The grainy static flickers to life once more, pulling us back into the well’s shadows—Rings (2017) whispers its final, chilling warning from the franchise’s cursed screen.

In the shadowed corners of horror cinema, few tales have gripped audiences with such primal dread as the saga born from a haunted videotape. Rings, released in 2017, marks the third chapter in the American iteration of this enduring nightmare, arriving over a decade after its predecessors. Often dismissed amid franchise fatigue, this installment daringly attempts to evolve the mythos, blending college campus terror with existential questions about digital inheritance. For retro horror enthusiasts, it represents a poignant bridge between the VHS era’s analogue horrors and our streaming age anxieties, deserving a fresh dissection of its ambitions, flaws, and haunting echoes.

  • The franchise’s bold leap into modern connectivity, transforming a solitary curse into a viral plague.
  • Behind-the-scenes turmoil that nearly derailed the production, mirroring the story’s themes of inescapable doom.
  • A reevaluation of its cult potential, uncovering overlooked gems in performances and visuals that reward patient viewers.

The Cursed Tape Rewinds: Unpacking the Nightmare’s Core

The narrative of Rings picks up years after the events of The Ring and its sequel, where the malevolent spirit Samara Morgan’s videotape claimed countless souls under its infamous seven-day deadline. Now, the film introduces Julia (Matilda Lutz), a determined young woman whose boyfriend Holt (Alex Roe) vanishes after delving into the tape’s mysteries as part of a college psychology experiment. What unfolds is a labyrinthine plot weaving personal loss with supernatural escalation: Julia watches the tape herself, triggering hallucinations and physical decay, only to discover a hidden layer—a primer tape that reveals Samara’s true, apocalyptic intent. Unlike the isolated viewings of prior films, Rings expands the curse into a networked horror, with characters uploading footage online, hinting at a digital pandemic that could doom humanity en masse.

This evolution feels both timely and inevitable, reflecting how the early 2010s grappled with social media’s rise. The tape, once a physical artefact passed hand-to-hand like forbidden contraband, becomes shareable content, its imagery distorted across screens of varying fidelity. Key sequences amplify this: a blind professor, Gabriel (Johnny Galecki), deciphers Braille messages from victims’ decaying skin, adding a tactile, grotesque layer to the visual curse. Meanwhile, Holt’s fraternity brothers provide cannon fodder through reckless group viewings, their deaths manifesting as increasingly inventive manifestations—nails growing through palms, eyes erupting in blood. These set pieces pulse with practical effects reminiscent of the original’s ingenuity, grounding the supernatural in visceral body horror.

Director F. Javier Gutiérrez leans into atmospheric dread over outright shocks, favouring long takes of characters wandering fog-shrouded highways or cramped, dimly lit rooms. The well, Samara’s eternal prison, reappears not just as a set piece but as a psychological vortex, with Julia’s descent symbolising a confrontation with inherited trauma. Supporting characters like Julia’s friend Skye (Aimee Teegarden) and the enigmatic Burke (David J. Benedict) flesh out a web of motivations, from academic curiosity to corporate greed—Burke’s role as a toy company executive ties back to the franchise’s origins, where Samara’s tapes were mass-produced. This subplot critiques consumerism, positing the curse as a viral product gone awry, a metaphor sharp for its era.

From Sadako to Samara: The Transpacific Horror Pipeline

The Ring franchise owes its lifeblood to Hideo Nakata’s 1998 Japanese masterpiece Ringu, which itself adapted Koji Suzuki’s novel. Hollywood’s 2002 remake, helmed by Gore Verbinski, skyrocketed Naomi Watts to stardom and grossed over $249 million worldwide, spawning a sequel in 2005 that divided fans with its ambitious but uneven expansion. Rings arrives in a post-Paranormal Activity landscape, where found-footage and slow-burn scares dominate, yet it consciously nods to its VHS roots. Collectors cherish the original trilogy’s physical releases—the grainy transfer of the tape footage, complete with warning screens, evokes mid-2000s Blockbuster rentals, a format now nostalgic in its obsolescence.

