Film
A young woman, Julia (Italian actress Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz), finds herself on the receiving end of the terrifying curse we have all come to know and fear. Her boyfriend, Holt (Alex Roe – The 5th Wave), is exploring this dark urban legend with one a group of others, led by one of his teachers, Gabriel (Johnny Galecki – he of The Big Bang Theory). Sacrificing herself, to save Holt, Julia is now threatened by the curse, which will take her life in seven days.
It is not long, and Samara (Bonnie Morgan) makes her watery, frightening appearance. And after all these years, she is still able to install a sense of fear and tension, no thanks to the impressive effects makeup, and skill of Bonnie Morgan.
This new chapter in the tale of the cursed video updates the rules for the modern age, and going all out to plant a seed at the back of the viewers mind, which will trigger in the most unlikely of times and places, when one is alone.
Rings has done an excellent job of not only updating the world of Samara, but of forwarding the story. Yet, it does not go too far, making for an engrossing, yet tense ride as we try and predict ways to break the curse, save Julia and in the end put Samara to rest. The plot is pretty straightforward, and easy to understand, yet contains enough twists to keep things interesting. It would be a good idea to watch at least the first movie in the Ring series before seeing this one, as this would ground one solidly in the films universe.
A fun, frightening film, with a talented cast, and excellent crew helming the project. Certainly one for fans and horror buffs alike.
Disc
Overall, the disc is of a good technical quality, with a fun and frightening main feature.
Rings is available now, to purchase on disc, in South Africa.
Video
Video is encoded at a high average bitrate, with no visible artefacts or colour bleed on-screen. Detail is maintained in the many darker scenes, along with good contrast.
Viewers with the relevant hardware or software can scale up to a larger or higher resolution screen, should they wish.
Audio
Audio is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Dialogue is clear via the centre channel, with the weight of the film being carried via the front channels.
There is ample use of the surround channels, to great effect, further drawing the viewer into the on-screen action, and adding more to the fear factor of the film.
Navigation
The main menu is a static screen, with the iconic image of Samara and the TV. There is some accompanying music on this menu. The main menu has text options to play the main feature, select audio options, subtitles, special features, and scene selection.
The audio sub-menu allows for the selection of either the main soundtrack, or one with descriptive audio. The subtitles sub-menu gives access to the list of available subtitles.
The special features sub-menu has text options to select each of the two included features.
Scene selection sub-menus each have four large, colour, static thumbnails. While these are numbered, they are not labelled, so some guesswork would be needed to navigate to a specific part of the main feature.
Bonus Features
Terror Comes Full Circle: The main cast and crew talk about how far the story has come since the first film The Ring, how that influenced them back when it was released, and the profound effect it has had on horror since. An interesting look at the franchise, and some insight into those involved in the latest incarnation.
Resurrecting the Dead: Bringing Samara Back: Focusing mainly on Bonnie Morgan as Samara, this feature gives an insight into the main, creepy character driving the entire franchise. Some nostalgia, and some interesting information imparted.
