Excellent movie.

Oh my. I still don't understand why this fascinates people so. I bought this as a special edition DVD after hearing so much about it. And, well. It doesn't really scare. It's got some interesting plot pieces, and it's fine to watch... but it's really an overproduced, over-hyped, and rather awful horror movie. The Village will give more shock value, and the 'psychological horror' is simply not there. You won't have nightmares. You'll barely bat an eyelid. Most of the film is spent expecting something interesting to happen. It does. Maybe twice. Worth a cheap buy, or a late night boredom-killer.… Expand

Stylish, interesting, but not really that scary I thought. Naomi Watts is dam hot so she boosted my rating a bit, too.

If this film were a graph, it would be a tabletop mountain, not a soaring Himalayan peak. It starts off promising and is genuinely scary in the first third or so, maintaining a chilling atmosphere and keeping this viewer significantly uncomfortable. But then it just unfortunately plateaus out and holds ground for a while. It then begins to peter out, delivers a climax of sorts (just a hiccup in the graph) before fading to a fairly forgettable finish. Maybe I expected too much, but I really don't think so - I was very impressed by the early scenes, but it just never reached its potential. I haven't seen the original so I can't compare the two. As a stand-alone movie this is well worth checking out, but in my humble amateur opinion this movie represents an abandoned construction site: all the solid foundations are there...but the job was never finished properly!… Expand

One of the scariest movies of the last few years - if you've got some imagination, that is. The film delightfully misleads you at the beginning, making you think this will be just another generic teeny slasher flick. It becomes something much darker (and better), an intelligent tale about trust, belief and guilt that rightfully centers on Naomi Watts, who delivers a fantastic performance. Gore Verbinski uses a surprisingly light touch and is very economical with his scare tactics. The film does what a good horror film should do: leave a good part of things to the imagination. There are one or two twists that are not quite believable, but on the whole, RING stays true to its formula, which is to provide an intelligent scare for people who truly value the genre.… Expand

As far as horror movies go I found this one bland and boring. While there were a few moments when I was startled by a sudden event at no time was I ever really scared (which is what a good horror movie is all about). Conceptually there were some good ideas but they tended to be a bit underdeveloped.

The premise hooks the viewer in quite well. Too bad it looses serious steam in in act two, slowing things down to snail speed, and the plot holes are too glaring to to forgive.

Entertaining, but not great.

The plot is beyond understandable after the first hour, but it's the scariest thing in 30 years. This was the last time I could remember literally jumping and grabbing on to the person next to me from being so truly frightened, and that alone is an achievement.

It's nobody's choice for Best Pic, but this movie has more than enough gut-wrenching suspense to merit a recommendation.

Like a minor league "X-Files" episode but so lackadaisically written that a talented actress like Naomi Watts is left in the lurch. And how tired now is the whole preternaturally intelligent "Sixth Sense" boy-child cliche? The horse scene knocked this up from a 4 to a 5, but otherwise you can see scarier things in shower drain clogs.

Not bad as a thriller, but not nearly as shocking as I hoped it would be. The scariest part of the movie for me was the chick sitting behind me who would start shrieking at even the suggestion of a disturbing image hitting the screen. I had to prepare myself for her reactions, which was pretty messed up. There was one Pink-Floydian image toward the beginning which creeped me out a bit, but other than that, it was fairly vanilla stuff. There's no sense in trying to figure out the logic of some of the events in this film, but a lot of the imagery was cool. I hope Naomi Watts goes for something in her next role that matches her work in the Lynchian masterpiece Mulholland Drive. Surprisingly, the lead actor in this thing was pretty darned good. For fans of horror, there's probably better stuff out there, but for non-fans who want to be thrilled a little bit, I'd recommend it.… Expand

This is without a doubt one of the most horrifying film since The Exorcist. Captivating from the beggining the movie won't let you go until the end. A must see, for every self-proclaimed horror fan.

