Gore Verbinski’s The Ring (2002) is a Hollywood remake of a 1999 Japanese film, and I could hardly figure out what was happening in it.  A horror concoction, it is strikingly creepy (aren’t they all?), but for me creepy isn’t scary.

Even so, congrats to Verbinski for his directing and to Charles Gibson for his supervision of visual effects.  They make it palpable that evil exists.  The sequence with the freaked-out horse is wildly, weirdly effectual, and the image of Naomi Watts holding a small, clothed skeleton while standing waist-deep in well water is sobering.  I wish The Ring had been better.  It has its virtues, but confusingly complex writing in a freakfest is not for me.  More simplicity, please.

The Ring (2002 film)

The Ring (2002 film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)