entire picture with a commendable input but she could've done better if more depth was provided to her character.
The most noteworthy of all are the contents of the cursed videotape, reeking with such surreal & disturbing images that it has a mystical power of its own.On an overall scale, The Ring is one of the rare remakes that are just as compelling as the original, if not more, and is one of the better examples of atmospheric horror done right.
First, it's important to know that this movie is an American remake of the Japanese 1998 film, Ring (which I'll call by its literal title Ringu for this review), which is itself based on the novel of the same name by Koji Suzuki.
The critical and commercial success of The Ring brought in a whole slew of remakes of J-Horror movies, like Dark Water, Pulse, One Missed Call, and most successfully, Ju-On The Grudge(both the original and remake are quite good, though the original is perhaps a little better).
And this is a remake that outshines the original.The plot is simple; Rachel, played by Naomi Watts and her ex-husband Noah, played by Martin Henderson, have a week to answer the mystery of a cursed videotape, which has claimed the lives of several teenagers.
The Ring is a horror crime drama about a video tape that, if watched, will lead to death in seven days.
Haunting and unpredictable, it's no surprise The Ring's opening is considered to be one of horror's best, easily as good as the ones from Scream and Jaws.Despite its scares, The Ring is also a surprisingly beautiful looking film, and with a $48 million price tag, it should be.
This stunning American adaptation of Japanese novel "Ringu" bucks the horror movie trends of jump-scares and torture porn in favor of creepy, muted atmospherics and hypnotic psychological chills.
Rachel (Naomi Watts) is a journalist who investigates a mysterious video tape that purportedly kills its viewer 7 days after watching it.
The Ring is an American adaptation of the Japanese horror film Ringu.
"The Ring" is definitely one of the better, if not, the best remake of an Asian horror film.
Only one that came close was the grudge.I've never seen the original Japanese version, but I never felt the need to do so after watching the remake, simply because I was satisfied and scared at the same time.
Needless to say, the legend proves to be true, the tape allowing the vengeful spirit of freaky murdered girl Samara to literally scare viewers to death.As someone who can actually be bothered to read sub-titles, I generally dislike it when Asian horror hits are remade to appeal to a Western audience, particularly since very few of them turn out to be as effective as the originals.
Gore Verbinski's The Ring, however, is a genuinely worthy effort, because instead of simply being a quick Hollywood 'cash-in', it is actually a lovingly crafted movie.Storywise, Verbinski's film stays fairly faithful to Hideo Nakata's Ringu and effectively replicates its creepy atmosphere, but The Ring avoids being just a slavish copy by expanding on certain plot points, providing a few crowd pleasing jump scares along the way, and best of all, by being as visually impressive as possible, with coloured tints and CGI effects used to great effect throughout (I usually moan about such things in modern horror films, but here they actually work).I wouldn't go as far as to say that The Ring is better than the original, but I think it is equally deserving of a watch..
If you don't mind watching a subtitled japanese movie, definitely go for the original Ring (aka Ringu)..
Now a believer in the tape's mysterious power, Rachel begins to uncover the mystery behind it before she becomes the next victim - and she only has seven days to save herself and her son.A remake of a Japanese horror movie, "The Ring" is a well-made American retelling of the unique, creepy story.
One thing notable about this film is it's disturbing and vivid visuals, which are really great looking and add the movie's spooky and strange atmosphere.
There are plenty of bizarre and scary sequences in this film, mainly in the video tape itself and the horrifying backstory behind it all.Overall, "The Ring" is a pretty good horror movie, not perfect but very good for sure.
Now it takes alot to scare me because i laughed all the way through when i watched The Exorcist, Stigmata and The Omen plus i hate horror films anyway but i decided to give this one a go mainly because Naomi Watts is in it and i think shes really sexy.
That girl in it i think her name was Samara god she was horrible, creepiest little girl i've ever seen in a film, i think the secret to a good scary horror movie is to have a weird little kid causing all the havoc.
A Scary Movie with a Disappointing End. Rachel Keller (the gorgeous Naomi Watts) is a journalist investigating a videotape that may have killed four teenagers (including her niece).
Anyway, watching this flick (and Naomi Watts) is worthwhile, which is highly indicated for fans of horror movies like me.
The Ring is a perfect example of what I consider a good psych-horror movie to be, because it unfolds like a mystery and keeps the viewer cerebrally involved...as it scares the crap out of them.
It's about a video tape that when watched in seven days the viewer of said tape (a series of images not unlike a master's class at a university in gut-wrenching and eye-tumbling surrealism) will die.The characters in the ring investigate this, and come upon some familiar tropes of the ghost story and of things like sentience (I got a particular feeling and connection back to the Shining, no pun intended), but Verbinski's intent is to grip the viewer in a story that keeps to itself very well, is filmed without the gimmicks of, for example, Michael Bay's productions of remake-horror crap, and features actors that can make us believe this material.
As with other superior ghost-story horror movies this decade like the Orphanage, it appreciates what is possible in just lighting a room, in letting a character take time to see things and experience them in a visceral manner so that we can as well, and Verbinski and his write bring on images that are inescapable (i.e. the horse on the ship, the girl crawling out of the TV and going across the room).It's a crafty piece of slick Hollywood horror, and it's intrigued me enough to go back to the unseen source material, which is the best a remake can do aside from its potential re-watchability.
I have seen so many horror movies that this film didn't really scare me.
The girl popping out of the video tape and the phone ringing saying "seven days" helped the movie a lot too.
Before you die...You see The Ring:This is the most creepy scary movie I've seen in the last years.I had nightmares for quite a long time,this movie is definitely breath taking and i don't get scared easy,not at all.I loved the plot,the acting, the characters,especially Samara and the end is really good too.Definitely its totally worth see it,but don't even bother if you you are only interested in silly and bloody cliché serial killers movie type.The Ring contains one of the most terrifying scenes I've ever seen and I'm not gonna tell you which one of course just in case you didn't see it yet.The ring totally rocks and i cant wait to see the sequel in about 3 weeks and to see Samara in action again.Bravooooo.
Adding urgency to her mission, is the fact that she has also watched the tape herself.A terrific performance from Naomi Watts and a good supporting cast along with realistic special effects, richly detailed direction, a bone chilling & expertly plotted script, and a ending that will haunt you make this a must see film for all horror fans.
The Ring has absolutely no flaws,what so ever,the story is exactly the same basically except for the names,the acting choices were brilliant and gave more time for the kid and his personality and how the tape effects him due to in the Japanese film,the boy had barely any lines.
However, when the tape is seen by a journalist (Naomi Watts) and inadvertently by her son, they become engaged in a race against the clock to try and decipher the tape's mysterious imagery and the real story behind the ring.The dark, disturbing imagery in this film is really what makes it a horror stand-out.
Ever since several Japanese and Asian film have had remakes but none have had the power and success of "The Ring" Before you die you see the ring.Set in the wet and ominously gloomy city of Seattle single mother Rachel, played by Naomi Watts, works as a journalist who comes across the mysterious story of a video tape that has deadly consequences 7 days after watching it.
It is a movie that gets better the second time that you see it, because once you know how it ends, you notice the themes a lot better – themes that are relevant and play off of the things that we see in our life that scare us.I have seen mixed opinions about whether The Ring is better than the original Japanese Ringu.
The Ring is an eerie story about a cursed video tape that kills whoever watches it in exactly seven days.