This was by no means a bad movie, just a pointless one, no offense to the film makers but a bigger budget on, effects lighting etc cannot match Hideo Nikata's original , Ring was just so creepy and dark and also with genuine originality. People may make comments about the script when watching foreign lang. films but they have to take into consideration that some words don't alway translate into perfect english, anyone who has seen old Kung-f u movies knows that. The Ring was good but i feel kind of insulted that Dreamworks saw the need to remake the original as if western cinema goers cant read subtitles!!!… Expand

This movie is so unscarry it is almost laughable. I expected a lot more.

What accounts for Ring's modest success? It's streamlined horror feeding the audience well-measured dosages of jolts and surprises. It's not particularly gory or sick, but the suspense does grow. And, there is the above par cerebral pretensions which are, however, just that; pretensions. Basically, the scariness depends on a tired cliche: 'innocent' girl with a demonic heart, whose ghostly pretty face turns ugly and frightening at the climax. I'm sure this would have frightened me as a kid, but it's tiresome now. For mood, we get the old cliche of heavy clouds and constant rainfall. For shocks, usually creaky doors and hands that grab you from nowhere. And, there's also the precocious kid who's somehow tuned into all the strange happenings. The Shining, anyone? Besides, isn't Sixth Sense still fresh in our memory? If you want decent ghostly pastoral horror, you're far better off with The Others, a truly irksome and creepy movie, and geuninely psychological in its effects and impact. And, Watts who really shined in Mulholland Drive, is pitiful when compared to her compatriot Nicole Kidman's beautifully hushed performance in The Others. The Ring has two genuinely creepy things. The second rate avant-garde video which is kinda like Dreyer's Vampyr mixed with Maya Deren. And, the use of the evil girl's hair--thick, wet, and long--flowing down the girl's face, making it difficult to tell whether we're looking at her from front or back. But, there's nothing behind that hair than what we would have expected: a mean halloween face scary only to kids, if that. Adults will feel cheated, asking, is this what the horror amounts to after 2 hrs? A face going ARRGGH!!!??? Watching this movie won't kill you but if you recommend it to others you deserve to die. … Expand

The Japanese version is SO much better. In true hollywood style, all the subtlety is completely gone.

I loved it. Just a side note: I have noticed from asking around that the people who tended to think this movie scary didn't think that slasher films were scary, and that those who found The Ring boring tended to think that slasher films were scarier.

OK, I saw the Japanese version and I was BORED TO TEARS. I mean, the guys in it ACTUALLY said, "Oh darn, we're gonna die!" when they found out about the video. The little girl who was the original Samara (named Sadako) wasn't the least bit scary. WHAT IN SAMARA'S WELL ARE YOU PEOPLE THINKING?

Although it wasn't that scary, I still thought it was very well written, and the acting was great!

I watched this movie and Gothika on the same night with a friend many nights ago. After seeing these two movies together, try using the washroom without picturing some creepy girl with long hair over her face just standing behind you or outside the shower curtains. just try.

pros: really scary, not so bad story, freakishly good. cons: unbelievable, but still good. overview:A scary good damn time.

okey dokey...first off: the only reason it gets a 1 is cause some of the screen shots were pretty cool, being a black & white photographer and all. But as a movie? This was a complete and utter waste of time...sadly most scarey movies are like this today: not scarey. A little girl who records herself crawling out of a well, and then gives it to somebody and makes funny noises. The only reason I saw it in the theater? A friend of mine was scared to see it. While alot of people were screaming in fear, me and a few other strangers got together and made fun of it. OMG! a little girl with black hair! AH save me! now i cant sleep for Weeks!!!… Expand

This is quite possibly one of the scariest movies I've seen. I've read a lot of bad reviews about it, but I think that's mostly because over the last couple decades, horror film has come to mean slasher film. There is a difference. If you're looking for a movie filled with blood and guts, this is not it. It's scary, not gory. And yes, the story line is a bit fuzzy, but that only adds to it. It's hard to make a movie scary if everything is crystal clear and all the loose ends are tied up. I've also read that people found it odd that Naomi Watts' character was so active knowing that she had only 7 days to live, but then again, it probably wouldn't have been much of a movie if she just sat at home watching TV for the week.… Expand

Saw this one twice. wow. it's got plenty of psychological scaries goin for it. the ending irked me that it dragged on...but mostly cause i just wanted the scary stuff to stop! awesome movie :)

At least The Others and The Sixth Sense had intelligent resolutions. This made no sense at all. I've watched both of those several times. I wouldn't bother with this again. Great photography and atmosphere, but the acting was almost amatuerish.

