Flipside Movie Emporium

[maverick]

I was watching the ring last night, and ended up being a little confused ... I did not fully understand the finish of the movie. I am very curious to know so could someone please explain what exactly happens at the end of the movie...

Thanks,

MavericK

[Danny Baldwin]

I would tell you, but to be completely honest, I don't remember (saw it on opening day--10/18/02). I do remember from previous posts that most people thought that it was a lot more than it was, though. I think its a lot more simple than what you said. Maybe once you guys start talking, the ending will come back to memory.
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Danny Baldwin

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[juhsstin]

yeah, exactly what are you talking about? in the end...

they copy the tape and save aiden somehow
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Who let the dogs out?

[Movie Guru]

What's that movie?? The ring?? What type of movie is it??
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Movie Guru

[juhsstin]

comedy
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Who let the dogs out?

[Movie Guru]

Hey juhsstin

Are you sure about that comic thing?? I just saw "The ring" DVD at rental shop. I believe it's a horror movie. I want you to be serious please. I really didn't know what kind of movie it is until I saw it this evening. Anyway.....thanks for your information

Guru
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Movie Guru

[juhsstin]

sorry. you're right it's a horror.
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Who let the dogs out?

[Danny Baldwin]

Strangely I did find The Ring effective, despite it's flaws. Very eerie, even though pretty cheesy and stupid. But, yes, I could see how you would sarcastically call it a comedy. After all, it's pretty funny for what it's worth.
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Danny Baldwin

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[juhsstin]

i actually liked the ring a lot. though mainly because of the story derived from japan. having seen ringu first, i actually prefer the original.

i've even heard someone say on another message board that the ring is the exorcist of our generation. although much of its shine has to do with the surprise at the end. kinduva one night stand of sorts. personally it left me insatiably hungry for more, sequels an prequels will in all likelihood not come even close to the first one.
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Who let the dogs out?

[beltmann]

I was impressed by neither Ringu nor The Ring. I saw the Japanese original prior to the American version, which no doubt affected my response to DreamWorks? nearly perfectly faithful remake. Nevertheless, I suppose I prefer the American version, since it contains superior production values, a real performance by Naomi Watts, and occasionally some evocative cinematography. The best sequences have a Dadaist appeal, but mostly it is tiresome nonsense, refusing to engage with its implied critique of a culture oversaturated by media and images. A recent revisit on DVD confirmed my initial response that The Ring doesn?t really improve on its mediocre source material. Like Ringu, the remake is all build-up, with clunky plotting, lazy ?mythology,? nonsense revelations, and zero verisimilitude. I didn?t even finish the second viewing.

The hurried Japanese sequel (Ringu 2, naturally) is more of the same, and equally tedious.

As for the movie being The Exorcist for "our" generation, I must assume that means kids. I don't really understand the large audience fascination with this mock urban myth, and I don't think much of the so-called "surprise" ending. Shouldn't the filmmakers have at least done something with the idea that mass audiences--us--have now seen the death tape?

Eric

[the night watchman]

I like both movies, but I prefer the original, "Ringu," and consider it one of the best horror movies of the last 10 years. In fact, I appreciate its slow and steady build up to a genuinely surprising ending. It's strange how a lot of people are convinced the movie doesn't make any sense. Does it make any less sense that any other supernatural movie? "The Exorcist," since it was mentioned, works with as much logic (illogic? alogic?), yet no one complains.

The US "The Ring," feels the need to insert "jump scenes" and some extraneous info, which in my opinion screws up the pacing, rendering the ending less effective, but it still manages to achieve a creepy atmosphere, and actually improves on some aspects of the original (specifically Samara's victims).

This is what happened in chronological order: --SPOILERS--

Samara was a girl with the ability to project images into people's heads, onto film, etc. She was either unable or unwilling to control this ability. The psychic assault finally took a toll on Samara's mother, who murdered her by bashing the girl on the head with a rock and dumping her down a well. Samara, however, did not die from the blow, and lived for seven days at the bottom of the well. What happened while she was down there for those seven days is never made explicit, but it can be speculated that she went mad(-der?) and projected her rage into the ambient airwaves in the sky above her. These images were captured and projected onto a dead TV channel, which Rachel's (Watts) niece and her friends recorded onto videotape. The tape acts as a conduit for Samara back into this world, through which she intends to make as many people suffer as possible; hence the only way the curse can be lifted is to record the tape and show it to others, thus spreading the range Samara?s influence.

What is the logic of this? Well, we're talking about the anger of a psychotic ghost. She wants everyone to know what happened to her, and she wants everyone to suffer like she did. It's irrational, sure, but there is a twisted, solipsistic logic to it.

[beltmann]

I'll complain about the illogic of The Exorcist, but even more about its lack of sophistication. It's a fairly primitive horror show, and, to me, not particularly effective. I've always considered it one of the most overrated horror pictures, along with the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I guess their brand of "horror" is not what frightens, disturbs, unsettles, or otherwise affects me. Works like Repulsion or Rosemary's Baby (my personal fave) are far superior, in my opinion.

Eric

[the night watchman]

I'd definitely agree that "Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby" are more sophisticated than "The Exorcist" or TCM. But simplicity, and even primitivism, has its virtues.

Edit: The thing that impresses me about TCM is how it feels that the madness of the family has somehow seeped into the walls and foundation of the house itself. There's no overt suggestion of the supernatural, and yet it feels as though the house is haunted; has, in a manner of speaking, gone insane.

[The Ringbearer]

Ringu is a classic horror film. In my opinion more mature than all the other works mentioned (besides, possibly, The Exorcist). I found it much more effective than any other horror film in the past decade and its remake is an open Dummy's Guide for how NOT to remake a classic. Japanese mythology worked better than American logic, and I found the mythos to be deep and true. The entire film makes sense, it moves slow for a good reason and never wastes a second of screen time. My only complaint would be the acting in the movie, but even THAT was superior to The Ring. My two cents.
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[Fred C. Dobbs]