RING, THE
Released: October 18, 2002
Directed by Dreamworks in-house hack Gore Verbinski, this is the American remake of the alledgedly much better Japanese original by Hideo Nakata, which was held off the market in the USA to clear the field for this remake. Shackled by a PG-13 rating, "The Ring" can only be so scary but what it DOES succeed in is creating a very gritty and stylistic look. A mysterious video tape is killing off anyone who watches it. Whenever the victim watches it, the phone rings, telling them they have only one week to live. A young reporter named Rachel (Naomi Watts) is investigating these events, but after she and her small son watch the tape, it becomes a race against time to find out why the tape is killing everyone and how it could be stopped. Forget the potential logistic loopholes and go see this beautifully rendered thriller for the chills it does generate, which are surprisingly effective given its PG-13 constraints.
116 Minutes
DreamWorks SKG