Despite some prerposterous plot holes and a head-scratching amount of exposition tossed in near the end, THE RING has more sscary spots than any flick this year. Take that to the bank.

All i know is that this is the scariest movie i've ever seen and i've seen a lot of horror films.

Despite being based on a popular Japanese film, "The Ring" is just Dreamworks' response to the success of "Signs." Is it good? Yeah, it works very well. In fact, it's the darkest, most disturbing, and most deliriously macabre film I've seen in some time. "The Ring" is better than your average horror movie. But there's no question that "Signs" is the better film of the two.

Despite some banal and cheesy dialogue, this film plays out visually a la The Cell, except this film has got a lot more (and I mean an exponential amount more) originality. The film had me from the get-go, and it still has me now, thanks to the ending featuring a series of better-left-unanswered questions. All in all, it was very stylish, very creepy, and very effective. I will be a little more hesitant to throw in those unlabeled tapes...… Expand

Whatever you do, do NOT take Roger Ebert's word for anything....he does not know what he's talking about. His review of this verrrry creeepy movie is proof. This movie, not only provides eye candy (Naomi Watts), but also knows how to build suspense and basically provide enough originality to scare you (if you are one of those people, like myself, who has seen everything done before). I pride myself on predicting the outcomes of all movies in the first half hour or so, and most of the time, due to "most" movies predictability, I am right. This movie, however, proved me wrong for the most part. One of the things I liked the most about this movie was the "after effect". After seeing the movie, you are still thinking about it....piecing the clues together, and understanding what was done and why. In fact, I may find myself going to see it again, just so I can pick up some clues that I may have missed the first time. The movie has a very good flow to it that keeps you interested in it from start to finish. I especially liked the ending, which was quite spooky. This would make a good movie to see on halloween. In any case, Roger Ebert, your reviews of most movies now, for the most part, are not reliable enough to use in making a decision to see a movie or not. This is weird, but, when Siskel was still alive, I used to see eye-to-eye with your reviews, but now, it is almost the opposite. This movie is Fun, Exciting, and Scary. Definitely recommended. … Expand

I had seen the original movie subtitled and I was weary of what Dreamworks would do with it. Suffice to say I was suprised how much of the story they left (despite the culture changes and other elements that would not have been convincing). If you love a good survival horror thriller, this is the movie to see. Good job Dreamworks!

This movie definitely contains some creepy, original scenes. And I stayed up talking with my friends about--this was, however, not because we were piecing clues together, but because there were a lot of plot holes that were left unanswered. There were a lot of great lines that pulled you in deeper into the story and then didn't take you anywhere. And the kid--c'mon, it's so cliched now that apparently no one questions the kid who is quite psychic. I'm definitely enjoying the rise of character-driven horror movies, and this one tried to, and could've, if only it had developed its characters. … Expand

The premise of The Ring is to show the audience a short clip that contains a lot of little details that are supposed to be artistic and symbolic like a ladder against the wall. Then when Naomi Watts stumbles out of a building and walks under a ladder leaning against a building we are supposed to be freaked and impressed. In fact, i was neither. The first few times this happened i just ignored it. When i realized that the movie was based on these ridiculous loops i started to get annoyed. I am not a fan of horror movies but i would rather watch a psyco with a chainsaw chase around a bunch of horny teenagers than watch naomi watts try to catch her tail. The Ring is exactly what the name implies. It runs around in circles when it should be a spiral leading to a climactic finale. When the movie even fails to circle around enough and things are left unanswered you will realize how trully patheric this movie is.… Expand

Not many movies scare me, and I was beginning to think that none ever would again. However, "The Ring" restored my faith in the film industry: it can still churn out well formulated, terrifying masterpieces like this one. If you like a mix of slowly building tension, disturbing plot and genuinly shocking jumpy bits, this is one for you.

