Rings

“DISCOVER THE “TERRIFYING” NEW CHAPTER in the groundbreaking Ring franchise. When a radical college professor (Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory) finds the mysterious video rumored to kill viewers seven days after watching, he enlists his students in a dangerous experiment to uncover the secrets behind the Samara legend. When the deadly video goes viral, they must figure out a way to break the curse and defeat Samara before her evil is unleashed upon the world. Buy how do you stop her when she’s everywhere?”

Despite the official synopsis description, Rings follows the characters Julia (Matilda Lutz) and her boyfriend Holt (Alex Roe), who has just left for college. When Julia receives a mysterious video call from someone using Holt’s computer, she travels to the campus to investigate what happened to her boyfriend. Knowing only the name of the professor Holt was doing an extra credit assignment for, Gabriel (Galecki), Julia seeks him out for answers. Being very evasive to her questions, Julia decides to follow Gabriel to an abandoned building where he is conducting experiments and collecting data from a vast array of students who watch the video, then is assigned another student by Gabriel to watch a copy, thus sparing them from the seven day deadline. When Julia recognizes the woman who called her from Holt’s computer, she follows her back to her apartment where she learns the frightening truth about what happens once the deadline is up.

Julia is reunited with Holt, who does his best to explain the situation. When all of Gabriel’s students drop out of the experiment, Julia willingly watches the tape to spare her beloved. When they approach Gabriel hoping to find someone else to watch a copy, they discover that her video is a bit different than the others. There is added information in the video, a larger file that won’t copy. Seeing these new images gives Julia clues to what Samara wants from her, and her and Holt travel to the rumored resting place of Samara to find answers.

In the final act, Julia and Holt learn of Samara’s tragic and dark past, including people in the town that want her history to remain buried. Julia desperately wants to find Samara’s remains to put them to rest, but what unexpected outcome could this lead to?

Although the first American Ring came out in 2002, technology and social media have exploded into something quite different at the time, and it does make sense that there is more to explore in the franchise. With studios so quick to simply remake films to meet this end, I respect Paramount for choosing to explore a new chapter than try to remake it instead. That being said, what Rings brings to the table isn’t so much a horrific and chilling film, it feels more like a mystery story than anything else, with a bunch of very cheap scare tactics to make the audience jump, including (and I’m not joking) an umbrella opening.

The opening sequence stands out as the best part of the film, which unfortunately has little to no connection with the rest of it. Taking place on an airplane on a passenger’s seventh day leaves him literally nowhere to run. This is a very tense and suspenseful sequence which is very well done. The rest of the more frightening things throughout the film involving Samara are things we have already seen before, and aren’t that impressive. Fortunately the visions that Julia experiences are creepy in their own way, but the terrible attempt at jump scares accompanying them tarnishes the respect for the scene.

Brining this new chapter to a new generation and new age does raise some interesting questions, although the mystery and magic of the curse kind of loses its meaning in the process. We can discuss analog vs. digital all day, but the general consensus is that digital is a more mechanical, less life-like form than analog. This mystery and magic I speak of comes from that dreaded VHS tape, which embodies all kinds of different emotions. As we progress further and further technologically, the mediums of the past do indeed have a kind of mysticism to them. This is lost entirely when the method of copying the video which saves your life consists of right clicking a file and selecting ‘copy’.

Despite these shortcomings, the ‘feel’ of the Ring films remains entirely intact, which is a testament to the filmmakers and writers who kept the spirit of the original films alive, in an albeit much different setting that doesn’t translate as well. The acting is exceptional, including a chilling performance by Vincent D’Onofrio.

Video

Rings is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1. The transfer looks really good, which, as I mentioned before, keeps the consistency of the original films. There are a lot of darker scenes throughout the picture, including a well maintained level of grain. This, including colors, are well balanced, giving the film a greenish-blue hue to it indicative of the original film.

Audio

The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1. This track sounds exceptional, with a lot of action going on in the surrounds, either in the form of screams or insects buzzing, you’ll definitely notice a heightened sense of creepiness thanks to this audio track. Levels are well balanced, with the majority of the sound coming from the center channel.

Special Features

There are a few special features included on the Blu-Ray disc which lend some insightful information as they bring this story into a new age. Interviews from the cast and crew give some great information; especially from the woman playing Samara herself and the process she must go through to become the subject of many a nightmare.

On this set you’re going to see:

• 14 Deleted/Extended Scenes Including Alternate Ending.
• Terror Comes Full Circle.
• Resurrecting the Dead: Bringing Samara Back
• Scary Scenes

Rings separates itself well from the rest of the franchise while keeping the most basic feelings alive. Does this translate well enough for a new generation? Although I believe some of the magic and mystery has a hard time surviving the jump to a new medium, Rings is a competent inclusion to the franchise, if nothing else brings a wider history to a great horror character.