Although part of the Ring franchise, I’m
reviewing the latest installment of the series as a stand alone film. It’s been
close to ten years since I’ve watched The Ring, and honestly, I don’t remember
enough about it in order to compare it to Rings. It obviously didn’t make much
of an impression on me. On another note, I don’t think I’ve watched the
Japanese original either.
Rings provides an origin story for Samara,
the demonic well-dweller who manifests through television and computer screens.
Other than providing some immediate excitement, the opening sequence isn’t
really necessary. (The film could have just started with Gabriel purchasing the
VCR and videotape). But as most horror fans might agree, a little extra of the
‘scary’ stuff isn’t a bad thing either. We’re reintroduced to the videotape
(now digitalized from the VCR tape) and the subsequent “Seven Days” phone call
through an experiment being run by Gabriel, a college professor. Setting
Julia’s investigation into motion by enclosing it in the premise of a college
professor’s experiment actually works well. It provides reasonable explanations
for many of the other plot elements that pop up.
Rings raised a few questions. The film
doesn’t really explain why Samara was born as an evil manifestation to begin
with. Sure, she was the product of a priest raping her mother and keeping her
captive in an underground bunker, but this alone (as disturbing as it in
itself) doesn’t really account for her inherent evil. Especially since there
was always something wrong with the child, even though she was not raised by
her birth parents, nor kept in captivity, nor tortured or any other number of
things. It’s almost like we’re supposed to believe it was just some random
glitch that she was born evil. There’s no clear origin for Samara being a
terrifying child before she’s thrown down the well. (The demonic being thing is
a little more understandable after being discarded down a well). It’s probably
an over-analysis, but a child born out of such circumstances doesn’t
automatically become evil.
What happened to Evelyn (Samara’s mother)
after Samara was born? Wikipedia says that Evelyn escaped before giving birth,
but I completely missed this. And where did she end up from there? Besides
wandering around as some sort of pregnant spirit? It’s clear that Evelyn
disappeared, but how exactly? No doubt Burke had something to do with it, but
providing a little more of Evelyn’s story might have been beneficial. Perhaps
in another film?
As for another random question, why does
Samara suddenly gain the ability to renew Burke’s sight? Apparently his
self-inflicted blindness kept him from Samara’s harm because he was unable to
see her, but if she had the ability to restore his sight, why not take revenge
before now? I guess someone had to find her remains to ‘release’ her, but from Burke’s
words, it wasn’t the first time Samara had manifested in his presence.
Burke isn’t immediately revealed as the
priest either, which provides some suspense through the film and allows for the
plot twists to develop as they do. The best twist is inevitably saved for last,
after it appears that Julia and Holt’s lives have returned to normal after
cremating Samara’s remains. The meaning of the braille burned into Julia’s hand
is revealed. While Julia’s visions lead her (and the audience) to believe that
the cremation would release Samara’s spirit and banish the evil presence that
possessed her, it’s revealed not to be so. In an unsettling final scene,
Julia’s skin begins peeling away where the word “rebirth” was previously burned
in braille. It reveals decaying, waterlogged flesh underneath. Further, Julia
begins gagging and pulls an impossibly long (and disgusting) strand of wet
black hair from her mouth. A camera shot of the mirror suddenly reveals Samara
where Julia’s reflection should be.
Overly analytical and critical questions
aside, Rings was actually a reasonably suspenseful watch. There was an easily
followed, somewhat developed plot line, believable acting, good effects and a
few jump-scares. (A lot of horror films manage to fall short of combining all
of these elements). While I wanted a few more explanations and answers at the
end of the film, I found it pretty solid, especially if you like origin stories
and additional insight into your horror antagonists.
Worth Watching: Probably
