[yasr_overall_rating]
A young woman finds herself on the receiving end of a terrifying curse that threatens to take her life in 7 days.
“Rings” is a reboot, plain and simple. Instead of starting over and completely ignoring the events which transpired in both “The Ring” and “The Ring Two,” the new story just continues like nothing ever happened. There is never any mention of the previous films and the characters’ interactions with Samara, the vengeful ghost that crawls out of the nearest television set and scares you to death after you watch a cursed video. So in this world, it’s quite possible that the other stories did occur, they are just never mentioned. I am quite sure there will be a “Rings” sequel and in grandiose “Friday the 13th” fashion, we may then get a backstory, encompassing all of the films and their tragic events.
When Holt (Alex Roe) heads off to college, he and his girlfriend Julia (Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz), agree to maintain a long-distance relationship. For a few weeks, everything is fine, as they both Skype each other in the evenings but then suddenly, she stops hearing from him. She calls, texts, and tries to connect with him on Skype, but to no avail. One night, she receives an incoming Skype request from him and when she answers it, she is surprised to find a hysterical girl on the other end, at which point the line goes dead. Julia decides to travel to Holt’s college but is dismayed when she cannot find him, and everyone seems to be giving her the cold shoulder. Eventually, she tracks him down and he explains to her that his classmates are dying because of a cursed video they watched and he confesses that he watched it too. He tells her that unless he makes a copy and gives it to someone else, he will die in less than 12 hours.
Trying to protect him, she watches it herself, therefore breaking his curse but now she has seven days before she dies. As Gabriel (Johnny Galecki), one of Holt’s college professors, explains the backstory of the video and its “Urban legend” to them, Julia starts recounting some of the strange images she saw while viewing the video. They quickly realize that they are visions and that there is an underlying cohesive structure to them and in order to try and understand them and break the spell, once and for all, they must travel to a small town where the urban legend says it all began, before it is too late.
The main problem with “Rings” is that it is simply not scary. Because of the first two movies, and the Japanese original on which all of these are based, we already know what to expect, and when, so there is absolutely no tension whatsoever. When Samara is getting ready to come for someone, we know that it doesn’t matter if they unplug the TV, or smash their laptop into the ground, they will mysteriously power back on, she will slowly, and dramatically emerge, and then scare them to death. Nothing has changed from its predecessors, it is pretty much a new chapter for a new generation, telling the exact same story, over and over. At times, director F. Javier Gutiérrez introduces a “Final Destination” vibe into the story, even going so far as to include some musical cues from the late, great Shirley Walker, who scored and composed said films, but these indications are quickly discarded and the movie returns to its ghostly roots.
The acting, for the most part, is sub-par, with the brunt of the work falling on the shoulders of Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, an actress with very little onscreen experience. Had they cast a more seasoned pro in the part, I doubt it would have done much to improve the overall storyline but it would have most certainly made a stronger impact. The only time the movie truly comes alive, is with the appearance of Vincent D’Onofrio, he can make even the most cliché-ridden films, palpable, but when he is off screen, you feel the loss of his presence and hope he will make a hasty return. “Rings” will undoubtedly make money and tap into the audience who enjoyed the earlier incarnations but truth be told, I’d recommend Hideo Nakata’s 1998 original “Ringu,” or Gore Verbinski’s stylish and effectively creepy American remake, “The Ring,” at least they both had the chills and apprehension required to scare their intended audience.
Available on Blu-ray & DVD Tuesday, May 2nd
