Rings

RINGS

Director : F. Javier Gutierrez

Year : 2017

Genre : Horror

Rating :  Zzzzzzz

15 years after Gore Verbinski's highly overrated remake of Hideo Nakata's Japanese cult hit 'Ring' became both a critical and commercial smash, the horror series finally comes full circle with 'Rings', the third and easily the worst entry in a franchise whose popularity and praise is one of the biggest mysteries in modern cinema history. Telling the same story of another bunch of unlikable and very dumb young adults who watch the dreaded video tape that kills you if you watch it, 'Rings' fatally dispenses with any of the atmosphere or technophobic threat that made the two previous films at least watchable and instead resorts to the same tired jump scare tactics synonymous with lazy franchise horror fare. But that wouldn't be so bad if the plot was good but it isn't - attempting to expand the backstory of Samara and the cursed VHS cassette and completely muddling the mythology of the series in the process. The characterisations are dull, the dialogue is risible, the acting is consistently bad and the direction is at best mediocre, all leading to a completely needless and frequently unwatchable sequel that may please ardent fans of the series but will leave seasoned movie goers both frustrated and very, very bored indeed. A few years ago, I wrote that the awful horror follow-up 'Insidious : Chapter 2' was the first movie to ever put me to sleep in the cinema. Now, it has a sibling.