Pretty Good

Admirable film.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

This is best described as a prologue for The Ring Two(and it is located on the DVD of it), and it relies on the viewer already knowing the concept as explained in the first(American remake) movie. It sets up the sequel, and scares the crap out of us, all in less than twenty minutes(!). Seriously, apart from the fact that this does use stuff that has already been gone into in the franchise, it manages to deliver exposition, give us characters to sympathize with and shoot us full of a healthy dose of fear. The pace is fast, but never too much so, and the frightening parts are still heavily based on build-up, mood and atmosphere(and frankly, no gore, none, and it works beautifully). All of the acting performances are solid. The editing and cinematography are energetic and creative, and there is really no point in this where it slows down, and yet it doesn't feel rushed. Sound and music are perfect, absolutely spot-on. The idea here is very well-thought out, and they get excellent moments out of it. This is immensely effective, and if you have the opportunity to watch it, and you have the knowledge required beforehand. I recommend it to anyone who is into psychological horror. 10/10

Before THE RING TWO came out, this little short film was released. At my local video store, I rented this. The result.... I thought it was terrible! IT bent and broke all the rules that THE RING was so careful to establish without setting them up in any particular way.Young Jake is a teenager in High school, and has accepted the dare to watch the tape. He Becomes more and more alone over the days. All the people he thought he could trust suddenly turned against him. At this time, he's vomiting CGI fake looking millepedes, and on the 7th day, he gets into trouble, and Emily offers to come over. In THE RING TWO, It is because he wants her to watch the tape.I liked the concept, but this could have been better in so many ways. If it were a prequel to THE RING, with Katie's journal, it would be better.However, this tries too much- The only scary part is the "water" scene. Other than that, this is rubbish.

A short film that explores the back story of a couple of minor characters in Ring Two, and a potentially interesting way of expanding the Ring's story.Except it's migraine inducing and actually doesn't tell us anything especially new or important. It's got that annoying "flash cut till you spew" MTV throwback editing that makes everything feel a bit disjointed, so even though it's only 16 minutes long it still feels very thrown together and random rather than a tight little treat.Emily VanCamp deserves recognition though. She's an amazing actress who conveys warmth and vulnerability, and perhaps the only person you will find yourself caring for in this short film.What I do find intriguing is that when the characters are reintroduced in Ring Two, under the direction of Hideo Nakata, you are far more drawn into their story, despite considerably less screen time. Perhaps this is testament to his directing skills. or an indictment of Jonathan Liebesman's. It makes me a little concerned about Liebesman's prequel to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies- particularly as his previous effort "Darkness Falls" was less than inspiring.Still it's a 16 minute short, so there are obvious restrictions to storytelling here. It just makes me curious what the intention was here- to give audiences something interesting, or to sell a few extra dvds as a special feature?

Rings is the bridge between The Ring and The Ring 2. In the six months between the 2 films the copy of the infamous videotape made by Rachel has multiplied many times (still no explanation as to how people know they're going to die) and it's become such an urban legend that there is a website devoted to it.Jake, the unfortunate high school kid at the start of The Ring 2, has watched the videotape in order to save the life of one of his so-called friends, thus taking on board the responsibility of making someone else watch it in 7 days or die by Samara's fright.Initially Jake is intrigued and is offered a glimpse into the bizarre world of post-videotape viewing that we only saw thru Rachel's eyes in the first. Nothing is explained in any greater detail but the paranormal universe Jake falls into is fleshed-out more and is highly spooky. The short even manages to outdo The Ring 2 by giving us a couple of frights. I don't care how ridiculous the movies are, the image of Samara climbing out the well will ALWAYS be spooky.Anyone who has seen The Ring 2 will already know what becomes of Jake and his would-be girlfriend Emily (the one he forces to watch the tape) but if you're a fan of the films then this is essential viewing. If you've yet to see The Ring 2 then it's the perfect introduction.