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I'm not a big fan of the horror genre, but I made an exception for "The Ring". I thought it was very well done, and frankly, I thought it was very disturbing and thought-provoking. Given my state of mind over the last few days (re: my "anniversary" thread) , it may not have been the best time for me to see this. What did you guys think about this movie?

I just saw it the other night. I think horror flicks are so bad and cheesey. The Ring however was really good. Its the only movie I have seen that scared the bejesus out of me.

I didnt like it that much. It was a good movie with a good story line and all, but I had heard soo much about how scary it was before I saw, I then when I saw it I wasnt even mildly scared. So it was more of a letdown.

I was truely horrified by The Blair Witch Project actually.

Well to put that more accurately, I found it truely scary.

Well, scary in that so many people were actually afraid to go to their cars afterwards if there was any woods near where the car was parked .

I was sure shocked that the film was even able to generate a sequel.

You can definitely say I was danged glad a buddy paid for that film ticket (it was most assuredly his idea to see it). I would have regretted intensely having spent any money on that crud.

Films today have lost their ability to scare. Today the best a film seems capable of, is to gross you out with gore. I watched Ghost Ship. It wasn't scary, just very definitely gore filled.

Now I think films to be truely able to unnerve, they need to step back and do it the way it once was done before special effects dulled our ability to be shocked.
They need to make films where the scary stuff is not filmed at all, but left as unseen unsaid and let the audience do all the work in their own imaginations.

Films today have lost their ability to scare. Today the best a film seems capable of, is to gross you out with gore. I watched Ghost Ship. It wasn't scary, just very definitely gore filled.

Now I think films to be truely able to unnerve, they need to step back and do it the way it once was done before special effects dulled our ability to be shocked.
They need to make films where the scary stuff is not filmed at all, but left as unseen unsaid and let the audience do all the work in their own imaginations.

You should watch "The Ring" then. The "ammount" of gore or splatter is reduced too, IIRC, two scenes that are actually only 1 second glimpses. Pretty subliminal . This movie is definetly scaring, I tell you, I have experience with scary movies .

I once downloaded one of the screensavers from the official website of "The Ring". Installed it to my Laptop. My girlfriend refused to use the Laptop untill I had it uninstalled again, LOL.

The Ring is really different from a lot I´ve seen sofar. I recommend it.

Have to watch the japanese original one day.

The problem with the ring was that I thought their were 4 seperate time I thought the movie was going to end...but didnt

Blair Witch project just made me motion sick

Originally posted by KG Erwin
I'm not a big fan of the horror genre, but I made an exception for "The Ring". I thought it was very well done, and frankly, I thought it was very disturbing and thought-provoking. Given my state of mind over the last few days (re: my "anniversary" thread) , it may not have been the best time for me to see this. What did you guys think about this movie?

Did you se the Hollywood re-make or the original Japanese film?

I saw the remake on DVD , and then viewed the extra features. That's when I found out about the Japanese original. I appreciated the fact it was acknowledged, and a few homages (the Japanese maple as the tree on the hill is one) shown in the remake. I need to see it again, because the message is as subtle and psychological as overtly frightening, so that's why I called it thought-provoking. Is it a statement on TV violence, subliminals, or just the utter pervasiveness of the media on our culture? Or is it something we can't define, but yet disturbs us? It certainly disturbs me, but I can't figure out exactly why. It was definitely a trigger to some unpleasant memories, and that was enough to keep me from sleeping well.

Certainly no masterpiece IMHO, but one of the best horror movies I've seen for a few years.

There is something scaring/disturbing in it and it's not the special effects. Nice change...

BTW 'good' 'anniversary' thread, KGErwin (-> good topic).

Ok, I have yet to see the film, but from what I have read about it, the story sounds like one of the old "Twilight Zone" episode. IIRC it was the one where you got a box and when you pushed the button you won $$$$, but the catch was that by pushing the button, someone, whom you didn't know dies. Once you pushed the button and got the cash, the box was taken from you, and passed onto some one else....with the same rules. Anyone here remember that that episode?????

