'Rings' brings the cursed video tape to the digital age and...it's pretty okay, just okay. The film begins with the introduction of a secret society/cult whose members each watch Samara's video then pass it onto the next victim, in the hopes of unlocking the mysteries of the afterlife. Naturally, this leads to tragedy and death and the next potential victims Julia and Holt must now investigate into the history of Samara's tragic past and if you've seen 'The Ring' you probably can predict how well that goes. The film almost follows the original film's beats word for word, with Julia replacing Naomi Watts' Rachel however to give this sequel credit it actually attempts to expand and build upon the series' mythology with a few new backstory elements sprinkled in.
It's these moments of improvement over the previous 'Ring Two' that kept the film entertaining for the most part, however the filmmakers evidently haven't learned that people freaking hate jump scares and loud noises replacing genuine tension and horror. This seriously is not difficult Paramount, for the love of God short films on YouTube even understand this is cheap and ineffective filmmaking. That's not to say 'Rings' doesn't have the right kind of horror elements in it, with one very effective sequence involving a flat screen TV that I quite enjoyed (even if it was ruined by the marketing department). Also, while we don't get the same frequently creepy scenery as the first film it's in here a lot more than the first sequel and when the film isn't blaring a loud noise at you looks genuinely creepy. While I don't spoil things here, I have to also point out that for a PG-13 horror film in 2017 'Rings' has a really disturbing plot twist that has such dark implications for a film with such a rating, I'm surprised they got away with it.
Really, that's all I've got to say about 'Rings'. It's not terrible, but it's nothing worth rushing out to see either. If you really enjoyed the other films and are looking for a return to the early millennium days of J-Horror then you'll likely find something to enjoy here. For the average horror fan, it's a little bit more of a gray area. There's no denying the impact and longevity of 2002's 'The Ring' but after the industry has been oversaturated with Asian horror remakes it's hard to not see a pattern in these films after so long. It's perfectly serviceable overall and I was as surprised as many that I didn't flat out hate this film. It's really just...okay.
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