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| The Ring [2003] | ![The Ring [2003]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5151R26A7SL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Gore Verbinski
Actors: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Brian Cox, Jane Alexander
Studio: Vision Video Ltd.
Category: Video
List Price: £14.99
Buy Used: £0.15
You Save: £14.84 (99%)
New (4) from £0.30
Avg. Customer Rating:  124 reviews
Sales Rank: 9929
Format: Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Media: VHS Tape
Running Time: 110 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
EAN: 5050583004365
ASIN: B0000AOWNJ
Theatrical Release Date: October 18, 2002
Release Date: September 1, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Amazon.co.uk Review
An unexpected marriage of big-budget production values and low-budget instincts, The Ring offers chills to be savoured. Usually when Hollywood indulges its cash-hungry game of remaking foreign films the result sacrifices much of what made the original so special. Clearly, the supremely eerie supernatural vibe that permeated the legendary 1998 Japanese horror film must have done something to those Hollywood suits, because Gore Verbinski's remake is actually rather good. Certainly, it's not superior to the original, but it's undoubtedly a cut above most modern horror efforts, expertly wringing every drop of suspense. The impressive Naomi Watts (Mullholland Drive) plays a journalist investigating an urban myth of a videotape that kills the viewer a week after watching it. Succumbing to curiosity, she watches it herself--big mistake--and has a week to solve the mystery or fall victim to its sinister power. While transferring the action from Japan to modern-day Seattle may weaken the impact of the plot's mythological elements, and the film may be guilty of pointless padding (belying the original's lean format), Verbinski's effort is no less squirm-inducing, bolstered with a tremendous shocker of an ending. Exquisitely utilising the strong visual sense displayed in The Mexican, Verbinski creates a thick atmosphere of dread and suspense that never lets up, thankfully favouring old-fashioned scares, rather than retreating to blunt CG spectacle. In Watts, the film has a horror heroine who far exceeds the average wide-eyed scream queen, perfectly conveying the endless stream of bone-chilling moments. --Danny Graydon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 119 more reviews...
 Get into The Ring at your peril September 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having seen Ring (the original Japanese version) I can honestly say this is a poor man's remake - gone really is the rawness that the original Ring portrays. The Ring never really lives up to expectations and does not keep you on the edge - mere boredom set in after only 30 minutes. Maybe I was expecting more from this but I'd see this as being a little off centre and certainly anyone wanting to get joy from the Ring, try the Japanese original - far more enjoyment for your pound and I think the Jap's eye this as being a poor remake.
 Pathetic vs the Original August 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Another botched job by Hollywood failures. It seems the creativity well has become so dry that film makers are ever increasingly snapping up classic movies from other cultures and failing miserably to comprehend what made them successful the first time around.
Cinematic Arse Gravy of the worst kind.
Then you die June 4, 2008
Every horror buff knows -- the horror that creeps up on you gradually is much, much scarier the one who bounces out and yells "boo" as it decapitates somebody with a machete.
And sadly, most current "horror" movies lack horror, because it's easier to substitute it with screaming blondes, blood, guts and sharp objects. But "The Ring" is soaked in foreboding, creepiness and horrific imagery. Director Gore Verbinski relies heavily on the original Japanese movie for a lot of his remake's flavor, and the result is a slow-building terror that keeps twisting right up to the end.
Single mum Rachel (Naomi Watts) is attending her niece's funeral, after she died under bizarre circumstances. Several of her friends died on the exact same day, at the same time, which (surprise surprise) makes Rachel think this isn't a coincidence. So she investigates the mountain cabin all the kids stayed at a week ago, and finds an unlabeled videotape with a series of bizarre images -- and a curse that will kill you one week afterwards.
She enlists the help of her ex-boyfriend Noah (Martin Henderson) to help her unravel and break the curse. The secret of the tape is wrapped up in a young girl, Samara, who vanished from her adoptive parents' horse farm years ago. Somehow Samara's evil rage has lived in on her curse, and it will destroy Rachel, Noah and their son unless Rachel can find a way to escape it.
Remaking Asian horror movies is one of those movie trends that is hanging on in Hollywood, with everything from "The Grudge" to "The Eye" to "Bangkok Dangerous" getting the A-list Hollywood treatment. Some are good, some are mediocre, most are wretched. But "The Ring" was the first of these, adapted from Hideo Nakata's adaptation of Koji Suzuki's novel (cue cries of "but the original was better). And it achieves the distinction of being almost as atmospheric and haunting as the original.
Most of its brilliance comes from director Gore Verbinski, who thankfully did not simply use the name and concept, and invent a teenybopper plot around that. This is actually rather similar to Nakata's adaptation -- Verbinski alters some few things from the original film, but keeps the same dark, murky atmosphere and many of the same scenes. Even the cinematography has a dark, overcast look, filled with forbidding symbolism -- lots of grey skies and overflowing water. It's as if Samara's influence is permeating everything.
And what about the horror? It comes from the building tension as Rachel's deadline creeps toward us, and brief flashes of Samara's influence -- for example, that poor horse going berserk on a ferry, or the blurred-out faces of the doomed. The entire movie is infused with the feeling that something invisible and ghastly is just waiting to attack you, and it's just waiting for the right moment.