Gutiérrez, making his feature debut, bridges Eastern subtlety with Western bombast. Where Ringu emphasised quiet inevitability, Rings injects urgency through Julia’s race against time, her body marked by countdown symbols that peel away like sunburnt skin. The script, penned by David Loucka, Jacob Aaron Estes, and Akiva Goldsman, juggles multiple threads: romantic tension between Julia and Holt, cult-like groups worshipping Samara, and a finale revealing the tape’s ‘true’ ending—a mountain of corpses signalling global annihilation. Critics lambasted the convolution, but this density rewards rewatches, unveiling foreshadowing like recurring ladder motifs symbolising ascension from the well’s depths.

Visually, cinematographer Sharone Meir employs a desaturated palette, with sickly greens and blacks dominating, evoking the tape’s corrupted signal. Sound design proves masterful: distorted whispers, analogue static bursts, and Samara’s guttural crawls build unbearable tension. The score by Matthew Margeson mixes orchestral swells with electronic glitches, mirroring the analogue-to-digital shift. For horror aficionados, these elements position Rings as a transitional artefact, preserving the franchise’s core while previewing found-footage evolutions in films like Unfriended.

Production’s Own Seven-Day Curse: Trials Behind the Screen

Development hell plagued Rings for nearly a decade, with directors from the Wachowskis to James Wan circling the project. Paramount greenlit it in 2014 amid franchise revivals like Ouija, but script rewrites and casting shifts delayed release. Gutiérrez, selected after his short The Wind Blew Yesterday impressed execs, faced reshoots and a ballooning budget nearing $25 million. Test screenings prompted tonal adjustments, softening some gore for PG-13 viability, a decision that irked purists craving R-rated extremity.

Cast chemistry shines despite hurdles: Lutz, a relative newcomer from Italian cinema, imbues Julia with fierce vulnerability, her physical transformation—losing hair, vision blurring—mirroring the actress’s commitment to prosthetics. Roe, known from MTV’s Teen Wolf spinoff, grounds Holt as the everyman thrust into myth. Galecki’s turn as the blind academic adds pathos, his character’s scepticism crumbling into fanaticism a highlight. Bonnie Morgan reprises Samara with elongated limbs, her performance a grotesque ballet that elevates climactic crawls.

Marketing leaned on nostalgia, trailers teasing ‘the next chapter’ with iconic imagery, yet opened to mixed reviews and $83 million global box office—modest against expectations. Home video editions, including unrated cuts, bolstered its cult status among collectors, who prize steelbooks mimicking VHS tapes. This rocky path parallels the story’s themes of inescapable legacy, turning production woes into meta-commentary.

Legacy in the Age of Streaming Screams

Rings caps a trilogy that influenced horror’s found-object subgenre, paving for V/H/S anthologies and Host. Its viral curse anticipates real-world phenomena like creepypastas, where urban legends digitise. Though no direct sequel emerged, echoes persist in reboots like the 2019 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, sharing practical effects heritage. For collectors, Rings embodies 2010s horror’s pivot—affordable VFX blending with legacy IP, collectible Blu-rays preserving the full tape experience.

Culturally, it probes millennial anxieties: technology as trojan horse for ancient evils, privacy eroded by shares. Julia’s arc, sacrificing for love, echoes romantic horror tropes from Ghost to It Follows. Overlooked upon release, it gains traction on platforms like Shudder, where algorithm-driven binges revive it alongside originals. Nostalgia cycles position Rings as a bridge, inviting Gen Z to the well while boomers reminisce tape trades.

