Rings (2017) is a supernatural horror film directed by F. Javier Gutiérrez and written by David Loucka, Jacob Aaron Estes and Akiva Goldsman. It is the third American film in the Ring series and a direct sequel to The Ring (2002) that ignores The Ring Two (2005). It also draws on elements of Koji Suzuki‘s novel Spiral. Matilda Lutz plays Julia, a student whose boyfriend falls in with a college professor’s experiment built around Samara Morgan‘s cursed videotape. Julia ends up with a new version of the tape and follows its clues to Samara’s buried past. Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, Aimee Teegarden, Bonnie Morgan and Vincent D’Onofrio co-star. After several release delays, Paramount released it on February 3, 2017. Reviews were poor, but it grossed $83.1 million on a $25 million budget.
At a glance
| Release date | February 3, 2017 (US) |
| Director | F. Javier Gutiérrez |
| Writers | David Loucka, Jacob Aaron Estes and Akiva Goldsman (screenplay); Loucka and Estes (story) |
| Based on | Elements of Spiral by Koji Suzuki |
| Starring | Matilda Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, Aimee Teegarden, Bonnie Morgan, Vincent D’Onofrio |
| Runtime | 102 minutes |
| Rating | PG-13 (US), for violence/terror, thematic elements, some sexuality and brief drug material |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $83.1 million |
| Franchise | Ring: direct sequel to The Ring (2002) |
Plot summary
In 2013, on a flight to Seattle, two passengers realize they have both watched Samara Morgan’s cursed tape, and Samara brings the plane down. Two years later, college professor Gabriel Brown (Johnny Galecki) buys a dead passenger’s old VCR and finds the tape inside. Julia (Matilda Lutz) grows worried when her boyfriend Holt (Alex Roe) stops answering her after leaving for college. Looking for him, she finds Gabriel’s group, the “Sevens.” They film themselves watching the video, then pass the footage to a “tail,” a new viewer who keeps the chain going. It is an organized version of the rule from the 2002 film, where Rachel survives only because she copied the tape and showed it to someone else.
Holt has watched the tape and has hours left. Julia watches his copy to save him. Her version can’t be copied, contains new images, and burns a mark into her hand. Believing Samara’s remains must be cremated, Julia and Holt travel to Sacrament Valley, where Samara was buried after Moesko Island refused her body. They find her tomb empty. A blind man, Galen Burke (Vincent D’Onofrio), tells them a priest moved her after a flood. Gabriel works out that the mark on Julia’s hand is Braille, but he is killed before he can warn them.
Spoiler section: rebirth
Beneath the church bell tower, Julia finds that Samara’s mother, Evelyn, was held captive there by the priest who raped her. Galen is that priest, and Samara’s biological father. He blinded himself to escape her power, and he has killed others who tried to cremate her. Julia finds Samara’s skeleton hidden in his wall. A swarm of cicadas brings Samara through Julia’s phone. She restores Galen’s sight and kills him. Julia and Holt cremate the remains, but the Braille spells “rebirth.” Julia coughs up black hair, and her copy of the video spreads to everyone in her contacts and goes viral. Samara is reborn in Julia, who sees Samara’s face in her mirror instead of her own.
Production and behind the scenes
In 2014, Paramount announced a third film, then called The Ring 3D, with Gutiérrez directing after he left a remake of The Crow. Loucka and Estes had written drafts, and in August Paramount brought in Goldsman for a third draft. In November, Gutiérrez posted a photo on Instagram showing the new title, Rings. Filming took place in Atlanta from March 23 to May 31, 2015. Post-production began in June 2015 at Paramount Studios and finished in November 2016, with reshoots in July 2016. Bonnie Morgan plays Samara, and Matthew Margeson composed the score.
Release and reception
The release date moved several times: November 13, 2015, then April 1, 2016, then October 28, 2016, when it was meant to fill Paramount’s usual Halloween slot for Paranormal Activity. It finally landed on February 3, 2017, most likely to avoid Ouija: Origin of Evil. A prank video, in which an actress dressed as Samara climbed out of a TV in an electronics store, was viewed 200 million times on Facebook in 24 hours. The film opened second with $13 million, behind Split. It took $27.8 million in the US and Canada and $55.3 million elsewhere, for $83.1 million worldwide.
It holds 7% on Rotten Tomatoes, whose consensus calls it “an endless loop of muddled mythology and rehashed plot points” for anyone but ardent fans. Metacritic scores it 25. CinemaScore audiences gave it a “C−,” lower than either earlier American film. IGN’s Alex Gilyadov gave it 4.5/10, criticizing “lazy jump scares and a convoluted origins story no one asked for or needed,” while granting it “some chilling scenes and creepy visuals.”
Legacy and influence
At CinemaCon, Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore said that if it succeeded, sequels could come every year in place of Paranormal Activity. Those plans were left in doubt after he left the company. His successor, Megan Colligan, said only that “time will tell,” and there has been no update on a sequel since. In 2019, Nicolas Pesce, director of The Grudge (2019), said he was interested in a crossover with the American Ring films, like Japan’s Sadako vs. Kayako (2016). For the Japanese originals, see Ringu (1998) and Spiral (1998), the first film version of the novel Rings draws on.
Trivia
- Paramount released two trailers. The second international trailer included new footage.
- The home release includes deleted and extended scenes and an alternate ending.
- It was released on digital HD on April 21, 2017, and on Blu-ray and DVD on May 2.
- Its Thursday previews earned $800,000.
- Ehren Kruger, who wrote the first two American films, did not write this one.
Related links
- Sadako Yamamura / Samara Morgan (character)
- Ring franchise
- The Ring (2002) and The Ring Two (2005)
- Ringu (1998) and Spiral (1998)
- Koji Suzuki (author)