The Ring review

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Seven days after you read this review, you will die. Make a note of the time, because at this moment next week, you'll be sent screaming into oblivion and only a corpse will remain... It's an unsettling thought, isn't it? And it's the premise around which The Ring spins its insidious, insistent chills.

The terror for the unfortunates involved isn't just death, but the knowledge that it's coming. A similar feeling of impending dread pervaded the hearts of thinking horror fans when it emerged that the director of MouseHunt was going to remake eerie Japanese hit Ringu. "Gore Verbinski" cried the cynics. "You have got, in the words of the poet, to be shitting us!" But viewers should prepare for one of many shocks: Verbinski has delivered.

From the start, The Ring displays the same smart, savvy and distinct psychological scares that distinguished its Oriental antecedent. Two teenage girls sit around trying to out-spook each other, retelling an urban legend about a nightmarish videotape that, once watched, gives its viewers seven days to live. Soon enough, it's no laughing matter and a grisly death reels in Naomi Watts' abrasive reporter to investigate.

The story takes few unexpected detours from the original - and when it does, the pace suffers - but what impresses is the duplication of tone. The Ring really gets under your skin. The slick, intricate visuals include shots of unsettling beauty, while screenwriter Ehren Kruger retains the family and filmmaking subtexts of the 1998 original (the nod to Hitchcock's Rear Window is a particularly neat touch).

To Verbinski's credit, he's mostly resisted the general Hollywood urge to gorify the action, or resort to cheap, it's-only-a-cat!-style shocks. But there are still enough sick-trigger moments to suggest The Ring isn't for the faint of heart. Certainly there are shots that will linger with you for days - a nailed fingernail, a rotting cadaver, some twitching, severed digits (in what could well be Verbinski's homage to another recent, sadistic Japanese horror, Miike Takashi's Audition). There's a troubling atmosphere that clogs up your throat. Adults, be warned. Kids, you'll probably love it.

Talking of kids, David Dorfman impresses as an Omen-style sprog, his sombre performance dispelling any fears that Verbinski may have plonked for a Jonathan Lipnicki clone. And the other performances are also up to scratch: Watts' committed, luminescent turn proves Mulholland Drive was no fluke, Martin Henderson's sidekick brings some much-needed light to the dark proceedings and Brian Cox's cameo - albeit in a totally unnecessary subplot - stirs memories of his Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter.

Oh, and Total Film hasn't really been cursed by any psychic freaks lately (save for the News Editor), so chances are, you'll be just dandy in seven days' time. After all, who believes in all that stuff...?

If looks could kill, The Ring would be a gruesome mass murderer. A chillingidea, finely executed, in a rare remake success. See it if you dare- but we wouldn't recommend you go alone...

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

Latest in Adventure Movies
Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
The Monopoly movie from Margot Robbie's production company will be written by the Dungeons and Dragons movie directors
The Goonies
Ke Huy Quan recalls Steven Spielberg playing a hilarious "big joke" on Harrison Ford when the Indiana Jones star visited The Goonies set
Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth actor teases a "link" with Sam Neill's Jurassic Park character – and fans think they've worked it out
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Epic Jurassic World Rebirth trailer sees Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey battle dinosaurs that were deemed "too dangerous for the original park"
Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth's writer says the new movie will include a novel scene they had to cut from the 1993 original
Jim Carrey as Robotnik in Sonic 3
Sonic 3 deleted scene reveals Jim Carrey's Robotnik has a side hustle where he live-streams under the handle 'Huevo Diablo'
Latest in Reviews
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat
Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"
Boro and Alta sit on a bench together in Wanderstop
Wanderstop review: "Exalting the transformative power of tea"
The pump header of the NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB showing a 35 degree cpu
NZXT Kraken Elite 360 RGB review: "Has some solid design points that make installation a lot easier"
Logitech G Pro X TKL Rapid gaming keyboard on a wooden desk with blue lighting
Logitech G Pro X TKL Rapid review: "one of the best value Hall effect gaming keyboards out there"
Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt in The Electric State
The Electric State review: "Although this may be their most visually stunning movie yet, it looks like the Russos are yet to find their footing outside of the MCU"