The Ring

While Jon told me that he didn't think I looked nearly as scared as he was, I have got quite good at hiding it. The Ring was, in its own way, quietly terrifying. There are relatively few big jumps, and only one sequence in which plucky heroine explores an old, seemingly-abandoned house, but despite this concession I think it's fair to say that this was one of the most unconventional horror films I've seen in a while.

Everyone tells me the original is better - and I can see how the Japanese mythology aspect might help that. One of the biggest worries was that in its translation to the West, the stark horror of the original might be lost in a sanitised, clichéd version. The trailer was less than convincing - poorly-made and edited (save a few choice moments), it chose to tell you very little about the story but nonetheless bombard you with images and strange, Bowie-inspired photography in the hope that you'd be intrigued. I wasn't - I was bored.

Thankfully the mess that was the trailer did not reflect on the quality of the final production, which - after an intriguing prologue and sluggish first act - took off like a rocket. Experiencing the world through a protagonist who is starting to hallucinate is a great idea - half the things she sees are clues to the video's origin, and half are just grotesque. Cue occasional flashes of mutilated heads, enormous millipedes and lots of horses (one horse, in particular, serving as a main character in one of the film's most breathtaking sequences).

Although there are occasional lulls, it's never enough to turn you off, and in fact I spent the not-so-interesting spouts trying to work out when the next creepy part was coming up. I didn't succeed once - a constant uneasy edge punctuates the film from the first shot to the end of the final reel, and - like all truly good horror movies - you never know quite when you're going to be scared. The video itself - "like someone's nightmare", as one of the characters points out - is an impeccably shot and brilliantly produced short film, that serves a key purpose as it is deconstructed. While explaining a joke is usually the quickest way of killing it, the analysis of the video here does not detract from its terrifying power - it merely makes you want to know more.

See it alone. In your house. On VHS, as opposed to DVD - it's a contextual piece. But don't bother changing the locks afterwards. It won't stop them getting in.

(Monday, 24th February 2003)