The basic belief is that, when a person dies a vioilent death and is denied a proper burial, their spirit can haunt the world. But, if you find the body and help it gain a proper burial, the spirit is appeased and no longer roams the earth. That’s why when they find the body, they feel everything is over, because according to the rules of the supernatural, that should have put an end to Samara’s killing people.
The problem, and the twist, is that for some reason, her ghost is still so angry and vengeful, that finding her body did not set her free.
No, I don’t think it made her more powerful either - there’s no evidence of how powerful she was before. Dead is dead.
All the posts on the first page kind of muddled together (I did read them, I swear!), but is there any consensus on the connection between the well underneath the cabin and the family on the island? I was under the impression that the horse farm was on the island (thus, the scene of Samara being thrown into the well in front of a bunch of horses on a farm).
Saw it today and it made a reasonably favourable impression.
Since I saw it so late, I don’t feel like I can offer a lot of comments that haven’t already been pointed out, except for a coupla tings:
The choice of the name “Morgan” was pretty apt – apart from the general association with dark magic via Morgan LeFay, the name itself means “Sea Ring.” (If I recall correctly, a morgan is a small horse appropriate for a young girl, which is kind of neat, too.) I love little details like that. If the writer was aware of the etymology of the name, the kid’s name might have some significance, too, since “Aidan” (another celtic name) means “Fire.” “Noah” is a bit of a no-brainer, given the role that the element of water plays in the story.
Silly thing-- the cable box on the Morgans’ farmhouse is shown quite prominently, which is kind of odd, since they also have that big honking antenna.
****** Later ********
I didn’t really expect to join the choir of those spooked outside of the theatre, but the hamsters had their nap before I could post this, and I got into bed figuring I’d post the message in the morning. I should mention that I’m not at home.
So I’m lying in this strange bed, turning the movie around in my mind, looking forward to seeking out Ringu, etc… and at some point I open my eyes, and see on the ceiling: THE RING! (There are brass bedknobs on the bed, and a sodium light outside, with a maple tree in between it and the window… end result-- a perfect ring of shimmering light, just about exactly like the one in the movie, right over my head.) Good for a split second of :eek: Hmmm… it seems to be gone now. Good timing, anyway.
No, I didn’t leave early. It’s just that the little boy flipped when he found out his mom helped Samara (helped as in let her out of the cistern). Why should it matter? It didn’t matter in the least, as several have agreed here. So, instead of scaring me, the insisitence that Rachel screwed up by helping Samara just had my bullshit-meter blaring.
And, no, Anna’s dress cannot be explained by “formal riding attire.” Anna was a show jumper or possibly a 3-day eventer (from the brief glimpse of her photos it is not entirely clear). The formal attire for that is the following: Dark blazer (or bright red if member of US Equestrian Team), white shirt, tan or white breeches (snug riding pants) and black tall boots (that come to back of your knee). The type of riding habit she was wearing was considered “formal riding attire” about 150 years ago.
But she did screw up. She assumed that it solved everything, and didn’t figure out why she had been saved. If she had let things be, her son would have died the next day. If she hadn’t assumed, she might have found out what saved her before Noah died. She didn’t screw up by “helping” Samara, she screwed up by stopping the good fight.
Also, Aidan might have said “You weren’t supposed to do that” for a perfectly good reason, unknown to the audience. I’m sure we’ll find out what in The Ring 2: She Shouldn’t Have Done That.
That’s more or less the way I took it. The thing is, we don’t know for sure that she killed her previous victim by popping out of the TV, or just working some wicked water mojo. Or, even if she did kill her by popping out of the TV, if Samara went back into the tape/TV/well afterwards and if she did so then, if she had to do so now.
And on another line of thought, if she was able to kill people before while trapped in a well (note: in the Japanese version, the lid was referred to as a seal), do we really want to see what she can do wandering around and free?
Another note concerning the Japanese version: Sadako (Samara) could kill people just by thinking it. As the water thing wasn’t so prominent (read: it wasn’t everywhere) in the Japanese version, I had the impression that it was this power that was killing people.
I really have to see if I can find The Ring 2 this weekend…
I didn’t think the mom really helped Samara. I felt the son thought she was going to stop her somehow, and mom comes back saying “guess what sweetie…” She wasn’t supposed to do that…it’s simple.
I guess most of the points mentioned in this thread didn’t bother me, but I don’t expect a lot of logic in horror movies…much like life.
Someone mentioned the scene where Rachel watches Noah’s girlfriend go into his apartment (after he was whacked). Was I the only one who thought this was a sort of forshadowing as to who she would show the tape next? That’s the first thing I thought when it was revealed that you needed to make a copy and pass it on.
Anyway, I liked it. Good, not great. And people, if you go up to a horse and it backs away from you in fright, barking and growling, don’t keep approaching it. Go get an exorcism
This is one of the few “horror” movies that have creeped me out. The horse/ferry part was really disturbing, and my boyfriend commented that it was the only part that made me really tense. It was also the only part that almost made me cry, with the little girl screaming about her horse (I’m a fierce animal lover). After the movie was over, I didn’t think it had affected me that much until I realized I couldn’t stop gripping my boyfriend’s hand. When we stopped at a gas station on the way home and he left me alone in the car, I even found myself clutching my own hands together to keep them from shaking. It was more of a subconcious, psychological fear than anything, as others have said. Now I want to check out the original and its sequel, preferably when semi-alone in a dark house.
I have either been whooshed, or was a victim of bad projection.
When I saw “The Ring,” at intervals throughout the movie the boom microphones were visible. At the beginning we just saw a little black blur at the top of the screen from the mic’s cover, but as the movie progressed more and more was visible. In one of the final scenes, there was a clear six feet or so of microphone arm and cable. The people I saw it with kind of assumed that it was a tie-in to the whole video equipment/camera theme, but it wasn’t resolved in the end, unless I missed something colossal.
Since nobody mentioned it and we’re pretty far into the thread, I’m becoming more and more convinced that it was just a theater ‘oops.’
Much thanks, Epistaxis. Seeing the boom mic isn’t nearly as interesting as you might think, it just served to detract from the movie’s overall ‘creepy factor.’
About the “You weren’t supposed to help her” line:
Maybe Samara wouldn’t have been able to kill Noah or the boy if Rachel hadn’t tried to help her. The four teens who died didn’t just watch the video, they spent a weekend living directly over Samara’s grave, enabling her to imprint her evil onto them. Once the well is opened (or once the skeleton is removed), the vengeful spirit is no longer bound to one location.
Of course, it also serves the dramatic purpose of letting us know the battle isn’t over yet and foreshadowing Noah’s death. In the original, this was done by having a look of dread come over the reporter’s face that morning. (Was EVERYONE in that movie psychic?)
Anyway, I loved the way the movie took two horror-film cliches (vengeful ghost, child born evil) and bounced as back and forth between the two to create something original.
AudreyK quote:“And it looked just like the glowy O outline from the poster. Cigarette burns are bigger, noticeable, and appear in the corner of the film.”
I’ve had this happen in a few movies. Depending on where you sit and what part of the screen you look at this can happen. I’ve always attributed it to reflection from the projector.
I wanted to see this really bad (I host a Bad Movie Night), and after reading this I think i’m gonna get Ringu first instead of the Ring. Fear Dot Com was indeed an American rip off of Ringu, and a craptacular one at that.
How bad was “Fear dot com”? I came this close to renting it for tonight, settling instead for “Domestic Disturbance” (starring John Travolta) and “The truth about Charlie” (Marky Mark, Tim Robbins).
