Ring of terror

I went to bed at 6 in the morning, with all of my lights on,
after seeing this movie.

Based on a Japanese blockbuster, The Ring provides a terrifying mix of complex plot, highly effective cinematography, direction and score. In short, it is the most frightening movie I have ever seen.

While a tale of videotape that kills people may seem banal at first, the director possesses the awesome ability to turn this B-movie idea into an outstanding horror flick. Starting with the untimely death of a teen, The Ring shows the girl's aunt, reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts), embarking on an investigation into the depths of an urban legend.

After finding this tape, which supposedly kills you after seven days, our heroine watches it, thus sending herself on a journey to find a way to save her own life. Along the way, she has many extremely disturbing encounters with the unknown and uncovers the story of a doomed family and an island.

While the plot is slightly confusing and occasionally skips around, these lapses actually help the movie to achieve a more petrifying effect by allowing your mind and imagination to fill any of the plot holes with your own terrorized thoughts.

The plot is enhanced by the amazing direction of Gore Verbenas, who also did such unimpressive films as Mouse Hunt and The Mexican. He creates a startling world where anything could happen, using quick cuts and disturbing images rather than simple gore. This effect is helped along by the score, essential to all scary movies, which can make you cringe as it builds up to especially alarming scenes.  

Additionally, the amazing cinematography contains color filters helping the movie look a little creepier and give an antiqued, surreal quality. The angles used in the movie also help to accentuate the alarmingly nightmare-like quality present.  If a Nine Inch Nails music video decided that it wanted to become a full length feature, I can imagine it strongly resembling The Ring.

All in all, this movie is a wonderful cinematic achievement and I highly recommend it for all those who love horror. Although rated PG-13, it definitely deserves a rating of R for pure terror. The Ring should also come with a disclaimer against anyone with a vivid imagination seeing it since the disturbing images and thoughts will stay with you for many sleepless nights. Trust me, I know.