The Ring (2002)

"The Ring" (2002), is an American Psychological Horror starring Naomi Watts as Rachel Keller and Martin Henderson as Noah Clay. The film is based on the Japanese 1998 adaptation, "Ring", of the novel by Koji Suzuki also titled "Ring". "The Ring" is a picture by Dreamworks with a budget of $45 million, however, managed to take almost $250 million at box office. Through the use of psychological games played on spectators, it is highly likely that the film helped to push the genre forward, in conjunction with the technological advancements that the beginning of the 21st century would bring - a new wave of 3D, digital projection as an alternative to film projection in cinemas.

"The Ring" follows the story of Rachel Keller and her fight to save her own and her son's life after watching a cursed video tape. Anyone who watches the tape dies in seven days. The films events start after Rachel's neice, Katie is killed by a spirit, Samara who supposedly created the cursed tape. After deciding to investigate the death, Rachel stumbles upon the tape, watches it, and takes it home after receiving a call stating "seven days". Her son also watches the tape, as does her friend, Noah Clay. Rachel eventually finds out how to stop the deaths, but it becomes to late and she looses her friend Noah to Samara as she murders him.

There is a strong meaning in "The Ring" that death is just around the corner, and that it is always watching. Colour and lighting plays an important part in conveying the meaning of something dark around the corner, for example, in the weather - the dull skies and the rain. The use of dull colours makes us as an audience wonder what could be lurking in the dark and further wonder what could be out there to get us. Colour and lighting in the film also reflect the colour and graininess of cursed tape. In terms of costume and make-up, the outfits characters wear are neither glamorous or expensive and give the idea that Rachel Keller and her son are just 'normal' citizens caught up in a mess. Backing up the idea that something could be out there to get us, sound also plays an important role. In scenes where suspense is being built and action is about to commence orchestral, sinister sounds are built up to add to the deathly and gloomy mood of the film. The idea of death coming for you is demonstrated through special effects at the end of the film when Samara comes through the television screen for Noah, killing him in the process. I think this resembles the idea well. The idea of fate still being feared globally is evident in the film through the narrative of the film. Several characters tempt fate with their lives by watching the film, unable to control their curiosity. Stars are used in a way to convey meaning too, with Naomi Watts, who plays Rachel Keller has been typically cast as a family woman in thrillers and horrors in both television and film, for example, in "Dream House", (2011), Kellers plays a family woman who gets trapped in a series of unfortunate and supernatural events. The use of fast cuts at the more dramatic scenes and slower cuts at the less dramatic scenes enforce the idea that death can creep up at anyone at any time. 

I think the cinematography plays a large part in creating meaning in the film, for example in the scene leading up to and including Katie's Death. She suddenly becomes alone in the house and supernatural events begin to happen such as the television turning on and the fridge opening and closing on it's own accord. As Katie is exploring the house, moving to and from the activity (shutting the fridge door, turning the television back off again), the camera becomes still and makes use of wide shots to capture a large proportion of action. The motionless shots help to build tension as it allows a number of things to take place in the back and fore ground. These kind of shots help to enforce my original idea that something is just around the corner.

Sound also plays an important role in creating suspense in this film. Due to the advances in technology compared to the two previous films, "Frankenstein" (1931) and "The Devil Rides Out" (1968), it's likely that the soundtrack to "The Ring" contains a wild track, meaning that the shoot is totally silent apart from the voices and noises produced physically by the actors with a sound of the room and sounds of props in the room overdubbed in post-production.

