The horror movie I love

I don't usually enjoy watching horror movies, but I consider “The Ring” to be a remarkable one in the genre. It is Gore Verbinski's remake of an earlier original Japanese horror movie. The marketing campaign for its sequel was as fascinating as the film itself, dipping the viewer into the reality of the narrative and actually making them the participants of the action: mysterious videotapes were scattered around American cities, frightening the viewers with the content.


The plot of the film has the videotape as its main element; the tape carries a supposedly amateur short film. A young journalist, a single mother, has to conduct an investigation in order to break the chain of deaths that the tape causes. Finally, she finds a way to do it, and at the same time discovers the story behind the tape.

I find this film deeply allegorical, and many of its plot elements focusing on the ill-fated events in a person’s life. For example, the seven days that the heroine has to investigate the case and save her life, stand for all those deadlines that we experience in our lives (especially in big cities), and the reminder - the ringing phone - causes a lot of stress. Also, there are no happy families in the movie. The heroine, a single mother and a hard-working specialist, tries to protect her child from the dangers of the adult world.

The film was shot with the use of a green filter, making the whole palette dull and scary. The repeated music theme adds to the impression. Many of the elements - even the blurred Dreamworks logo, making it look like actually the ring of light emanating from the bottom of s well - work to support this creepy feeling of suspense.

I was really fascinated right from the first viewing, not so much with its simple plot, but with the accessible allegories and the skill with which the film was made.