Between the Japanese originals and the American remakes, The Ring has become urban legend by now. As such, we may take for granted how effectively the American remake establishes the rules. Now the three American films are in 4K UHD from Shout! Studios.
The Gore Verbinski film maintains the green tint of the glow from old tube TVs. It’s wet and overcast throughout which create deep pockets of shadow as the car drives through the rain, Rachel (Naomi Watts) explores Morgan (Brian Cox)’s barn and of course the depth of the well. But the VHS quality tape still maintains its low-res glory.
All the rain surrounds you too. There are more subtle sounds of the squirming larva on the tape. A file cabinet rattles in the rear as Noah (Martin Henderson) investigates.
The Ring Two brings a new look. It drops the watery fog for suburban clarity. Rachel did move from Seattle with her son. There are still good shadows in the morgue truck, exploring the house and any nighttime scenes. Later, the basement of the open house is nice and shadowy too.
The driving scene before the deer attack does not look real. CGI deer are one thing but the windows should look real.
The sequel amplifies some of the sound effects too. TV whirs and static fill the room. Bugs buzz all around. Sometimes Aidan (David Dorfman) and Evelyn (Sisssy Spacek) whisper right in your ear.
Ring Two sort of becomes a Freddy movie as Samara (Daveigh Chase) makes random weird things happen for Rachel and Aidan. At least Watts is back doing her best to represent the character having the same shit happen to the same gal twice.
Since I never revisited the sequel on DVD, I never saw the short film prequel Until now. It is the strongest English language follow up exploring teens messing with Samara and what can happen with their camcorders. Back when Circuit City type stores were around, it offers dangerous possibilities.
The third feature, Rings, is probably nobody’s favorite in the series. It does attempt to return to the green wet look for what it’s worth.