The Ring

Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson. Gore Vebinski, director. DreamWorks Pictures, 2002.

"before you die, you see . . . THE RING!!"

You know, somebody out there likened that tag line to getting married, you just know it!!

I didn't, (because I actually enjoyed my fifth marriage!) but I do have to admit that, as an aficionado of scary films, this one actually wasn't that scary . . . until the end (which I probably shouldn't tell you, because that's too much of a spoiler anyway.)

I won't give you a spoiler. But it is true to say that the movie "lulls" you into a sense of security before hitting you with the big "twist" - that probably was the only shocker in the entire thing. Personally, I sat throughout the film, fidgiting with every slow camera angle and jittering nervously with every swell of haunting music. Each time, there was my wife on the couch beside me, saying, "That's not scary! Why do you keep twitching like that?!"

However, we liked the "research" parts, and 'twas my wife who asked the question, "Why is there never any sunlight in these 'horror' movies?"

To which I replied, "Because sunshine ain't scary!" [duh!]

But anyway - the characters, I must say, were not well-drawn - the movie begins and misleads you into thinking that it's going to be a teenager slaughter-fest, a la the Final Destination films and their ilk, and then it turns into the reporter-fighting-for-the-story-and-her-life/race-against-time. Then, of course, there are scattered scenes of her son (and yes oh yes - it so closely resembles "I see dead people"-boy that it's not even funny!) who, quite honestly, is really a non-figure.

The most interesting aspect of the whole film is the unravelling of the mystery of the videotape, which, quite frankly, never got unravelled. In all honesty, the "mystery" aspect actually brought to mind another movie y'all might like to check out: The Weight of Water. That film actually is about researching a murder mystery that's over 200 years old. Very well done film, if rather slow-moving.

But back to The Ring. Mental note to check out the original Japanese film: Ringu. That might actually be a better film. Also mental note to check out Ring 2, just for kicks!

Lastly, this film has been compared to The Sixth Sense and Signs. OK, I've seen the Sixth Sense and it was pretty darn good. MUCH better than this one. Haven't seen Signs, which makes my third mental note this e-mail.

Better get me some more microwavable popcorn. Gonna be a long weekend!

VG