THE RING [2002] Naomi Watts ; Rated 15

When a cynical journalists niece spontaneously dies of fright, one week to the day that she watched a disturbing video, she starts to investigate the tape's origins and its links to a string of suicides. Which is basically what this remake of the cult Japanese horror flik, 'Ringu' is all about. I was slightly disappointed by the movie, probably because of all the hype which surrounded it in the couple of weeks before it's release. Don't get me wrong, it is one of the best horror films to hit the big screen in quite a while, but it really fails when it comes to creating big scares. There isn't really that many jump out your seat moments either, which was also a bit of let down, however all that to one side 'The Ring' was an enjoyable film and it's the intrigue behind the origins of the mysterious video which drive the movie, not the scares. In many ways this is much more of an intellectual horror piece than you might have expected and it would of made for a great Halloween special of Columbo. All in all though 'The Ring' is a very well crafted movie and whether it meant to or not, it doesn't come across as resorting to cheap scares to make it entertaining, and if it wasn't for the high expectations I had for the movie I probably would have given it an extra point out of five, but there was hype and there was disappointment, so it will have to settle for second best. If you're up for a spooky Friday night out then this movie is for you, if you're up for the shock of your life, I suggest you watch Jerry Springer.

3/5