Stylishly Shocking Video Nasty
Rating: 9/10
Running Time: 115 minutes
UK Certificate: 15
I'm not easily scared by horror movies, but the classic remake of the 1998 Japanese hit Ringu scared the pants clean off me.
Based on an urban myth, The Ring tells the story of a video tape that contains the captured images of a nightmare. If you watch it, you receive a phone call informing you that in exactly 7 days time, you will die.
The Ring focuses on journalist Rachel Keller's (Watts) quest to discover the sinister truth about the death of her niece who was found literally scared to death. As she follows the clues, she moves from non-believer to terrified mother as she finds the tape and watches it, condemning herself to just seven short days on earth
Also starring is child star David Dorfman whose performance as the semi-psychic Aiden Keller is astonishing and Martin Henderson as Noah whose performance as ex-husband to Rachel and father to Aiden is equally sincere. Warned by psychic predictions from Aiden who as much confuses as helps, Rachel and Noah begin to unravel a tale of absolute terror and a legacy of evil that threatens to destroy not only themselves, but everyone that sees 'the Ring'.
Strange shadows, dark visions and terrifying visuals assault you as this movie shifts from horror to suspense and back again. The Ring is perfectly paced, stylishly twisting and turning towards a terrible mystery and an unexpected plot twist that even the most genius won't expect.
I admit; this film really did scare me. I found myself closing my eyes in parts and will freely confess to hiding my face at one particularly tense moment. Gory in places, shockingly scary throughout, The Ring is a roller coaster of terror with great performances, a good script and something above the norm for the horror genre.
If you're looking for suspense horror then look no further. You've found the master.
It's Got: Non stop suspenseful terror. Fantastic child acting
It Needs: To be less scary. A sequel
Summary
Scarier than the Blair Witch Project. And thats saying something. You will never look at videos in quite the same way again.