BEFORE YOU DIE, YOU SEE THE RING.
This surprisingly effective remake of Ringu (1998), a Japanese chiller, became a box office smash and helped elevate Naomi Watts to stardom. She is engaging as the reporter who watches an ominous videotape and then tries to solve its mystery in order to stay alive. The movie is fairly close to the original but attempts to develop certain parts of the story, which unfortunately makes it longer than necessary. The filmmakers also make the mistake of showing too much, such as the scary little girl’s face. But the dark cinematography is horrifically beautiful.
2002-U.S. 115 min. Color. Directed by Gore Verbinski. Cinematography: Bojan Bazelli. Cast: Naomi Watts (Rachel Keller), Martin Henderson (Noah Clay), David Dorfman (Aidan Keller), Brian Cox, Jane Alexander, Lindsay Frost.
Trivia: Gwyneth Paltrow was allegedly offered the part of Rachel. Followed by two sequels, starting with The Ring Two (2005).
