ManWithPez

Goddamn reruns. Change the channel.

I’m not here to start an argument over which is better, the Japanese original or the American remake.  Having said that, it should be made clear that it has been my experience that whichever version you saw first will be your favorite.  I saw The Ring in the theater way back, and I fell in love.  Finally, something I could enjoy, I thought it was entertaining, and scared the hell out of me.  Also, Naomi Watts is like crack wrapped in cotton candy to me (Tank Girl notwithstanding).

So, let’s get it out the way up front.  I like both movies, but I feel the remake is the superior.  It’s the scarier of the two.  Ringu is definitely the creepier.  But, there’s something else at work in The Ring besides the scary.  This movie feels like autumn to me.  The sad music is right at home here.  Naomi Watts knocks it out of the park as a desperate mother trying to spare her son what she knows to be a grisly death.  Little David Dorfman does a wonderful job as resident horror film “creepy kid” who is both self sufficient and heartbreakingly vulnerable.  And, of course, Brian Cox.  Brian Cox automatically lends credence to any film project.  Don’t believe me?  Go watch Super Troopers or Manhunter(Where he’s in a damn cage for God’s sake) and tell me that.

A girl seemingly drops dead for no good reason one night, and rumors swirl that a cursed video tape is the cause.  The girl’s aunt (Watts) quickly finds the tape, and after watching it and recieving a phone call (which we are wisely not allowed to hear) all her skepticism is washed away.  Now a believer, she investigates the creation of the tape before her deadline (7 days) is up.  Along the way, her son watches the tape, forcing the matter to become much more desperate.  Enlisting the boy’s father, Watts delves deeper into the mystery of the tape that leads to a girl with astonishing powers and an unimaginable crime.  Samara’s (Played by creepy little girl Daveigh Chase) outrage and anger over what has happened to her is the core of the film.

Director Gore Verbinski manages, I think, to elevate the genre as few films have.  I especially like that when a resolution is reached, there’s a quick pullback.  Almost as if Samara is saying “Not so fast!  I’m not done!”  Leaving the viewer and characters alike to finally figure out the real and very troubling goal of the whole endeavour.

Who’ll like it?  Horror film buffs, film students, revenge movie fans, and oddly enough, skeptics.  This film laughs at the old horror film nugget that burying someone on consecrated ground or “putting them to rest” (See Nightmare on Elm Street 3) will solve all the problems.  Who won’t like it?  Stupid people.  Hell, my stepmother dislikes horror films, and she loved this one.  She liked the pacing, and how the story unfolded, the mystery of the whole thing.

Rent it, buy it, download it…just find a way to watch this movie, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.  After that, check out the original, which has some amazing performances in it as well.

But remember…you only have seven days after you watch it to figure everything out.

Tags: Horror, J-Horror, Review

This entry was posted on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 12:05 am and is filed under Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.