Review of Rings (2017) by Da Z — 03 Feb 2017

Let me start off by saying I have always hailed The Ring as one of my favorite horror films of all time. I haven't made a single Best Horror Films list in which The Ring hasn't been in my top 5.

I adore it. I even enjoyed its ridiculously outlandish sequel, because come on, Naomi Watts SOLD THOSE FILMS. That being said, RINGS is a massive slap in the face to the franchise. What a complete and utter joke.

From its god-awful opening segment to its cringe-worthy final shot, RINGS is a mess from beginning to end. It plays out like b-horror, and a low-budget less-than-mediocre one at that. I honestly cannot fathom how the special effects/CGI and make-up in this film are incredibly worse than the original film from 14 years ago (in which they were truly terrifying).

I'm struggling finding a single thing I enjoyed about this film. The leads were atrociously bland, the plot points were borrowed entirely from the original and executed in an awful manner, and it completely butchered the mythology of The Ring without explanation.

I suppose it was mildly pleasant hearing the same score from the original, along with the same iconic videotape and clips of Samara Morgan as a child. Still, RINGS brought nothing worthwhile to the table.

Filled with continuously unnecessary jump-scares while building no suspense or atmosphere, RINGS is a disgrace of a film and without a doubt one of the worst excuses for horror I have ever seen.