Be Careful What You Watch

Last weekend was quite eventful: a wonderful performance of Murder with a Silver Spoon at Orchard Hills followed by a gathering to watch a movie. I have seen parodies and spoofs of the suspense movie The Ring on television almost since the movie was released in 2002. WOW…. it is that old and I had yet to see it?! I have always enjoyed a good suspenseful film and this is definately a very strange one. You really need to pay attention and not drift to catch all of the nuances.

Naomi Watts plays Rachel, a young journalist who investigates the mysterious death of her niece. At the wake, Rachel overhears a group of teenagers discussing a video which a number of students watched 7 days prior to mysteriously dying… all at the same time on the same date. After watching the video herself, Rachel begins to see the exact images which were on the recording. These images lead the investigator on a race against time to prevent not only her death but also those of her young son and his father.

Perhaps the most mysterious character in the film is Rachel’s son, Aidan (David Dorfman). The child seems to have a very eerie connection to the mystery. He draws pictures of people’s deaths days before they occur. It is almost as if you expect him to utter the much quote phrase “I see dead people.”

Several pieces of trivia about The Ring caught my attention. Primarily the fact that the movie is a remake of the recent Japanese film, Ringu. Also, the movie was directed by Gore Verbinski who directed the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy.

The Ring is an intriguing suspense thriller which holds the viewers attention. Although it does have one scene of (I’m sure and would hope) simulated animal endangerment, it is relatively devoid of gore. It is a fairly intelligent mystery.

Jamy Shaffer