Rings (Short Film)

I discovered this short existed when I watched The Ring 2 in preparation for the movie Rings.  It’s a shame that this short is probably going to become even more obscure now that it shares its name with the third feature in the series.  Honestly, I feel that this is the only good sequel so far, because it’s the only one that completely casts off the original movie and goes in a totally new direction.

We know Samara’s origin, and the story of our main characters has played out.  So, for this short, the creators decided to follow what logically came next.  Once the tape is out in the world, teenagers are going to want to watch it.  Being too clever by half, these teenagers are to form “Rings” so they can consistently pass the curse from one person to the next, and cheat Samara every time.

The brilliant thing about this is that it builds real tension around normal teenaged behavior.  Young people think friendships and commitments will last a lifetime, so when Jake (Ryan Merriman) finds that his group is more interested in observing what the seventh day of Samara’s attack looks like than in saving him, and no former members are willing to take another chance, the tension begins to grow.  It’s not totally clear if his “tail” (Josh Wise) actually got cold feet, or was told to back out by the group, but the effect is the same either way.

As with other Ring films, the dependency on technology creates some issues with age.  Most notably, I can’t imagine a “Ring” being confined to a group of teenagers who know each other from school in the age of Facebook.  It would presumably include people from around the country, if not the world.  However, as with the first film, it works perfectly within the time period of the setting.

The short has some pretty freaky imagery, as Jake descends into Samara’s world.  It isn’t as good as the first film, but it doesn’t need to be.  It’s using the premise to tell the story of a young man becoming more and more desperate.

I somewhat wonder if this short might have been an inspiration for It Follows, because it ends exactly where that movie begins: A girl agrees to go out with a boy, while the boy plans to pass a curse on to her.  Granted, The Ring 2 resolved this story-line, but that movie is terrible, so who cares?

Bottom line: If you want to watch The Ring series, watch the original and this short.