The Ring

Director: Gore Verbinski Gore Verbinski

Overview

A disturbing videotape appears to hold the power of life and death over those who view it in this offbeat thriller. A strange videotape begins making the rounds in a town in the Pacific Northwest; it is full of bizarre and haunting images, and after watching it, many viewers receive a telephone call in which they are warned they will die in seven days. A handful of teenagers who watched the tape while spending a weekend at a cabin in the mountains scoff at the threat, but as predicted, they all die suddenly on the same night. Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts), the aunt of one of the ill-fated teens, is a journalist who has decided to investigate the matter and travels West with her young son, Aidan (David Dorfman), a troubled child who has been drawing pictures of strange and ominous visions. Rachel managed to find the cabin in the woods and watches the video herself; afterward, she receives the same phone call, and realizes she must solve the puzzle of the video and the person or persons behind it within a week. Rachel turns to her ex, Noah (Martin Henderson), an expert in video technology, who at first is convinced the story is a hoax until he digs deeper into the mystery. The Ring was adapted from a 1996 Japanese film by Hideo Nakata, which became a massive box-office success in Asia and spawned two sequels.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/13/2016
UPC:	0032429255327
Original Release:	2002
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:55:00
Sales rank:	30,436

Special Features

Closed Caption; Don't Watch This; Look Here

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Naomi Watts	Rachel Keller
Martin Henderson	Noah Clay
David Dorfman	Aidan Keller
Jane Alexander	Dr. Grasnik
Lindsay Frost	Ruth Embry
Amber Tamblyn	Katie Embry
Rachael Bella	Rebecca Kotler
Daveigh Chase	Samara Morgan
Shannon Cochran	Anna Morgan
Sandra Thigpen	Teacher
Richard Lineback	Innkeeper
Sasha Barrese	Girl Teen #1
Tess Hall	Girl Teen #2
Adam Brody	Male Teen #1
Alan Blumenfeld	Harvey
Pauley Perrette	Beth
Joseph Chrest	Doctor
Stephanie Erb	Donna
Joanna Lin Black	Cashier
Michael Spound	Dave Embry
Art Frankel	Cal
Billy Lloyd	Darby Grasnik
Sara Rue	Babysitter
Ronald William Lawrence	Library Clerk
Lindsey Stoddart	Grad Student
Joe Sabatino	Orderly
Aixa Clemente	Nurse
Coleen Maloney	Mourner #1
Catherine Paolone	Mourner #2
Maura McNamara	Girl on Ferry
David Povall	Girl's Father
Carlos Cervantes	Painter
Chuck Hicks	Ferry Worker
Hans Zimmer	Composer
Guy Richardson	Librarian
Fiachra Trench	Conductor

Technical Credits

Ehren Kruger

Hiroshi Takahashi

Gore Verbinski	Director
Ehren Kruger	Screenwriter
Hiroshi Takahashi	Screenwriter
Laurie MacDonald	Producer
Walter F. Parkes	Producer
Michele Weisler	Executive Producer
Mike Macari	Executive Producer
Roy Lee	Executive Producer
J.R. Grubbs	Sound Effects
Jodi Rothfield	Casting
Peter Miller	Sound/Sound Designer
Slamm Andrews	Sound Mixer

Editorial Reviews

Though the majority of truly effective scares in The Ring resound most clearly when borrowed from the original source material, Gore Verbinski's reworking of the phenomenally successful 1998 Japanese film Ringu is a suitably chilling version of the story, which has already seen a Korean remake, two sequels, and a made-for-television movie. Wisely opting for a sustained sense of dread over a series of shock scenes or an over-reliance on special effects, The Ring also benefits from the suitable and assured lead performance of actress Naomi Watts, despite some over-dramatization of events early on. The majority of newly incorporated plot elements are also fairly effective, with at least one instance aboard an island-bound ferry reaching a fever pitch of disturbing heights. And though many of these elements work within the context of the story, certain embellishments are more distracting than effective. The properties of the video that spark the desperate investigation of its origins, as well as the video itself, seem slightly more forced, even if the plot developments that they ultimately lead to are indeed intriguing. A hypnotic melding of obscure nightmarish imagery in the Japanese theatrical release, the video as presented in the American remake, as one character so eloquently states, is "very student film." This isn't to say that it isn't effective in terms of uncomfortable imagery, but rather that it lacks the subtleties that made the original so obscurely menacing. This can also be said of the character of Samara. Where the original wisely refrained from giving the audience a good look at this terrifying figure of mysterious origins, we simply see too much of her here. Her seemingly unearthly and unnatural movements, so effectively realized by utilizing an actress versed in Kabuki theater in the original, is here less-engagingly realized with special effects and trick photography. Also integrating elements from the sequel as well as other contemporary Japanese chillers, The Ring pays homage to its origins while maintaining a decidedly American slant. A highly stylized visual stunner, Verbinski's sparse frame recalls the original while cinematographer Bojan Bazelli's photography helps the film stand on its own as a lusciously foreboding rain-soaked nightmare.