The Ring is certainly frightening, but it's obvious that there has been an effort to cram in as much suspense, mystery, and plot-twists as possible. A lot of questions about the story are left unanswered, too many to be just a mind-bender.

It might get slow in parts but it gives you thrills and it is very edgy. i'm not easy to scare but this is a good scary movie.

It is a great movie.

Quite possibly the worst horror movie of all time, it is a waste of time and i have seen scarier stuff from scooby doo, what in the hell is this?! a movie that tries to be scary and come on, whats up with the "weird child" that has been done so many times its laughable(in the case of the ring)

I really, really, really, really liked it. Liked, not loved. I did, however, love the cinematography, and all the bizarre visuals, though. If I were solely critiquing the film on look alone, it would get an 11. Props to Dreamworks for not putting out clichéd studio crap and doing something truly fresh and original.

The film is lucky its gettin a 1. Ive seen more scary scenes in Bambi than this. this wernt scary at all. and wen the lady finds that girl in the closet, it looks like she has smoked a bit to much weed. truly terrible.

It's one thing for a horror movie to not be scary. It's not scary, fine, but does it at least creep you out some? No? Well is it at least interesting? No, you say? Well, at the very least does it have likable characters? Negative on that too, eh? Sounds like a crappy movie to me. The Ring was boring and horrible.

The movie is great ,loud ,and alive. It is not scary ,gory ,or sick. And it just looks so real and cool.

I don't care if anyone thinks I'm a snob. This film is inferior to the original in every way. Lacking its distinctive style, clever use of lighting and cinematography, genuinely creepy soundtrack and a series of interesting revelations. What's left is a dumbed down remake that is in many ways dull, idiotic and naive with lame acting by Naomi Watts that suggests only a shadow of her brilliant perfroamcne in Mulholland Drive and 21 Grams. Gore Verbinskie doesn't even seem to understand the point of the original's name and adds all this nonsense about how "when you die, you see the Ring", the Killer video is also in CGI which in 20 years time will probably look hilarious. Want some quality psychological horror? Go watch Suspiria, The Exorcist, The Haunting, The Shining, Rosemary's Baby, Poltergeist, The Blair Witch Project, The Others or the original Ring and give this one a miss.… Expand

It's so scary it's terible. WAY TO SCARY. Scarier then Aliens the game. Honestly. WAY TO SCARY!!!!!

A pretty good movie when it comes to plot and acting, but what about the scares? Or should I say, what scares? It's not scary whatsoever, it's just an entertaining, well done dissapointment, because I heard so many people say it was TERRIFYING or PEE-WORTHY and it's not even close to any.

I had to sleep with my parents for three nights. very very terrifying. my friends and i are still scared of samara. compelling, and psychlogical. loved it.

Movie was freaking brilliant. Watched it at night with sound turned all the way up on my 32 inch T.V. Scared the living daylights outta me. Story was decent, Special effects was great, music brought the entire movie together nicely and it was scary. It did a times become a bit cheesy and rather drawn out but, overall it was a good movie which entertained me a lot. Which in the end, is all that matters.… Expand

I'd say it's more of a Mystery/suspense than a horror movie. It was interesting finding out what all of the weird stuff was about. Not particularly "scary" but the video is freaking creepy.

It will be difficult to find a modern horror movie quite as scary as this.

This movie was SOO dumb!

Phfft! comparable to a lobotomy.

The movie is scary and cool.

Since when does a great film need character?? Its all about the story. Personally, i didnt think it was as scary as everyone else thought, but then again i watched the video long before the movie released, and i wasnt dead. Sorry. Still a great film! See it!

