The Ring

Freaky stuff! Definitely had some genuine jumpy moments.

From the get go, it felt quite contrived... You've got the main 'kids' of the movie looking blatantly spooky themselves, the likeably attractive heroine (Naomi Watts), the dream-hunk Hollywood-esque male lead (who has an uncanny resemblance to Matthew McConoughay), and the formula is near-complete.

What immediately ensues is some shoddy acting by the intermediary cast, and some convenient plot development.

As an example: Naomi Watts (Rachel) and her son Aidan are at the wake of a recently deceased cousin at the start of the movie. The mother of the deceased says how she has trawled the internet to find similar cases, and is bewildered by the incident and has no idea of how to begin looking for an explanation. At this precise moment, Naomi Watts (who also happens to be an investigative journalist) comes across her first clue by flicking through an obviously placed photo album. Within the cover is an undeveloped ticket receipt with the address slapped bang in the middle in obvious print. That the mother and the police would have missed this completely is a little hard to believe, and a little insulting to the audience in my view.

But this movie is far from trying to be an accurate portrayal of reality. It's a supernatural horror story. And for that effectual and affectual intent it works exceedingly well.

The introduction of Brian Cox's character mid-way through the movie marked the first spark of emotional engagement for me. And the story commanded my attention from there on. Aside from some randomly unexplained moments (the demise of Brain Cox's character), and even the nature of the ending, there were some brilliant twists that made for an interesting story, with plenty to make you jump about for. I have to admit, I was a little scared!

That the Direction wasn't perhaps as attentive to detail as I would have liked (taking into account more of the emotional nuances, or even the human drama) is perhaps no real surprise coming from Gore Verbinski of Pirates of the Carribean fame. He seems more adept at genre realisation (ie. Hollywood Blockbusters in the style of Michael Bay, or Horror), than the dramatisation of the human condition - and that shows through.

Interesting too, that the movie is made by Dreamworks. Spielberg was reportedly in talks to remake the South Korean hit 'Old Boy' with Will Smith way back when (perhaps around the same time as this was being made). But thankfully, plans never came to fruition. Knowing that this was a remake of a Japanese Classic makes me wonder how much better the original might be. I would imagine it to be more minimalist (not on a Hollywood budget), more raw and elemental, and very much look forward to checking it out sometime in the near future! (As soon as my Blockbuster Rental List allows, or funds become more available).