I thought The Ring was an excellent film, in any genre.

As a horror / thriller film, it was one of the best I have ever seen.

The original Japanese film is actually better than the Hollywood version IMHO. It had a much smaller budget so it dwells more on the horror of your imagination than the Hollywood version. In particular the Ring video images you see are much better and more disturbing, the history of the girl and what she is is also different and more horrifying and the well scene in the Japanese version lasts much longer and is more harrowing. Even the end scene with the girl exiting the televison was better done.

The Japanese version sent shivers up my spine, the Hollywood version didn't because it lacked atmosphere. I watched the Japanese version one afternoon and the cinema was packed mostly by teenagers. I tell you the girls were screaming at the top of the lungs and spent half the time cowering under their seats. The Ring in Japan was a massive hit and spawned a television series spin-off. Ring 2 is already available.

The Hollywood version is cleaner, more methodical and more accessible to Western audiences but has less horror impact than the Japanese version. However, since the Hollywood version closely follows the Japanese plot, if you guys were to watch the Japanese version on DVD then you probably wont get the full effect.

Originally posted by Les the Sarge 9-1
I was truely horrified by The Blair Witch Project actually.

Well to put that more accurately, I found it truely scary.

Agree wholeheartedly. The film was not well produced and got repetitive at times but it really immersed the viewer into the storyline which was so simple and linear that you did feel you could be watching a real video. If there were cuts which showed the witch or views from her point of view then the whole atmosphere is lost - thats is where most Hollywood horror films get it wrong in my opinion.

I liked it because it dealt with pure horror - the stories and myths of the witch, the stones and wood statues left behind by an unseen force, the harrowing nights in the tent, the screams and running around in complete darkness - it was all stuff from our worst nightmares - you felt that the characters were defenseless and were without hope of rescue.

There was so much dispair and horror that some people did feel sick afterwards. For me it was a throwback to the original Alien film - you dont need to see the horror out there, just know it is there and is coming to get you and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Yikes!

Originally posted by Ian Packham
There was so much dispair and horror that some people did feel sick afterwards. For me it was a throwback to the original Alien film - you dont need to see the horror out there, just know it is there and is coming to get you and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Yikes!

Alien 1, indeed one of the best horror movies ever!

Well ok, on the strength of what you guys have been posting I got the Ring out tonight. I thought that it was a very good horror/thriller/whatever movie. I think that I am now going to have to hire the Japanese original now!

Hmm Ian I suspect you did not see all the sarcasm dripping off my comments about the Blair Witch Project heheh.

In reality, I thought it was the most idiotic over the top stupid false to new levels incredible garbage ever.

That it scared some was funny.

Les you are probably right about Blair Witch. It certainly was an interesting production however and was hyped really really well using the internet and a haunting soundtrack. Scary? Well different people are scared by different things. Personally it didn't scare me and I was a little annoyed as there were endless possibilities to do it better that frustrated me. Still, a good attempt nonetheless and a break away from the hollywood 'norm'.

The Ring on the other hand is truly superb. I have no idea what genre it belongs to but I cannot recommend it enough to anyone as a really satisfying (if predictable) experince. The camera angles, direction, cinematography are all top notch. I could be wrong but it seemd to me to have been filmed in Canada? due to some of the techniques that seem endemic to that film industry?

There were definately some things in that film that were disturbing but for me the one that has stayed with me the most is the sequence toward the end where you find out why people watching the screen are dying The sequence crossed some sort of boundary in my mind that I can't shake I won't describe it further as it would spoil for others but those that have seen it know which scene I mean.

Anyway thanks for the tips on the Japanese original - I had no idea until reading it here. I too will have to search that one out.

Brubaker

You keep talking about Blair Witch, but this one is something else entirely. The build-up may give you a bias against it, but, watch it....

Well I must be really thick or sumfink...cuz I have watched it twice now and still don't know why you die after watching it...apart from the fact that she is an evil-bitch??????

Dave I think it may have something to do with when she personally comes to you when you are watching and carves up your face

Brubaker