Not bad, but the Japanese original is scarier - perhaps because we accept odd goings-on in movies more if they come from Japan, where everything's a little wierd (by Western standards anyway).

I thought this movie was really great and scary...it starts right out at the beginning freaking you out and continues throughout the entire film. All the surprises keep you interested and its one of those movies you just have to watch more than once to figure out how all the clues fit together. Personally I loved it and I am gonna buy it the first day it comes out on video.

This was, without a doubt, one of the worst films that I have ever seen. I have seen car commercials that had more chills. A good cast wastes their time trying to pump life into an inanimate script. The film is something of an inept rip-off of 1992's "Candyman" - a superior film in everyway. It also gives a nod to "The Sixth Sense" - another film that is far worthier of your time. The audience spent most of its time laughing at the screening I attended. The scariest thing about this dog is that I paid money to see it. Spare yourself the frustration and rent "Candyman" or "The Sixth Sense."… Expand

The audience laughed. Multiple times... Nuff' said..

"The Ring" might've benefited if Naomi Watts remembered that her character had only seven days to live. And did the first victim have to be a teen? We're watching this film with post-"Scream" eyes. Kill a zookeeper, or an old lady. Still, the content of that tape is beguilling enough to make the mystery Watts unravel worth watching. "The Ring" is just scary enough so its designation as a horror film isn't an oxymoron, like "Bless the Child" or "Lost Souls", to name a few.… Expand

This film earns an 8 since it includes a scene that will go down in horror movie history as one of the scariest on record. Ranks up there with the head turning scene from the Exorcist, the vomiting ghost from the Sixth Sense, and the hand coming out of the ground from Carrie!!!

I believe this is one of the scariest movies of all time. It had a very original ending and the sound and visuals were excellent. I loved the way it made you want more. This is the type of movie that will stick in your mind for a long time.

It may not be as amazing as its original japanese counterpart (ringu) but it is still a better horror film than what's out. It is worth watching and enjoyable. And if you get a chance watch the original.

This movie totally freaked me out, i had trouble getting to sleep after watching it...

Supremely frightening. May not have the most believable or sympathetic characters, but it's one of the scariest movies I've ever seen.

Starts out terrifying you and keeps you gripped and waiting for the next surpirse, although it seems to settle down after the first 20 minutes the anticipation throughout the movie gives you chills. Watch with a friend.

This horrifying film kept me on the edge of my seat during the whole movie, and left me thinking about how many times that I'd seen "The Tape."

This is an engrossing, well-crafted horror film. I loved the gradual revelations and surprise twists, and was genuinely scared in places. The villain was disturbing.

This movie is absoloutley THEE best movie of all time. Better than the original Ringu Series, Better than the ju-on: the grudge... just a work of film-making art.

Let's face it, this movie is not scary. It draws you in because you wonder what happened to the little girl and why she wants to hurt people, but sleepless nights? I don't think so! 'White Noise' gave me sleepless nights and is far scarier. This is just an interesting supernatural thriller.

I was shocked and appauled when I saw that The Ring only scored a 57 on metacritic.com. Clearly the reviewers presented failed to see not only the cinematic brilliance of the film, but the intelligence of it's winding plotline. Some of the shots in The Ring are simply breathtaking, and the cinematography alone makes it worth seeing. As well, the "evil" tape itself is very sophisticated, and many of the images presented are viewed by many psychologists as "death images" i.e the maggots, the empty chair, and the ladder to nowhere. As for the plot line; it twists and turns always keeps you guessing. Despite it's complexity, their are no loose ends left, and by the end of the movie everything fits together like clockwork. Like other artistic horror movies such as 28 Days Later, The Ring is horrifying in it's imagery and atmosphere, not through blood and guts. It may not be the scariest movie that you'll ever see, but I definitely had goosebumps throughout. I'm VERY dissapointed to see that so many of the above reviews have failed to see the intelligence that Verbinski applies to each and every camera angle. If you have half a brain about you, I recommend The Ring over any other horror movie in recent years.… Expand

Excellent! However, the Japanese made two movies - will Hollywood remake 'Rasen' (The Spiral)?

