Most people agree that the horror film genre self-destructed in the '90s. \Scream"" and the like pushed the limits of acceptable clich??, slasher films hit complete lows, and even complete spoofs like the ""Scary Movie"" series were less than entertaining.
However, with that death came a revival'the psychological, tense ""horror"" movie. In the line of the classic ""Psycho,"" recent hits ""The Sixth Sense"" and ""The Others"" rely more on the unseen and the imagined than blood and gore. Opening nationwide tonight, ""The Ring"" brings the most shudders and chills yet.
Brought over from Japan as a remake of the mega-hit ""Ringu,"" ""The Ring"" follows the lead of these other thrillers, setting forth a basic premise: After watching a mysterious videotape, viewers die in exactly seven days. While it sounds a bit like the dreadful ""Feardotcom,"" this film backs up the gimmick with cinematography and a plot with substance.
In an homage to the many horror films of the past, director Gore Verbinsky opens with the typical teenagers at home alone. Katie (Amber Tamblyn) and Becca (Rachael Bella) discuss the video tape urban legend. The phone rings, leading them downstairs. After Becca returns upstairs, Katie grows frustrated at the television, which keeps turning on. She finally unplugs it and walks upstairs. Water drips from a door handle down the hall, and like a good movie character, Katie investigates'and meets her death.
This opening scare lays out the rest of the plot; Katie's aunt Rachel (Naomi Watts) and her eerie son Aidan (David Dorfman) attend Katie's funeral. Afterwards, Rachel (a news reporter) is convinced to investigate the mysterious circumstances of her niece's death. Picking up some gossip from Katie's friends, Rachel hears about the tape and quickly discovers that three of her friends died on the same day, at the same time. She wastes no time tracking the tape down and watching it'and the audience watches it with her, barraged by a series of cryptic and disturbing images. While not graphic, they are chilling enough to make any viewer seriously question how this film was given a PG-13 rating. After she sees it, the phone rings and a quiet girl whispers, ""Seven days.""
While some film aficionados have cried foul'most remakes are absolutely putrid'""The Ring"" succeeds as one of the most chilling horror movies to hit American cinema in years. Naomi Watts has chosen a great film to follow up the surreal ""Mulholland Drive"" and she delivers a performance that should erase any doubts regarding her ability. Those who love a good Halloween scare'besides the sight of State Street'will relish every unnerving second of ""The Ring.""
