(This is what happens when you don’t upgrade to DVD…)
CAST: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, David Dorfman, Jane Alexander, Lindsay Frost, Shannon Cochran, Daveigh Chase, Rachael Bella, Amber Tamblyn.
DIRECTOR: Gore Verbinski
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and killer static coupled with long-haired ghosts in dire need of a trim - straight ahead…
There is a sub-genre of the Horror Genre known as J-Horror - or “Japanese Horror.” J-Horror became popular in the late 90’s and most of the last decade. Titles like KAIRO, SHUTTER, FENG SHUI, JU-ON, PHONE, DARK WATER, TALE OF TWO SISTERS, and ONE MISSED CALL, just to name a few, made their way across the Pacific and became instant sensations among horror-philes on this side of the world. Most of these titles wound up getting American remakes.
J-Horror films are characterized by several striking characteristics that make them stand apart from your basic American horror flick: (1) a brooding, clammy atmosphere that you can almost taste; (2) bleak and ominous cinematography; (3) scares that depend more on silence and the unseen rather than blatant “boo!” tactics; and (4) generally downbeat endings that leave a lot of plot threads chillingly unresolved.
The J-Horror film, however, that first exploded in Japan, got America’s attention, inspired many Asian rip-offs, and eventually scored its own highly successful US remake (our latest review) was RINGU. Which is the Japanese word for “ring.”
RINGU’s plot is brilliant in its elegant simplicity: a female reporter in Tokyo doing a story on urban legends is shocked by the sudden death of her niece from a heart attack. Digging into the death, she discovers that it might have actually been caused by an urban legend: a tape that kills the viewer exactly seven days after watching it. During her investigations, she comes across the tape, views it herself - and finds herself ensnared in the curse. Worse, her young son accidentally watches it, and gets pulled into the nightmare, too. With the clock now counting down to their deaths, the reporter teams up with her ex-boyfriend to try to unravel the mystery behind the tape - and hopefully break the curse.
RINGU was such a worldwide hit that an American remake became a no-brainer. Released in the fall of 2002, THE RING (as it was titled) defied expectations and went on to gross over $129,000,000 in the U.S. alone - making it one of the most successful horror films ever.
THE RING’s plot is basically an Americanization of RINGU. Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) is a Seattle reporter whose niece Katie (Amber Tamblyn) mysteriously dies without conclusive cause. Just as with RINGU, Rachel digs into the mystery and learns about a “cursed tape” that might have been behind not only Katie’s death, but three of her friends, as well. Rachel eventually watches the tape - and it’s all uphill from there. Even more so when her son Aidan (David Dorfman) really asks for it by watching the tape himself. Now, with the help of ex-flame (and Aidan’s Dad) Noah (Martin Henderson), who has also watched the tape, Rachel must unravel the mystery before all of them find out first-hand what killed Katie.
Presumably, it wasn’t the knowledge that by 2002, most cool people were using VCRs as doorstops - and not actually using them to watch anything.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: While RINGU was a masterpiece of gradually escalating dread that purposefully left a lot of things unexplained, THE RING take great pains to try to explain the genesis of the deadly tape. So much so that you almost feel at times like you’re watching a Powerpoint presentation.
Fortunately, director Gore Verbinski masterfully creates a thick atmosphere of doom that permeates every scene of the film. This unsettling aura is so potent that it makes you forgive the film for over-explaining its plot points. Put it this way: if SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE encouraged people to move to the Emerald City, THE RING will likely inspire folks to stay the hell away - and might even persuade Seattle residents to move to San Diego. However, for the purposes of a horror film, it’s entirely appropriate. And for the purposes of THE RING, it actually saves the film from being less than good.
THE RING also has one significant advantage over RINGU: its portrayal of its heroine. In RINGU, Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) was a generally competent lead. However there were many moments in the film where she basically just tagged along behind her partner Ryuji Takayama (Hiroyuki Sanada) while he unraveled the mystery with inexplicably Yoda-like power.
In THE RING, Rachel Keller is a much more pro-active and sharp-witted heroine. Part of the reason the film over-explains the plot is to correct RINGU’s over-reliance on Ryuji’s bizarre “a-ha!” moments. Naomi Watts’ steely-yet-human performance also does a lot in staying in step with her as she pulls apart the threads detailing the tragic backstory of the cursed tape. MULHOLLAND DRIVE might have gotten Naomi Watts noticed in Hollywood, but THE RING proved that she could carry a movie on her shoulders with her unique blend of spunk and softness.
In the role of Noah, this version’s Ryuji, Martin Henderson is also refreshingly fallible and human. In RINGU, Ryuji was such a confident bad-ass bordering on superhuman psychic that you became a little indifferent to whether he lived or died. In THE RING, Noah is definitely just a regular guy trying to cope with his situation. When he unravels vital clues, it’s through good old-fashioned detective work and not “visions” like Ryuji received on near-continuous basis. Henderson makes you do something that Sanada didn’t - care about the character he’s playing.
The rest of the supporting cast is solid. David Dorfman is the right mix of odd and vulnerable as Rachel’s equally-imperiled son. Lindsay Frost is touching in her small role as Rachel’s sister who begs her to look into Katie’s death. Brian Cox and Jane Alexander are memorable in their vital roles as, respectively: (1) a rural horse breeder who may hold the key to the mystery; and (2) a rural doctor who gives Rachel vital info on the tragedy behind the tape.
In summary: THE RING is a good, solid remake of the very good, but also somewhat flawed, RINGU. There’s atmosphere to burn here, and for an American film, that is something to be proud of.