This is possibly the worst movie I have seen in my 13 years of life!. It's interesting but there is also a lot of things missing. I mean the worst part for me was when the horse was killed. What the hell is in the directors mind shooting this scene, I am a strong animal lover, so i hated it. TWO THUMBS DOWN

This movie came out when I was about 12 years old and never saw it b/c my older sister said it was too scary. I'm 19 at this time and finally saw the movie. Before I put in my thoughts, I am TERRIFIED of The Grudge. Kayako is by far my biggest fear ever. But a lot of people say this is scarier. When I bought the DVD, I was prepared to be frightened. But honestly, I was wondering if this was the movie they were talking about. I didn't find the movie as scary as The Grudge. It didn't even feel like a horror film, more of a thriller like "The Sixth Sense." It shouldn't be compared to The Grudge, that movie scared me to death. This movie puts me to sleep. It had like 90% dialogue and 10% scare scene. The scene that did make me frightened was the beginning when a teenage girl gets killed. But the scene that did scare me was when Samara crawled out of the TV. But that's all they got? I was wondering if I got the right version, they say this was the scariest movie ever. But I looked it up, and it is the right version. I felt like this was a complete let down, I wanted to be scared **** However, if this is not as scary as people say it is, is it still bad? Possibly....no. The movie did make sense, the characters are likable, and the scenes are perfect. I will give the movie a little credit. But if you didn't see this movie yet and was thinking the same way I was, to be scared **** I would say go see The Grudge, Mirrors, and Insidious if you want to be scared. But still check this movie out if you like The Sixth Sense, you'll like this movie too.… Expand

Come on, what are people looking for? One of the scariest lines I've ever heard/seen. "Mom you weren't supposed to help her". I know it's a copied Americanized version but still unique to us. As scary to an adult as a movie can be in my opinion.

A compelling and interesting movie which has unfortunately been mislabelled as a horror movie. It would be more appropriately dubbed a supernatural mystery.

Naomi Watts is great and the movie is incredibly scary.

First of all I am not a big fan of horror or shock movies, though I'll check one out now and then. I didn't know what to expect with this flick, but it ended up being the first film since the exorcist that had me feeling a steady chill of creepiness coursing through my body the whole time. There were a few "gotcha" shock moments, but they didn't hit that hard. The strength of the film is it's mood/aura. I have to knock a few points off though because of some minor plot holes and some things not being explained/fleshed out in a way that would have been proper and satisfying for this movie. I also don't get what it was about the TV scene that stuck with so many people. The whole scene in the well is the one I'll never forget. Just gave me such an ultra creepy feeling. Oh and one last note - I really want to impregnate Naomi Watts.… Expand

It is scary, it is suspenseful, and it has a great story. The acting was excellent, and you never know how its going to end. It was one of the scariest movies I have seen, although movies don't really scare me that much.

I had the chance to watch The Ring again over the weekend as I hadnt seen the movie for several years and had fond memories of it when it first came out. The movie holds up fairly well despite that the flickering creepy visuals which on release seemed fresh and original are now very common place in film and television. The tone and the creepy atmosphere are still what the movie does well, its very relieving to watch a horror movie that doesnt rely on violence and gore to get its message out. The acting and characters do their job and the plot holes arent big enough to be too distracting. Overall I would still consider The Ring one of my favourite modern horror movies, still being creepy and intriguing, despite perhaps not standing out of the crowd as much as it once did.… Expand

Though I am not a huge fan of horror movies, I was pleasantly thrilled by this movie. Unlike a lot of movies, The Ring did not focus solely on sex and violence to sell the plot, nor did it rely on sudden jolts or murderers jumping out at the character in order to scare the audience. Instead, most of the horror came from the expectation of something scary, or from the disturbing nature of what was happening; the famous TV-scene was enough to make me avoid my television for a couple of hours. All in all, it was an entertaining movie and piqued my interest in the second one.… Expand