THE RING

Directed By: Gore Verbenski.
Starring: Naomi Watts, Daveigh Chase.
Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, thematic material, language and drug references.
Runtime: 115 minutes.

I’m aware that it’s slightly past Halloween now, but I wanted to review a horror movie for this month’s issue. I rented “The Grudge” with Sarah Michelle Gellar, but since it was a convoluted, instantly forgettable mess, I decided to review a movie that I saw as a kid that I really liked. I settled on “The Ring”, because not only did I love it back when I was twelve, it was the first movie to truly terrify me.

Watching it today, it isn’t quite as traumatizing, but I understand how it got under my skin so well. It provides the perfect combination of atmosphere and intrigue.

The story follows a reporter named Rachel Keller (played by Naomi Watts of “Mulholland Dr.”) whose niece dies under mysterious circumstances one night. The only witness, the teen girl’s friend, is thrust into a near-catatonic state. Rachel discovers that exactly seven days before her death, the girl viewed a mysterious videotape with her friends at an obscure mountain resort. Once Rachel finds that the friends had died as well, she sets out to see the tape for herself.

If you haven’t seen “The Ring”, go rent it or just get your hands on it anyway you can. I’ll refrain from disclosing any more of the plot in order to protect some of the twists that the story takes.

The atmosphere of the film is by far its strongest aspect. Arguments could be made about the inherent silliness of the premise, but the movie isn’t about that. It’s about the mood, the acting, and the intrigue of a force that we neither truly see nor truly understand. The fact that the movie never truly explains why or how this evil has come to be only serves to creep us out further, and it serves as a perfect contrast to the bland, forgettable horror films that have hit theaters in the past decade or so, explaining the monsters and their motives to us so that we understand them perfectly, and thus cease to be truly afraid of them. The evil force in “The Ring” fails to remain entirely ambiguous, but its motives aren’t as black and white as they may seem. The force seems to almost resent its inherent evil, but submits to it nevertheless.

“The Ring” is a wonderfully dark, moody, creepy horror film with a great musical score and haunting imagery that will stay with you long after the credits roll, and while it has moments that border on ludicrous, it never gets quite silly enough for you to convince yourself that it’s only a movie.

***1/2
(out of four)

INK

Directed by: Jamin Williams
Starring: Christopher Soren Kelly, Quinn Hunchar
Runtime: 107 minutes
Not Rated (adult language, some violence)

None of you have ever heard of this movie, I’m sure. It’s just a little indie movie that came out last year about a young girl being snatched into the world of dreams. That is all I’m going to say about the plot.

This is one of the most interesting, engaging and imaginative films I have ever seen, and it should be seen by everyone older than 12 or so.

This film is a visual art piece, the color saturated and distorted to give everything a dreamlike quality and feel, but the film doesn’t rely on just looking good. The music is outstanding and fits the movie perfectly. The story is multi-layered and fascinating, centering around the difficult relationship between a father who can never be around, and a daughter who needs someone to raise her.

However complex or visually stimulating the film gets, however, there is always emotion playing out on screen, both through visual and dialogue-driven storytelling. There are several sequences in this film that are enough to cause even the most self-proclaimed manly people to knot up in the throat a bit, but not necessarily because what is happening is depressing, but rather full of joy. The story is dark and strange, but, like dreams, there is also a childlike sense of wonder epitomized by the young girl’s musings on the dream world around her, bringing us into that mindset as well.

If one is to watch just one scene of this film out of context, it would look and feel very silly, with some very strange lines of dialogue and somewhat corny costume design, but once the viewer is brought into this world, these gripes are forgotten instantly.

I don’t know how to get this film on DVD, but it’s possible to rent it on YouTube for about 2 bucks and it’s on Netflix instant watch right now if you have a membership. I don’t care how you get your hands on it. Just go out of your way to experience “Ink”. It isn’t perfect, but it’s a creative, unforgettable film that packs more human emotion and visual intrigue than ten Hollywood films, at a minute fraction of the production cost. Show these talented filmmakers some support.

****
(out of 4)