The Ring (2002) (PG-13) ★★★½

A creepy, unsettling and sometimes downright suffocating horror flick based on the Japanese film Ringu (The Ring).

Story

The film opens as teenagers Katie (Amber Tamblyn) and Becca (Rachael Bella) are having a sleepover and spooking each other with ghost stories. Trouble is, the urban legend Becca retells is all too true, as Katie is just about to find out in the most grisly of ways. The story centers on a mysterious videotape that, should you be so unfortunate as to view it, will kill you in seven days (you know this because someone calls right after you watch it to alert you that you're gonna kick). Katie and her friends watched it, and sure enough, they're all dead a week later--sparking Katie's aunt, an investigative journalist named Rachel (Naomi Watts), to uncover what happened and why. When the trail leads her to the sinister tape, she watches it, receives the foreboding phone call, and consequently sets off on a race against time to somehow save her life by finding out the meaning of what she's seen. She enlists the help of Noah (Martin Henderson), the father of her rather strange and solitary young son Aidan (David Dorfman)--who, like all kids in horror movies these days, is seeing frightening visions too--and over the course of seven days, the two find themselves embroiled in a mystery that involves the tape, a twisted family and dying horses.

Acting

The acting by all involved is generally good. Naomi Watts, who hit the radar with David Lynch's Mulholland Drive last year, ably carries the film although there are times in close-up when she looks too self-aware, with an almost smug expression, as though she's about to smile when the situation isn't the least bit funny. Maybe it's because she knows her Rachel does some pretty mind-blowingly foolish things, the most noteworthy among them leaving the deadly video out where her curious son (who annoyingly invokes Haley Joel Osment and looks absolutely nothing like either of the folks playing his parents) can pop it in the ol' VCR. Though Watts is a basically likeable fresh face, any number of up-and-coming actresses could have done this role--as well or better.

Direction

It's been awhile since jaded horror fans have had something to get excited about. Gore Verbinski justifies his career after the miserable The Mexican with this taut thriller, which opens with the teen girls in a truly terrifying sequence reminiscent of Scream. Verbinski is keenly aware of the value of keeping things just out of sight and not resorting to cheap horror movie shlock, so there are genuine chills to be had (animal lovers will want to cover their eyes during one particularly horrifying scene). Although the moments that'll really make you jump out of your skin are few and far between, the secret behind the videotape is compelling, as is the imagery. Without overdoing it, The Ring displays some fantastic cinematography, particularly with the Buñuel-esque videotape (you could have heard a pin drop, as engrossed as the audience was at this review screening), and the shots of gloomy, mist-enshrouded Washington State are disquietingly atmospheric. However, the last third of the movie is somewhat disappointing and contains several utterly ridiculous scenes--particularly one at the ending (which actually has a nice twist).

Bottom Line

Beware of plot holes you could drive a Mack truck through, and enjoy this well-done thriller-slash-horror movie that has some good, scary jolts, provocative images and an intriguing premise.