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Ring, The

In this age of whiz-bang technology, it was only a matter of time before the forces that be sought to cash in on the moving picture. The avenue or gimmick that has been chosen is the soon-to-be-extinct VHS tape and the mode of transportation ensconced with that black reel of tape. The premise of this tale is simple -- the unmitigated attempt to scare the pants off the viewer and add another notch onto the long list of "urban legends" that permeate American folklore. The film entreats us to enter the soon-to-be-radically-changed lives of two teenage girls, Katie Embry and Becca Kottler (Amber Tamblyn, Rachael Bella), spending a boring night at Katie's home while the parents are away. They are commiserating to one another over the random blahs associated with being a teenager with just a little too much time on their hands. Before the evening is over, one will be dead of a stroke at 16; and the other will be admitted as a patient in the mental ward.

The scenario has been set by the revelation uttered by Becca upon viewing a certain videotape; the phone would ring afterward and the person watching the tape would be told by an eerie, female voice that they have precisely seven days left to live -- no more, no less. Being the teenagers they are and knowing the feeling of invincibility, somehow genetically ingrained within, they scoff at such an incredible claim. Those first movie minutes, though, will radically change them and the audience and, suffice it to say, not for the better. Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts), Katie's aunt, is a reporter for a Portland newspaper and is asked by her mother to find out precisely what happened and why. Rachel's young son, Aidan (David Dorfman),

was close to Katie and a week before she died, he drew a disturbing number of drawings depicting her death and burial.

With a nose for research, Rachel begins her journey and very quickly discovers the elusive tape and being the journalist she is, she watches it with disturbing results. She has set the clock in motion for her own demise if the tale is to be believed. Soon, her friend the video expert and ex-lover, Noah (Martin Henderson) also watches the tape and agrees to help her unravel this tale before it does them both in. Necessity becomes the motherhood of invention when, on a nightmare night, a third potential victim, Rachel's young son, is unable to sleep and views the tape as well. Time becomes of the utmost essence as they are all in a race against death. To say this film provides chills and unexpected turns in the road would be an injustice. The twists and turns, the precision and pacing of scenes, the doom and gloom, Sturm und Drang, the photography (marvelously filmed by Bojan Bazelli with an eye to detail), the rain and the grey of the sets -- all are mood enhancers to carry us further into the nightmare that has become a cursed reality and places the puzzle on a course for destruction on an undulating scale.

"The Ring" is a rare film that deviates from the norm one would expect of such a project. The lists are filled with slasher flicks that strew bodies, blood, gore, and non-credible storylines across the screen. "The Ring" is based on the Japanese film, "Ringu" (1998) and taken from the novel by Koji Suzuki of the same name with a screenplay by Hiroshi Takahashi. This American version was penned by Ehren Kruger. Previous directorial work by Gore Verbinski never gave an indication of what he was really capable in this endeavor. One could sarcastically ask, "What's to be expected from someone who was the creator of the Budweiser frogs and such light fare as "Mouse Hunt?" I think with more time and dedication to his craft and the backing of willing and deep-pocketed studios, Verbinski may use this movie as a foundation for better and better projects.

While "The Ring" is neither on the same level with films such as the psychologically-charged "The Haunting" directed by Robert Wise (1963) nor with M. Night Shyamalan's superb "The Sixth Sense" (1998), it tries mightily to hit a ball of homerun proportions out of the stands. The standard use of a story that, on one level, entices us to "go ahead and open that door" or "look like you're ready to scream yourself silly at the first instance of doing precisely what you tell the actor on the screen NOT to do when you watch a scary movie," are key elements to what makes us terrified of that spectrum of uncertainty. The machinations portrayed here, though, are not of the roller coaster variety, but rather of the temporary stopping of the heart and the air we breathe before the next wave hits to make us captive within its grasp.

Even though "The Ring" stays in the ballpark with a triple, there is still room for more workouts of the writing variety as gaps in the storyflow have one wondering at the end precisely what it was that caused a certain action to fall as it did. The ending provided an unexpected and fantastic twist in the proceedings and to know it is to love it. A smoother melding of the proceedings, staying on course with firmer results, would have carried us from A to Z rather than hopscotching from A to C, back to A and then to H before winding up back at E. The special effects by Terry Chapman, Burt Dalton, Jurgen Heimann, and Rick Baker of Cinovation are catchy and not to be missed, and in the closing moments of the film, are utterly mesmerizing.

The acting was what was to be expected, although it must be noted that young Aidan (Dorfman), precocious, somber and emoting as much feeling as the drip of a Chinese water torture, began to grate on the last unfrazzled nerve of the reviewer. His reference to his mother by her first name was like fingernails down a blackboard. Watts is a fine screamer and could, at moments, find herself possessed of a certain degree of the "Oh my god! What do we do now?" about her. Henderson is that typical breed of actor who being young, handsome, and forthright, has many years ahead in which to perfect his craft without having the current crop of male cookie cutter cuties worried about the next up and coming. The marvelous Jane Alexander, always a joy to behold, does work her magic in the small role of the island town doctor who adds another part to the puzzle slowly beginning to take shape for Rachel. It's a pity, though, that her time was so short in the film, for if you blinked, you missed her.

If you have a lazy afternoon to spend, or perhaps have friends over one night, "The Ring" will provide the needed screams and eyes either closed or behind-the-hands and the "oh my gosh, did you see that!" necessary. Turn the lights off, lock all the doors, keep the phone handy, and prepare for those things that go "bump in the night."

Written by: Mary F. Sibley

Reviewers Rating: 7
Reader's Rating: 8.80
Reader's Votes: 15

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