Rings Movie Review

Reviewed by Lynn Barker on Feb 03, 2017

Rating:

The creepy little girl in the well is back and Kidzworld saw her story in Rings. Will we die in seven days? We’re hoping not but is this scarefest worth your trip to the cinema? Read our movie review.

By: Lynn Barker

In Rings, high school sweethearts Julia (Matilda Lutz) and Holt (Alex Roe, Evan in The 5th Wave) are separated when he goes to college. Is he fooling around behind her back? When some strange girl gets on his computer during what is supposed to be Julia and Holt’s Skype-date time, it sure looks like it but then, where the heck is he? Time for Julia to go find out.

Holt hugs Julia as he goes off to collegeCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Separation

Julia stays home to care for her mom while hunky Holt goes off to college. They set up a nightly Skype date but buddies pull Holt to a party and Julia feels ditched. She gets worried when, a few days later Skye (Aimee Teegarden), a Goth-ish chick. calls Julia from Holt’s computer, freaking out and babbling something about watching a tape. When she can’t reach Holt by phone, Julia hits the road to find him.

Skye checks out an old VCR machineCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Holt searches for JuliaCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Campus Creepy

On campus Julia goes to Holt’s fave biology class to meet his weird prof. Gabriel (“Big Bang Theory”’s Johnny Galecki) who acts like he barely remembers Holt but, it turns out, has a secret lab where students study some bizarre video. Anybody who watches it will die seven days later unless they copy it and find a “tail” to watch it after them, thus passing on the curse. Gabriel is trying to research life after death, is there a soul that lives on etc. Meanwhile, kids are dying.

Gabriel tries to get the old VCR to workCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Gabriel (Johnny Galecki) and Julia research the tapeCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Self-Sacrifice

Holt shows up. He’s watched the tape and his “tail” never showed up. After watching Skye die when some mysterious long-dead girl, later learned to be named Samara, comes out of a TV, Julia decides this thing is real and she’d better watch Holt’s copy to protect him. Trouble is, she sees additional weird images on the tape nobody has seen before! There is video within the video.

Samara comes out of a flatscreen TVCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Samara and the Disappearance

With seven days for Julia to live, she and Holt follow clues to a small village hoping to find Samara’s body and burn it to release her soul. This trip involves learning of the 30-year-old disappearance of Evelyn, a young musician and meeting Burke (Vincent D’Onofrio) the creepy, blind caretaker of a cemetery. Will learning more about Evelyn’s disappearance and what happened to Samara, save Julia and what will happen to Gabriel who is rushing to tell her something?

Julia talks with creepy Mr. BurkeCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

Wrapping Up

Video tapes in 2017? Can’t the screenwriters do a little bit more of an update on this horror franchise? We are kind of re-discovering the original story of Samara, the unwanted pre-teen pushed into a well to die that we got in the previous films in 2002 and 2005 both based on a 1998 Japanese film. Nothing really new here. Okay, it’s a file share at one point and boy could watching the story of Samara kill masses when it goes viral.. of course that is barely explored.

Samara comes out of her well on the tapeCourtesy of Paramount Pictures

The two young lead actors seem to be walking through their roles and even seeing Johnny Galecki in a dark part that contrasts with his role as Leonard on “Big Bang” doesn’t really go anywhere. Visually, Rings isn’t full of new scares either. There are a few creepy moments and, of course, just when our young lovers think they are safe, finally, they aren’t. If you know nothing about the original films, maybe Rings will interest or frighten you but we suggest you just go rent the originals on DVD for a better horror movie marathon at home. We go two stars.