After her niece and several school friends die in mysterious circumstances, investigative reporter Rachel Keller uncovers a modern myth about a videotape with the power to kill. Initially skeptical, her life is turned upside down when her son begins to voice prophetic messages and, after watching a copy of the tape, she receives a telephone call from a young girl, informing her she has only 7 days left to live.
Despite my initial reservations at the idea of a Hollywood remake of the superb Japanese cult-hit Ring, the rumours filtering through about the desire to maintain the tone and style of the original were refreshingly promising. Here was a film that traded not in cheap shocks, but a gently unrelenting buildup of tension culminating in a truly effective climax. Could the US version resist reverting to the tried and tested easy scare?
The answer is a resounding yes. Verbinski obviously appreciated what was so effective about the original, and indeed seems to also have been very aware of the shortcomings that were easy to forget after Sadako�s last laugh. Namely, a plot which slightly unravels to the point of being slightly ridiculous, resulting in an unfortunate reduction of the ominous tension. So instead we get a much more considered build-up. Gone is the notion that the estranged husband is conveniently psychic and so much of the clue solving is of a more realistic nature. Also the backstory of the Sadako character (here called Samara) is more developed, jettisoning the idea of psychic witch-hunts in favour of a more grounded tale of mysterious horse deaths and child abuse.
What is retained though is the oppressive, relentless foreboding. The backing soundtrack is full of bass and grating squeaks, rumbling around the cinema constantly. This is probably done to better effect than the original, and is more akin to the Japanese sequel in putting more jolts throughout the main body of the narrative rather than just at the ending. These are terrifically done, with visions and flashbacks to the tape�s content. The tape itself is not as confused and abstract as the Japanese version, with a few events much clearer and easier to pick up the meanings; the hair combing is nowhere near as unsettling as before.
The famous ending is not as scary, but still as twisty (the wide, well lit loft apartment is not a good set for scares, plus Samara is not as terrifying as Sadako), yet Verbinski has succeeded in rectifying the film�s weaknesses to produce a superior Hollywood shocker which leaves you no time to laugh in relief and say �oh, they got me with that one� before throwing another cheap scare at you. Once you enter the cinema, prepare to have the hairs on your neck raised in fear for a good 2 hours. |