In terms of representation of people, there are many establishing shots of the neighborhood where the lead female character, Rachel Keller, lives. Rachel Keller is a single mum who works and relies upon home childcare whilst she is at work. In conjunction with the establishing shots, it represents Keller as not just the only one who is always busy trying to make ends meet, but one of many. This, with the idea that she is a family woman represent Keller as a strong protagonist who, we, as spectators begin to like and gain respect for as we watch the film. As an audience we respect that Keller is working as hard as she can for her money and the lengths she would go to so that she can protect her family. The film helps to deal with issues of working mothers and the negative light shed upon them globally by portraying the lead female in a positive and strong light. There is a stereotype in the beginning of the film that Rachel is a rushed person and has no time for quality time with her son, but soon is turned around, as said previously, by becoming strong and fighting for her family. It could be said that Rachel is to be seen as a positive role model, but it's likely, that due to the nature and target age of the film that it wouldn't be for a child. It's likely that her role model status would be for working or single mothers. The representation of the genre could also be seen as negative through the 'copycat' approach to the genre. The film makes use of typical codes and conventions of the genre with the use of mirrors, dreary weather and playing with common fears; water, the dark, etc.

"The Ring" is distributed and produced by DreamWorks, a subsidiary of the Reliance ADA Group, an Indian Company that specialises in health, telicom and entertainment. It's unusual that "The Ring" is associated with such a company as DreamWorks usually deals with dramas, family orientated comedies, such as "Shrek" and "Saving Private Ryan". The budget of the film was $45million and grossed nearly $250million through it's migration to other continents and it's success in cinema across the world, therefore making the film multinational. The fact the film grossed so well proves that the film was financially viable, bringing in a profit for the companies involved in the production. The second film in the franchise, "The Ring 2" grossed significantly less amid mixed reviews from critics. There will be a third edition in the franchise, with the working title (as it's still in production) called "The Ring 3D". The fact that the characters can translate across the globe (family woman, and the representation of working mothers) also help to make the film multinational and help the franchise to become globalised. In terms of cross media, the film had a website (http://www.thering-themovie.com) to help promote the sales and the globalisation of the film (using a .com domain). Since the films release, the website now just promotes the second film in the franchise, "The Ring 2", and the DVD release of the original. The website is minimalist, probably due to the technology at the time it was created.

As said before, the film was distributed by DreamWorks who not only took charge of distributing the film to cinemas, but to television networks and retail outlets (for DVD and Blueray releases) following lengthy cross media advertising campaigns. DreamWorks released several cinematic and television trailers for the film (can be seen above), but I found it difficult to track down a radio trailer. It's likely at the time leading up to and throughout it's release that "The Ring" would have been self-promoted on it's website and the production company's website. By having such an extensive advertising campaign, the film would reach out to potential customers and spectators who may not have travelled to see the film based on word of mouth. Through the developments of technology, it now allows to the film to be broadcast, even if illegally, through the internet. It's a fairly modern film so it's likely that this film would be found somewhere on a popular file sharing site. UIP (United International Pictures) were responsible for the distribution of the films in cinemas in 7 non-English speaking, European companies, for example: Germany, Argentina, Switzerland, Finland, Greece, Italy, Netherlands and one English speaking country, Ireland. "The Ring's" television debut was on ABC (the American Broadcasting Corporation).

In terms of legalities and ethics, the film is mainly produced by DreamWorks, but two other smaller production companies, such as, MacDonald/Parkes Productions and Bender Spinks so a large proportion of profits would be directed at these companies. The film doesn't rely on being borderline blasphemous and gore unlike horror films of the past, such as, "The Devil Rides Out", therefore regulatory bodies would be likely to find little offensive content and material. Similarly, with the representation of characters and social groups, there is little offensive with the representation, so therefore, regulatory bodies would also find little wrong with the representation. If the film were to be shown on UK television, it is highly likely that Ofcom would rule that the film is shown post-watershed with few sections of content removed, due to the fact there is little gore and that the film really relies upon mind games and jumps.

In conclusion, I think that "The Ring" allowed the development of the horror genre to continue through it's use of mind games, luring a spectator into a false sense of security and through suspense via music and noise. Whilst typically following conventions of the genre, I think by basing the script on Japanese folklore and on an original Japanese film, the producers were able to explore a world that would be unfamiliar in English-speaking horror. Whilst containing plot holes and little special effects, I think meaning is created very well through sounds, mise-en-scene and colour.