Good Wayne

Sunday, March 09, 2003

...before you die, you see the ring...

Holy crap.

Lemme say that again, but this time with a little emphasis: Holy fucking crap!

We watched The Ring last night and I'm still creeped out. I can't really recall the last time I watched something so creepy. Probably The Blair Witch Project back in '99 and that was mostly tension. Most horror movies have a scene or two that are freaky, but this was one long drawn out 2-hours of unending dread (well, that undoubtedly an exaggeration). I actually had to force myself to dwell on something else when I went to bed. It was that creepy. (Seriously, the last time I felt like that was the Blair Witch. I was home alone after that one, and I think I left the hall light on).

It was a total freak job. I think I had shivers running down my spine in every other scene. Very well done. Almost every shot -especially any establishing shots- had lots of visual depth and the film would always return to these shots so you knew there was going to be something in the background. Only, a lot of the time there wasn't. So you'd start to get comfortable with that and that would be eerie.

I really don't want to blow anything. And I don't really care that lots of people won't like it. It's a good film (even if it's a remake of a Japanise film Ringu, which is supposed to be superior. Don't care. I've never scene that film, I saw this one. And this one rocked). A lot of people hated Blair Witch, and some of the slams were spot on, but it was still a damn good film. Both films are less about gore and more about the actual story. If you only find slasher films scary, then this isn't for you. The horror is mainly dervived from the possible horrific consequences the main characters have to face and the idea that they're unavoidable. Characters, desperate to not to be done in, begin to feel that no matter what they do, they're heading for that end. Although characters in The Ring decided to do what the can anyway. And hell if I don't like the end of The Ring. (And I mean the end-end).

Possible Spoilers; or How To Have Some Fun with DVD:
The main premisis of The Ring is this video tape. You watch the tape and it full of disturbing and odd imagery. Then, as soon as you finish, you're phone rings and a voice tells you, "Seven days...". Seven days later, you die.

Okay, so via Internet Movie Database, I found that the DVD has a little easter egg. You hit Left once, then Down twice. The cursor disappears and you hit Enter. Now you view the videotape in it's entirety. Now, here's the fun part. Christine was more than a little freaked out by the movie. She knows it's still a movie, but it is creepy.

I dialed our home phone on the cell, but left it hanging on, so all I had to do was his the Call button and it would dial. I put the phone in my back pocket and waited about a half hour or so before bring up the easter egg. So we're gonna just sit thru it, because it's short. I had previously set up the living room so the cordless phone was on the desk and I stood between it and Tine on the couch. I'm standing up, one hand on the remote, the other in my back pocket on the phone Call button.

Video plays and as the end static blurs, I finger the call button. Ring! Ring!

Now, granted this was a day later, in the morning sunlight so the effect was minimal. I picked up the phone and pretended to be scared, but I couldn't hold it and laughed. To which Tine said she was oddly uncomfortable when the phone rang, but didn't feel any real dread.

We tried it again later when Michael woke up, but I must have misdialed the phone, because it didn't ring on cue and a quick exit-and-redial wasn't that effective (besides, I'm not sure he would have actually connected the end of the video and phone - some kids...).

So I figure that the single best way to make this work is to have some friend on stand-by when you've got other over to watch the movie. You tell this person to dial your home when they hear their own phone ring only once. Then you do the same trick I did, dial up thier phone on your cell, but keep it from going thru. Then, after the movie is over and it's still freaking dark out, you have everyone sit thru the easter egg video. As it nears compeletion, you fire off your call and your friend calls back and scares the bezeeus out of everyone.

Yeah, I know. It's only going to work on teenagers, but what the fuck. It would have worked last night, if I had previous knowledge. I take it back, I think anyone who lets the film get to them in any way, shape or form would at least jump if the phone rang right after viewing.

It's a damn creepy movie and you should see it.

And this is sort of useful if you've just come in contact with some kind of toxic-space-ray that's given you optional super powers: Lee's Useless Superhero Generator.

posted by Evil Wayne | 8:53 PM

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