The Ring Review

The Ring is a 2002 supernatural horror thriller film directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Brian Cox, and Daveigh Chase. It is a remake of Hideo Nakata's 1998 Japanese horror film Ring, based on Koji Suzuki's 1991 novel of the same name. Watts portrays a journalist who investigates a cursed videotape that seemingly kills the viewer seven days after watching it.

The Ring was released theatrically on October 18, 2002, and received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the atmosphere, visuals, and Watts's performance. The film grossed over $249 million worldwide on a $48 million production budget, making it one of the highest-grossing horror remakes. It is the first installment of the English-language Ring series, and is followed by The Ring Two and Rings, which were released in 2005 and 2017, respectively.

The Ring paved the way for English-language remakes of Asian horror films, such as The Grudge, Dark Water, and The Eye, all of which were poorly received.