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Surgeons of Horror

~ Dissecting horror films

Surgeons of Horror

Category Archives: Ring Franchise

Movie review: Rings (2017)

07 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by surgeons of horror in Ring Franchise

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Hideo Nakata, Koji Suzuki, Ring, Ring Franchise, Rings, Samara

IT’S BEEN 13 years since Samara first terrorised Naomi Watts on screen.

And with the latter no longer attached to the series, one might ask why after such a long hiatus (at least from a western audience point of view) should we revisit Samara’s tale.

Pending the film’s success, Paramount were keen to replicate the success that Paranormal Activity delivered to the box office and plans were considered to potentially have annual stories that delved further into the Ring franchise.

It does hinge on the success of this movie me whether or not there was still a hunger to see Samara inflict her virus on the world once more.

Being a fan of the original movie by Hideo Nakata I find that I am always drawn to the series to see how it pans out.

There have been a mixture of successes and failures among them and I was intrigued by the premise of this latest venture.

Namely that that virus itself will transfer using modern technology, computer files etc and that it would mutate with a shortened life expectancy of its victims from five days of being infected and Samara’s inevitable visit being whittled down to just two.

This amplifying the expediency, drama and tension.

It looked promising and all it needs is a strong plot line to make this a strong candidate for making a great film.

So let’s dissect that a little further and look at the story development as it unfolds.

Firstly, we’re thrust straight into the action, when two victims are travelling on an airline flight as deadline approaches.

Cue panic and disarray as they try to out run Samara within the confines of an airline cabin.

Let’s face it, it ain’t gonna happen and within the blink of an eye the plane crashes along with the characters who contracted the virus.

Samara is back and a whole new generation of souls are gonna be her victims.

The story then picks up with our lead protagonist, Julia, played by Italian model, Matilda Lutz.

Matilda certainly has the looks to keep you engaged and just about has enough acting chops to stick with her character arc.

It picks up with her boyfriend Holt, who goes off to college and their relationship becomes estranged as he pulls away from her.

It’s only when Julia receives a manic call from Skye demanding to know Holt’s whereabouts that Julia is compelled to find out what’s going on.

As she tumbles further down the well of curiosity, Julia encounters a college professor, Gabriel, who has set up something of an experiment after initially watching the cursed video and then employing a group of students to watch, copy, and then pass on the virus.

The group is known as ‘The Sevens’ is possibly the most enlightening aspect of the movie and the concept of each participant needing a ‘tail’ to pass on the virus had an element of an old school spy thriller to it, which would have been interesting to see that explore further.

As it is though, we’re propelled forward when Julia goes to Skye’s apartment, who’s deadline is fast approaching and she tries to force Julia to watch the video, fails, thanks to Holt’s intervention and Julia witnesses Skye’s demise at the hands of Samara.

When Julia leans that Holt’s life is on the line, she watched the said curse video file, only to ignite a whole new can of worms as the virus transforms.

There is a hidden file within the file that are Easter eggs or breadcrumbs that Julia must now follow in order to find Samara’s corpse and find a final resting place and end the curse.

The problem with the movie is that whilst it tries to focus a and shift the Ring horror movie into a modern world it needs to expand the universe.

So much focus lands on this that it loses the impact and mystery that surrounded the original.

There are rules upon rules that need to be discovered and inevitably broken and the tension that is supposed to be ramping up just gets lost in its own ether.

There are loose threads that try to tie it back to the novels by Koji Suzuki, particularly around the middle novel in the trilogy, Spiral and the notion of rebirth that plays out in the film’s conclusion.

Essentially though, the film tries to ground itself in the land of Samara and it ticks along nicely enough to keep you engaged, but there’s not enough to keep you hooked and make a difference to the genre resulting in a misfire.

The Samara scares are slim and that’s what people pay to see.

It’s all very well to build tension, but the film even lacks these elements to gain enough momentum to reach a decent scare factor.

Ultimately Rings is watchable, but not unmissable as a result.

Podcast: The Ring Franchise (1998 -)

13 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by surgeons of horror in Ring Franchise

≈ 5 Comments

BACK IN 1998, a little known horror film based on the novels by Koji Suzuki would ignite a new wave for for the genre known today as J-horror after its Japanese influence.

That film was called Ringu and gave birth to a modern icon in Sadako, which has been repeated ever since (with the woman in white and long black hair) but arguably has never had the same impact on its audience.

Centred on its female heroine, Reiko, (a deviation from the book by switching gender) who hears of a curse attached to a videotape and her journalistic instincts lead her down a well of despair in order to free her soul and to save her son from a twisted fate.

It’s simple storytelling told with enough tension along the way that keep you gripped to the screen as the virus spreads to those who watch the videotape, we too are consumed by its intoxication and succumb to the power that Sadako injects into her victims.

Watching it now, it still stands strong and is a testament to director Hideo Nakata and his vision that perfectly encapsulates the menace and enhances that fear in all of us.

