The Ring Starring Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson Directed by Gore Verbinski PG-13 for thematic elements, disturbing images, language and some drug references **3/4 out of 4 Stars, Movie Grade: B+

Theatrical Release: October 18, 2002

Running time: 115 minutes

by Kevin Lang

Every year close to the end of October the studios offer at least one film that happens to fall into the genre of movie horror. Last year "From Hell," "13 Ghosts," and "Bones" filled our trick-or-treat bags, and with Dreamworks "The Ring," this year is no exception.

From the opening scene, during which my girlfriend grabbed her mouth as she gasped at the horrific image that her eyes had caught a glimpse of (and I have to admit it was a rather shocking sight), "The Ring," based on the novel by Koji Suzuki, kept me entertained as I waited for more chilling moments to arrive. They were moments that weren't overdone with special effects. They scared us because of the atmosphere in which they were presented, which included settings like old barns, run down mountain cabins, and late night living rooms.

The film starred Naomi Watts as Rachel Keller, a reporter who became entangled in her own investigation of a mysterious videotape, which after watching lets you know via a phone call that you will die in seven days. The Ring's suspense was heightened after Rachel herself watched the tape out of curiosity, and soon afterward found her young son Aidan (David Dorfman) watching the tape also. Then came an eerie seven-day journey during which Rachel uncovered clue after clue with the help Aidan's father Noah (Martin Henderson) who lived separately from the two of them. Her investigation led her to a remote island horse ranch where a retired widowed horse trainer played by Brian Cox, lived alone. How this and other elements came to make up "The Ring" was as mysterious as it was at times frightening.

However, the most mysterious question that the movie posed involved uncovering the tapes origin. This question of how the tape originated and where exactly did it come from was never answered completely. We knew that the retired trainer's deceased daughter was somehow the cause of its existence, but how she exactly brought it to be was never made known. This didn't bother me too much in the end as most of the other lingering questions that I had were answered, but it would have made "The Ring" fit a little tighter.

"The Ring" had certain similarities to 1999's "Stir of Echoes," and even this year's less than entertaining "FearDotCom." It involved a spirit of the dead contacting the living in an attempt to make known the mystery of her death. "Stir of Echoes" worked well because the supernatural force of the deceased only brought true harm to those involved in her murder. We sympathized with her and even cared about her in the end while still being frightened throughout. In "The Ring" we sympathized less with the deceased young girl because she seemed to take no liberties in who ended up dead from the videotape through which she reached her victims. This didn't necessarily act to scare us less. It just kept us more emotionally removed from her character who was much more an element of horror than Samantha was from "Stir of Echoes." Would the spirit of the young girl in "The Ring" have worked better having possessed some good? Probably not since the film was more about Rachel trying to save her and her son's life, and beat the cycle that the tape had set in motion. As a result the movie was more frighteningly entertaining than it was emotionally moving.

Naomi Watts, who in appearance looks like a cross between Laura Linney and Nicole Kidman, gave a good performance as Rachel. She gave Rachel the right mix of curiosity, strength, and fear, which worked well for the movie.

"The Ring" may not become a horror classic or an instant box office blockbuster, but for moviegoers who are looking for a good scare, it is worth seeing.

"The Ring" Review written September 25, 2002, CTF.

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