Trailer:
Cast:
Naomi Watts ("The Impossible" (2012) Maria, "King Kong" (2005) Ann Darrow) - Rachel
Martin Henderson ("Everest" (2015) Andy 'Harold' Harris, "Windtalkers" (2002) Nellie) - Noah
David Dorfman ("Drillbit Taylor" (2008) Emmit, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (2002) Jedidiah) - Aidan
Daveigh Chase ("Lilo & Stitch" (2002) Lilo (voice), "Donnie Darko" (2001) Samantha Darko) - Samara
Plot:
There is a killer VHS movie out there in the world. If you watch it, you will view a very strange and sometimes gross/horrific video. It is very short so it won't take much of your time. However, after you finish the video, the phone rings and a creepy girl's voice can be heard saying that you have 7 days to live. Other weird things happen, like your faces in photos are swirled/blurred, and maybe you have nightmares about psych wards waking you up, or coughing out a wire line.
One lady's niece dies from watching it with her secret boyfriend and a few other of their friends. The aunt (a news reporter) takes it on herself to go figure out what is happening. While she is doing so, she ends up watching the video and hearing the voice. She asks a A/V techie friend [her ex who fathered her child] for help and he watches it also, but she refuses to have him hear the voice. Well, as the week progresses, somehow their child gets his hands on the tape and he starts telling her creepy stuff about a girl.
News reporter prying into a small island's business to save herself, her ex, and her child! Though in the end, *SPOILERS* the investigation and discovery doesn't help because Adam dies. Saw that one coming, honestly.
Criteria:
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.
3.5/5 - In my opinion, the connection between mother and child was very vague (she didn't seem to really focus on him at all until he watched the video and then it was like "I am trying to save my son!"). The fact that the child was able to learn about the girl but his mother couldn't was kinda strange. Shouldn't the girl show all of the victims the same thing?
The video that is shown is kinda gross but not completely stomach-wrenching, in my opinion. However, it is not for everyone. :-I
Overall, it was a decent plot, could have used a lot more familial connection between mother/child and mother/ex, and the explanations could have been more understandable. I mean, yeah, you are dealing with paranormal but that doesn't make sense as it is. Consistency please!!
Horrorific? I did watch with a light on and did not have nightmares/memories due to this movie after so yeah it was spooky but not necessarily "keep you up all night" scary.
I think it was scarier than "Rosemary's Baby" or "The Exorcist" but definitely not as scary as "Alien" is, in my opinion. Recommended, but not highly.
EDIT (05/31/2016): After watching "Ringu", which is the movie that "The Ring" is a remake of, I have to say that "The Ring" was a poor remake. Sure, put it in English. Yeah, give it more drama (Hollywood style). However, the whole "father committing suicide via electronics in the tub" scene and "let's copy the movie but cut some important stuff" idea and "let's make the son super creepy for no reason" idea and a bit of other things were just too much. Yeah, let's just not pay attention to the actual plotline - let's just make it interesting! Doesn't need to make sense.
The culture of "The Ring" does not even match the story of "Ringu" - the independant young child. In Japan it would be normal, but in America, not so much. For the child in "Ringu" to help his mother get her dress, that is normal. In America, not so much. Maybe they were just trying to show off Naomi Watts' body. GROSS! And SUPER weird.
"The Ring" has a semi decent video in the movie to show that is creepy/gross, like I have said previously, and that is WAY different than the one in "Ringu". In "Ringu", it is more of a 'hey, well and bad dude and strange eye'. So if you want a strange/creepy video, stick to "The Ring".
I will stop comparing the two because I PREFER "Ringu" over "The Ring". As a stand-alone movie, I will keep this at 3.5 stars.
As a remake, this was TERRIBLE. I would throw a 2.5/5 at this one (considering the movie by itself and the bad remake). That's my opinion.
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