The Ring

At the time of it's release, the Hollywood remake of the Japanese horror smash Ringu was the spearhead of a new wave of horror for the west. It was everything the genre has been crying out for in the last decade. I can't help but feel that Scream was not the godsend most felt it to be, humour was the last thing that horror needed (at the least, that sort of gen-x self-referential post-modernist humour). The Ring was great if only for taking the focus off teens and slasher-style villains... it was the best thing that could've happened. The Ring was (as far 'the West' is concerned) one of the keystones of this resurgence in sophisticated and mature horror (led by the massively successful The Sixth Sense), humourlessly atmospheric and never once degrading itself by winking to its audience.

The story of The Ring is mysterious at best, an enigmatic series of disquietening events centreing on a cursed video 'nasty', investigated by a busy and negligent mother (Naomi Watts, with a strong performance) who must unravel the origins of the video before she and her son succumb to its horrific will. The atmosphere and editing throughout the film is haunting and creepy, and leaves a disturbing residue of imagery in the brain afterwards. The idea succeeds because it remains mysterious enough throughout to leave chills, whilst giving enough answers to satisfy on a logical level.

It's a more sophisticated form of 'scary' then the straight-up shock butchery that has become such a part of post-70s horror films. The Ring evokes feelings of watching things you shouldn’t, like a child watching violent R-rated films without permission. The fact that it leaves parts up to interpretation and doesn’t neatly answer all questions are what makes it so effective in it’s 'scares' (more a slow-burn, disturbing feel than actual shocks). The thematic undercurrent of child-neglect also goes a fair way towards reinforcing the film's success in achieving a depth that has seldom been seen on Hollywood's side of the genre since the likes of The Exorcist.

The kid who played Watts' son is a little annoying, he seemed to be mirroring Haley Joel Osment's memorable character from The Sixth Sense, and the script certainly didn't help him avoid this either. The rest of the cast were great though, especially Watts. Brian Cox and Jane Alexander were equally brilliant as well in their important yet smallish parts. The Ring really exceeded all my expectations... I'm generally not really affected by films that want to scare you, and whilst this is no exception, it at least managed to disturb and unsettle me.

HIGHLIGHTS: The video of the piece itself, every bit as creepy as it should be.

DIRECTOR: Gore Verbinski
WRITER/SOURCE: Script by Ehren Kruger and Scott Frank, based on the book by Koji Suzuki.
KEY ACTORS: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Brian Cox, Jane Alexander, Amber Tanblyn,

RELATED TEXTS:
- Based on the Japanese film Ringu (Ring), which was based on a novel by Koji Suzuki (also called Ring).
- Naomi Watts and David Dorfman reprised their roles in The Ring Two, directed by Hideo Nakata (the director of the original Japanese version).
- The Japanese version was followed by the sequels Spiral and Ring 2, as well as a prequel called Ring 0: Birthday.
- There was also a Korean remake, The Ring Virus.
- Other American remakes of late 90s/early 00s Japanese horror films: The Grudge and Dark Water.