The Ring

This American remake of the Japanese classic will make you think whilst sending a chill down your spine! A young, reporter discovers a video tape which supposedly kills you seven days after you watch it, after which her niece mysteriously dies with no just cause. As the reporter tries to find out whether the video is a hoax or not, she comes across a disturbing series of events. She only has seven days to reveal the secret, not only to save her own life but also the lives of her son and ex husband - time is running short.

For me, a scary film isn’t full of blood and guts. What usually gets to me is the psychological aspect and the suspense that builds up in your own mind. That is what The Ring is all about. Right from the start it’s full of tension as we watch the horrific story unfold.

My friends were making jokes from the moment I pressed play, trying to avoid the fear through laughter. The supposed manly one out of us actually called for a break half an hour into it and then we all agreed on another an hour after that when the disk froze and scared the living daylights out of us.

I must admit, I was very girlie about it all, as was one of the boys, wincing at everything and actually slapping people for turning the lights out.

But by the end we all had a pillow, all making ourselves as small as possible on the sofa, as if hiding from the possibility that the fate that the characters in the film, could be ours too. Two of us openly admitted that we were scared whilst watching it, the other two tried to deny it. However, they later confessed to having problems sleeping that night!

There is no graphic violence and very few disturbing images. Even as an involved murder mystery it’s an awesome film, but as a horror film it’s even better. It really is a think piece though. You can’t switch off at any time during it or otherwise you’ll miss something. But, no matter how good it is, I really don’t recommend watching it on your own for the first time.

One of the best, if not the best horror film I’ve ever seen, it’s everything that the Blair Witch wanted to be and more.

Carly Clements