It’s success spawned a sequel in the same year: Rasen (Spiral) based on Suzuki’s follow up to Ring and to capitalise on the story surrounding the curse, but such was the success of Ringu that Rasen was lost in its shadow and had since become forgotten.

Which is a shame because it’s a great film in its own right and owes a lot to Suzuki’s storytelling. 

It does deviate from the original by shifting its focus on the curse itself which has mutated into a cancerous form that attacks the heart. So you start to go down a more medical avenue as it follows Surgeon, Mitsuo Ando as he delves into this strange anomaly whilst still suffering from his own heart ache after losing his son.

Nakata would however revisit this storyline for another attempt at a sequel with Ring 2, which had a lot more focus on the mysticism that surrounded Sadako and also Reiko’s son, Yoichi.

A 3rd movie was also made in this instalment entitled Ring 0: Birthday, which wound the clock back to the beginning, unearthing the origins of Sadako and how she became such a tortured soul with a grudge to bear.

It was inevitable that the American movie would pick up on the interest surrounding this franchise, such is the richness of substance within, so in 2002, The Ring starring Naomi Watts would hit the silver screen and scare a whole new audience on the Western Hemisphere and transporting Sadako into Samara to fit into the different dynamic that sits on the other side of the pond.

This time it was directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) and added his own unique touch to the story with a much bigger profit.

The result was a huge success at the box office and generated its own sequel, The Ring 2 (2005), which similar to its Japanese counterpart focused on the son and his consummation by Sadako as she tries to get her grips into his soul.

Since then, all went quiet on the Sadako front until 2012, when she received a 3D treatment in Japanese cinemas with a new tale entitled Sadako 3D, based on Suzuki’s novel, S.

And despite little fanfare, this film also has a sequel the following year, 2013, entitled (not so originally) Sadako 3D 2.

This film also didn’t set the movie world alight but did trigger a reawakening of sorts with a horror movie face-off battling to of Japanese horrors finest villains of late, Sadako v The Grudge.

Hollywood weren’t to miss out on this re-awakening however and after a 12 year absence, Samara is set to return and scare audiences again in 2017 with Rings.

It’s a move that hopes to introduce the story to a whole new generation and go deeper into the mythology for fans of the franchise.

So while Australian audiences wait for the release of the latest movie, the team at Surgeons of Horror decided to dissect this movie franchise in our latest podcast discussions, which you can check out below.

https://surgeonsofhorrordotcom.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/the-ring-franchise.mp3

Competition: Win one of 5 double passes to Rings

13 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by surgeons of horror in Competition, Ring Franchise

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Horror movie, Ring, Rings, Ringu, The Ring

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

To celebrate the release of Rings, Surgeons of Horror along with Paramount Pictures are giving you the chance to WIN 1 of 5 double passes to see the film.

Want to submit your entry? It’s simple, just send us an email to surgeons.of.horror@gmail.com with all your details and simply tell us which iconic villain is set to return and scare for this much-loved franchise?

To keep up to date on all of our latest giveaways, just like our Facebook page here  and keep an ear out for our film podcast sessions.

Please read all the rules and T&Cs at the bottom of the page before entering.

Film Synopsis:
A new chapter in the beloved RING horror franchise. A young woman becomes worried about her boyfriend when he explores a dark subculture surrounding a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after he has viewed it. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: there is a “movie within the movie” that no one has ever seen before…

LINKS:

Facebook: facebook.com/ParamountPicturesAU

Website: www.RingsMovie.com.au

Twitter: @ParamountAU

Instagram: @ParamountAU

#RINGS #SamaraReturns

IN CINEMAS FEBRUARY 23

RINGS – FEBRUARY 23 2017

©2016 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

Surgeons of Horror Competition Rules:

  • Competition is open to Australian residents only.
  • Only one entry will be accepted per person. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified.
  • Closing date for entry will be Feb 19 @ 8.30pm EDT. After this date, no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
  • No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.

Surgeons of Horror Terms & Conditions:

  • Surgeons of Horror’s decision as to those able to take part and selection of winners is final.
  • Surgeons of Horror will judge the competition and decide on the winners once the competition has ended, which will be picked at random from all complete entries via this page.
  • Winners will be announced on our Facebook page the day after the competition has closed.
  • Staff of this site and their immediate families are not eligible to participate in the competition.
  • You must be at least 18 years of age to enter this competition, or have parents or guardians permission.
  • By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
  • Surgeons of Horror and Paramount Pictures take no responsibility for any delay, loss or damage to prizes sent to winners.
  • Surgeons of Horror shall have the right, at its sole discretion and at any time, to change or modify these terms and conditions, such change shall be effective immediately upon posting to this webpage.
  • Surgeons of Horror also reserves the right to cancel the competition if circumstances arise outside of its control.We look forward to hearing from you.

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