The keystone of this movie is Naomi Watts. This talented actress is virtually perfect as the perpetually worried, perplexed Rachel; as the deadline approaches, her fear and grief are almost palpably overwhelming. Henderson is also good, whether as a flip carefree artist or as a caring ex-boyfriend. Dorfman is the one disappointment -- he seems less like a little boy than a pompous oracle, and he's almost creepier than Samara.
Which is saying something, because Daveigh Chase is utterly chilling as Samara Morgan, a creepy little devil-child with black weedy hair over her face, a white nightgown and "Omen" eyes. In keeping with the watery theme of the movie, she always seems vaguely damp.
"The Ring" is one of those rarest kinds of movies -- a remake with its own flavour, even as it sticks to the original story. Excellent direction, great acting, and the haunting determination to never, ever watch an unlabeled movie again.
Another Terrible Dumbed Down Remake May 13, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Ring is as my review title says a dumbed down special effect dissaster created for the American population.
If I had not already withnessed the excellent Japanese Original then perhaps I would have given it a higher rating.
Samara is a cheap excuse for Sadako and does nothing to enhance the fear level.
I find the story is quite fitting for fans of "basic structure" storyline such as power rangers the movie and Scream.
By all means by it but I warn you there is no soul in this movie, it's yet again another souless remake made in the states because people refuse to read subtitles.
Pathetic.
On the plus side this is one of the best J-Horror Remakes for the US but that doesn't really say much.
quite good~ April 10, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The ring-review
Staring: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Review by: Oliver Joseph 10.2
Horror strikes the city of Seattle, through the TV; soon the world would be haunted by a terrifying video cassette. A mother finds her teenage daughter in a little room with a haunted-mangled face, later they find out the girls is dead, the post-mortem show no reason for here to be dead!
The film is set in the city of Seattle, staring Naomi Watts as Rachel Keller, Martin Henderson as Noah Clay and David Dorfman as Aiden Keller, these three fight against time to save their lives and find out the mystery of the Morgans. They only have seven days after they receive a phone all from a maddo which says,
`Seven days'.
This film has been put in a way which really frightened me, one of the things that gave it a spooky-mysterious feel was the setting, it was always raining, and the film had also been given a bluish tint, this made it feel odd, and it felt as if there was something in the atmosphere, something cold, something disturbing. Maybe electro-magnetic waves?
These effects also showed the viewers that it was a horror film; even if the film was muted I would be able to tell it is a horror film just by watching the first 2 minutes.
In the beginning you see a scary old house, usually in horror films. The 2 girls in the beginning also freaked me out, one of them tried to scare the other and the other one pretended to die. My first impression was that a ghost is strangling her. A scary prank or a false alarm is usually a common feature in films. There is also a ripple effect when someone looks into a TV, this is again a horror feature, it really scared me as it feels like there is someone there, and I keep thinking its in my room!
Gore Verbinski has used almost every feature of horror in this film, were the non-digetic sounds; they really give me the creeps sometimes!
One of the times was when Rachel Keller was watching the video, and then a scene comes, it is totally silent, there is a nail with the point facing up and then a thumb comes and is pushing on the nail so its getting pierced, when the thumb nail get pierced it snaps and a awkward sound fills the atmosphere, a kind of `EEEEEEE' or a really thin, extremely high pitched whistle, and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing up.
The 7th day, the most worrying day, in this day the person will die. The death has been very well put together. Just before the death they've squeezed in about 8 different shots in 1 second, it seems so fast, so fast you can't run away from it. Then the camera zooms into your face, as if something is rushing out of the TV and coming to you. One of the major points in the film was when Samara Morgan (Daviegh Chase) comes out of the TV to get Noah Clay (Martin Henderson). This suggests to me that there is some way of communication/transport through waves, but I found this scene quite hilarious! The bit that made me laugh was the bit when Samara walks towards the TV screen, her walking style made her look like a physically retarded zombie-it made me laugh more than shriek!
One of my favourite things about horror films is that even after the mystery is solved the horror still continues, there is always one little thing which hasn't been solved, this is used in the ring very cleverly. It also makes you suspect someone, I suspected Aiden Keller because he acted really awkward, but it wasn't him who was behind the murders.
This film is a bit boring at points, you think the film is going to end but it doesn't. For instance, they get the girls dead body, bury it and go home, the end.
Not yet! She comes through a TV and kills Noah Clay! And its not the only time you think the films going to end.
I quite like this film as they have done something different, daily life objects are used for horror/thriller. Usually there are haunted houses or ghosts, in this film the phone and the TV are used. Every time the phone rings you get scared and the TV is also scary as everyone in the world watches it, there are millions of waves in the sky and the fact that Samara comes through waves is scary. It is only triggered by the start when the TV switches on by itself and when Samara phone Rachel Keller and says in a spooky Voice,
"Seven days", every time the phone rings after that both the characters and viewers have an awkward feeling.
This film is great and you have to watch it!
But not by yourself.
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