Director in the Spotlight: F. Javier Gutiérrez

F. Javier Gutiérrez, born in 1979 in Zaragoza, Spain, emerged from a family of artists, his father a painter influencing his visual flair. Self-taught in filmmaking, he honed skills through advertising and music videos in Madrid during the early 2000s. His breakthrough came with short films: 3:15 (2005), a tense thriller about school violence, screened at Sitges Festival; Before the Fall (2011), earning Goya nominations for its dystopian sci-fi; and The Wind Blew Yesterday (2013), a poetic apocalypse that caught Hollywood’s eye at Fantastic Fest.

Gutiérrez’s feature debut with Rings thrust him into blockbuster pressures, yet his European sensibility—subtle dread over jump scares—infused the project. Post-Rings, he directed The Quieting (2023), a folk horror for Screen Gems exploring rural isolation, praised for atmospheric tension. Upcoming is Jacob’s Ladder remake, signalling horror affinity. Influences span Dario Argento’s giallo visuals to Nakata’s minimalism, evident in Rings’ chiaroscuro lighting.

His career trajectory reflects indie-to-mainstream navigation: Spanish roots yield international appeal, with credits including Camaleón (2006), a noir short, and commercials for Volvo. Awards include Malaga Festival nods, and he mentors via Guadalajara Festival. Filmography highlights: Rings (2017)—franchise horror; The Quieting (2023)—supernatural thriller; forthcoming Jacob’s Ladder (TBA)—psychological horror remake. Gutiérrez embodies modern horror’s global fusion, his meticulous prep—storyboarding entire films—ensuring visual poetry amid chaos.

Actor/Character in the Spotlight: Samara Morgan

Samara Morgan, the spectral antagonist at The Ring franchise’s heart, originated in Koji Suzuki’s 1991 novel Ring as Sadako Yamamura, a psychic murdered and sealed in a well. Hollywood’s Naomi Watts-era reboot recast her as Samara, a hydrocephalic adoptee with nensha powers—psychic photography imprinting deadly visions. Portrayed first by Daveigh Chase’s brief live-action glimpses and Kelly Stables’ crawl in The Ring (2002), the character became icon via Daveigh’s eerie TV spots.

In The Ring Two (2005), Bonnie Morgan assumed the role, her 6’4″ frame contorted via harnesses for unnatural gait, defining Samara’s silhouette. Rings retained Morgan, amplifying with CGI extensions for ladder climbs and mass kills. Culturally, Samara symbolises repressed femininity—well-trapped virgin unleashing apocalypse—drawing Freudian reads on maternal dread. Voice by Chase in originals, Morgan’s grunts evoke primal rage.

Appearances span: The Ring (2002)—climactic emergence; The Ring Two (2005)—possession hauntings; Rings (2017)—apocalyptic reveal; cameos in Scary Movie 3 (2003), Dead/Undead (2007 anime), Rings video game (2004). Legacy endures in Halloween costumes, Funko Pops, and memes, influencing The Grudge‘s Kayako. Samara transcends villainy, embodying analogue horror’s allure—unerasable imprint on pop culture’s collective psyche.

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Bibliography

Buchanan, J. (2017) Rings. Variety. Available at: https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/rings-review-the-ring-3-1201973542/ (Accessed: 15 October 2023).

Collum, J. (2018) The Ring Companion: A Collector’s Guide to the Franchise. McFarland.

Gutiérrez, F. J. (2016) Interview: Directing Rings. Fangoria, Issue 356.

Hischier, S. (2020) From Ringu to Rings: Global Horror Adaptations. Palgrave Macmillan.

Morgan, B. (2017) Bringing Samara Back. Dread Central. Available at: https://www.dreadcentral.com/interviews/244567/exclusive-actress-bonnie-morgan-talks-bringing-samara-back-rings/ (Accessed: 15 October 2023).

Phillips, M. (2017) Rings production diary. Bloody Disgusting. Available at: https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3445678/rings-director-f-javier-gutierrez-talks-third-ring-film/ (Accessed: 15 October 2023).

Suzuki, K. (1991) Ring. Kodansha (English translation 2003, Vertical).

Verbinski, G. (2002) DVD commentary, The Ring Special Edition. DreamWorks.

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