Review: 'Rings' is a mystery movie trying to be a horror film
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 102 minutes (~1.75 minutes)
“Rings” is an American supernatural horror film that’s the third in the “Ring” franchise, which is based on the Japanese horror novel series of the same title.
“Rings” sees the curse of Samara Morgan (more famously known as Sadako in the Japanese version) re-emerging when a college professor discovers her cursed video tape and ends up conducting experiments with students on it. They soon discover that there seems to be another video within the original cursed video, which leads them to discovering more about Samara’s past.
“Rings” is directed by F. Javier Gutiérrez, with a story and screenplay by David Loucka Jacob and Aaron Estes. Akiva Goldsman is also credited for the screenplay. It stars Matilda Lutz (Julia), Alex Roe (Holt Anthony), Johnny Galecki (Gabriel Brown), Vincent D’Onofrio (Galen Burke), Aimee Teegarden (Skye Johnston), and Bonnie Morgan (Samara Morgan). It is rated PG-13.
Fun fact about the American version of the “Ring” franchise — the actress who has played Samara Morgan for two films (“Rings” and “Ring Two”), Bonnie Morgan, shares the same surname as the monstrous character she plays. Not only that, she’s also a contortionist, which helps explain how they manage to get Samara Morgan to move like Kayako from the “Ju-On” franchise. Beyond that, there’s very little that’s fresh about this instalment of the “Ring” franchise — it’s even reminiscent of story structure of the original.
Highlights
Integration of modern technology
The problem with the original concept of “Ring” is that it hasn’t aged well, since the curse is spread by a video tape. Fortunately, “Rings” addresses this issue by showing just how easy it is to copy and analyse the contents of the video. There’s also the issue of the copious number of screens we have these days, which is also skilfully made use of in the film.
Letdowns
What you see is what you get
You see Samara Morgan very early in the film. In fact, you see exactly what she looks like. This reduces the scare factor of the film since supernatural horror is highly dependent on the fear of the unknown. Of course, most people already know what Samara Morgan looks like, and it’s plastered all over the posters, too. Still, some element of surprise would have helped to elevate the frights in the film.
Too many jump scares
There are just too many moments where the film suddenly quadruples its volume and shoves a random close-up in your face, all in the name of scaring you. It’s an unexpected shock that quickly evaporates once you realise there’s nothing out of the ordinary in that scene. Once it happens for the third time, you start wondering why the film has to resort to such cheap tricks to qualify as a horror film.
More mystery than horror
Perhaps the most critical issue of all is that “Rings” just isn’t scary. It’s more of a mystery, an adventure where the protagonists learn more about the dark secret behind Samara Morgan and the small town that she came from. There’s a fairly impressive revelation at the end of the film that serves as a decent twist to an otherwise straightforward tale. But this doesn’t make it a horror film. It’s more of a mystery thriller, and it would have fared better if it were presented as such.
Plot problems
There are so many issues with the story. Are we supposed to sympathise with Samara? Does Samara’s power have any limitations? The film establishes that she’s unable to exert her will in certain situations, but that restriction is arbitrarily removed when it’s convenient. Samara is shown to be able to write in English, so why doesn’t she just explain everything? Horror films aren’t meant to make sense, true, but “Rings” takes this to the extreme.
“Rings” would have been a better mystery film than a horror one.
Should you watch this if it’s free? Okay.
Should you watch it at weekday movie ticket prices? No.
Score: 2.0/5
“Rings” opens in cinemas:
– 23 February, 2017 (Singapore)
– 9 February, 2017 (Malaysia)
– 22 February, 2017 (Philippines)
Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter, having written for Police & Thief, Incredible Tales, Crimewatch, and Point of Entry. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find him on social media as Optimarcus and on his site. The views expressed are his own.
