Seattle Post Intelligencer reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts of Mulholland Dr. fame) investigates the urban legend of a videotape that kills you seven days after you first watch it in this unsettling and stunningly filmed psychological thriller. Of course, there's more to the plot than that but revealing any more would be giving away too much. The film is directed surprisingly well by Gore Verbinski, known for directing The Mexican and Mouse Hunt.
This film will scare you like you thought you couldn't be scared. That rather simple statement describes the experience you will have if you see The Ring. The film grabs you right from the beginning as you witness two panic-stricken teens home alone that at first may remind you a little of the opening scene in Scream. After that scene the film proceeds to become both an engaging mystery type film and a film that will at times shock you because of some imagery that far surpasses anything seen in this year's Fear Dot Com, a film that ripped off this film's source, a 1998 Japanese horror film titled Ringu, AKA The Ring. Quite simply, the cinematography is beautiful and enriches an already haunting cinematic experience.
The film's script is also able to do something most films of this type struggle with, which is to tell a complex story without gaping plot holes staring back the viewer. The credit for that can go to screenwriter Ehren Kruger, no stranger to psychological thrillers as Kruger also wrote the script for the 1998 thriller Arlington Road, which featured the type of ending not normally seen in a Hollywood film. What the ring actually refers to is quite original and is likely to surprise you for its more genuine meaning than some simple horror film cliché.
Of course, a beautiful film still needs to have stellar acting to be a fulfilling motion picture and The Ring has it. In the lead, the beautiful Naomi Watts is unbelievably good as she plays her smart-mouthed character with a vulnerability not normally seen from a film character of her type. I believe that she gives the character the extra sense of vulnerability without it actually being written in the screenplay. Her acting is able to portray it through emotional actions and facial expressions. As her son, young David Dorfman is a dead ringer for Haley Joel Osment's character in The Sixth Sense but Dorfman plays it just right to make the character stand out more. As Watts' friend Noah, Martin Henderson is able to give a likable performance. Supporting performances are also top-notch as people like Brian Cox give standout and memorable performances in just a few scenes.
Overall, The Ring is a thriller that is more exciting than The Sixth Sense and more thought provoking than most dramas these days. What that adds up to is one of the best films of any genre so far this year.
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