The Ring - Analysis

Analysis of film sequence – the ring (7:26)

This is my analysis of the short clip shown to us during our AS lecture, the clip is from a film names “The Ring” directed by Gore Verbinski.

When the film begins the dream work’s well known introduction animation is shown but this time it is darker and the music is not the same. The animation has an old VCR style glitch which foreshadows the use of an old cursed VCR tape used throughout the film.

Scene 0:25~ an outer shot of the house is shown, the house is apart from others meaning it is not a very densely populated area. (This can play into the fact that this is a horror film and there is a good chance nobody would hear them screaming/shouting in their home)

The house is also the only thing focused in the shot and there seems to be no other source of light around meaning this house could be more rural and apart from other people.

The front upper window of the house is lit whereas all the other windows in the house are not thus drawing our attention the room.

Scene 0:38~

The scene then changes to a bedroom where two girls are sat watching a television.

The two girls are juxtaposed against each other, not only in costume but also in apparent personality. The girl in dark clothing seems to have a skeptical and dry sense of humor whereas the girl in the light clothing seems truly frightened and

 One of the girls is wearing very dark clothing whereas the other is wearing very light clothing – this could play onto the fact that later on in the scene the character wearing the very light clothing leads on to be the lead part in the scene.

Throughout this scene the girl in the dark clothing is always shown with a low amount of lighting whereas the girl in the light clothing is always against the high amount of lighting, this could also be to create the dominant character as well as to set the tone of the two characters.

At 3:18 the girls receive a phone call, gore zooms the camera onto a clock showing exactly 10PM

At 3:50 gore uses a close up shot on the telephone whilst showing the girls faces. The girls stop in the corridor building suspense before the girl in dark clothing pushes past the fearful girl dressed in bright clothing to answer the phone. When she picks up the phone she passes the phone over slowly building more suspense, the person on the phone is her mother, and this makes the audience feel calm again.

Gore uses a shot here where he opens the fridge, when the fridge is closed the girl who was wearing dark clothing has disappeared, later the fridge opens by itself and a very similar shot is reused, this could emphasise the disappearance of the girl in dark clothing and the vulnerability of the girl in light clothing.

At 4:50 the TV comes on with static, this not only builds suspense but foreshadows the use of the television and video throughout the film and how unavoidable the outcome is.

When the girl is at the bottom of the stairs a higher camera angle is used to place her in a vulnerable position.

When she reaches the top of the stairs the camera angle is lower and brings emphasis to the water on the floor, this water shows the audience that the video tape is not fake and has real effects on the world around it.

The water also shows her reflection in the floor, this could resemble the reflection of another world in the video (this is later explained in the film).

Conclusion;

Gore’s use of typical horror settings such as a dark suburban house with nobody evidently within audible distance builds suspense on its own and prepares the audience for the genre of film.

 The delayed use of props and pauses in acting with faint but eerie sound/ambience causes a lot of tension which is played off in comedic ways; this builds a fake sense of security to the audience keeping them unprepared for the terrors that appear later on in the scene.