Review of The Ring (2002) by Kj P — 07 Feb 2017

Let's face it, horror films are always going to get remakes. There is no way around that statement, because whether it was made in a foreign country and praised, or frankly just made as an American film 10 or 20 years ago, studios will always want to rejuvenate what made them buckets of cash in the past. There are cases like Blair Witch, where it was practically hated by everyone and was completely unnecessary, and then there are instances like Let Me In, where it does nothing to diminish the original, but its sole mission is just to bring its story over to another language and display a great story for a wider audience. That is exactly how I feel The Ring was handled back in the day, and still remains to be one of the better horror remakes.

What makes these remakes less special, will always be their need to follow the original beat for beat. Yes, this film was pretty much just a translation from the Japanese version, but when it begins and ends almost in replication, it can be a little predictable for viewers who have seen the original. Once again following a woman who has watched a video tape and receives a phone calling telling her that she will die in seven days, a mystery begins to unfold about whether or not it's true. There are certain additions that I thought added some terrific tension, specifically the fact that the drawings aspect was handled in much more detail here. Sadly, almost every enjoyable aspect of this film has already been done before.

While I will defend this film for being extremely effective and will defend anyone who calls this their favourite horror film, the portions that are meant to frighten audiences, are done in a way that is not quite as scary as the Japanese film, Ringu. The close-ups done in that film, relying solely on what could be done to the human body in order to terrify people, was truly scary. This time around, prosthetics are used on everyone and it took away from something that I found to be scarier in the past. Having said all that, the cinematography, along with the prosthetics and top-notch effects for its time, really does make this a worthy remake.

When this film was released back in 2002, Naomi Watts barrelled onto the big screen, all guns blazing. Her shrieks and frightening faces truly made you feel as though you were watching someone go through these horrible events. I think they casted the perfect person to portray the leading lady here. I may not be a hug fan of horror films, but I can certainly recognize when they are done with class. The Ring casts the right talent to play off of each other, so that when the terror does happen, it feels genuine. Like Ringu, everyone on-screen seems to be giving their all and truly caring about the characters they are portraying.

In the end, all this film really needs to do is tell the story of Ringu in a classy way that would bring in a new audience and please fans of that original film as well. Personally, The Ring does just that and really does make for a creepy film overall. Not comparing this to the film that proceeded it, this film truly is something special for the horror genre. Instead of slashing up people in the woods or playing mind games with someone, The Ring takes its time to build tension so that you feel the payoff works in the final act. I love the original, so due to the fact that it is a little too similar to the original and doesn't try enough new things, I can call this a very solid film. Yes, I feel the same way about films like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Still a great film on its own, but it wouldn't exist without the original.