Recently remade as 'The Ring' in the US, Ring is a horror film that is concerned more with psychological terror than splashing blood and guts across the screen. Through some clever use of sound and visuals the film creates a real feeling of dread in its early moments. It's these early moments that set the tone for the rest of the film.

It's the video tape itself that proves to be the most unsettling thing about the movie. Almost Lynchian in its style, the tape is a succession of black and white abstract images and equally strange moving clips. Combine these confusing images with some excellent sound design and the tape fulfills its purpose well. The sound effects used range from eerie scratching noises to indecipherable mutterings. Listen to the film through a good surround set-up and the use of sound plays a major part in the feel of the movie.

As the film moves on and Reiko's time grows shorter and shorter the audio and visual effects of the tape start to seep into her reality. Reiko starts seeing images and hearing the sounds of the tape as she walks about or sleeps. It's a nice move by the filmmakers and it helps the audience understand what Reiko is going through and makes them feel as 'on edge' as her.

Unfortunately, about halfway through the movie all the good work establishing mood is discarded. The film moves from a tension filled horror and turns into a standard investigation kind of movie. The film starts to follow Reiko as she and her estranged husband (who by now has also watched the tape) investigate the video's origins in an effort to somehow save themselves.

I don't see why they had to completely abandon the spooky stuff and go straight for this portion of the film. The investigation scenes could have easily been balanced out by some material that would have maintained the eerie feel, but the film completely shifts gears and it left me cold.

I was starting to lose interest in the film at a rapid rate as Reiko and her husband dove deeper and deeper into the mystery of the video. I actually wished that it had stayed just that, a mystery. To have its origins spelled out for us took something away from the overall feel of the film. All that good early work was wasted, until the film again shifts gears. Through one of the best 'shock' scenes I can recall form recent memory, the films mood and feel came right back on track. The scene uses the same tactics as the earlier moments, but adds something so unbelievable that to spoil it here would be a crime.

This one late scene saved the film in my eyes and even an iffy final coda didn't stop me from enjoying the film overall despite the saggy middle. A problem I often find with Japanese cinema is the quality of acting. For the most part I feel that they overact a lot, exaggerating a little too much with their gestures and speech. Whilst there is a fair bit of this in Ring, it's not as bad as I have seen in other films and given the genre of the film it's not overly out of place.

Director Hideo Nakata seems to be one to watch out for as the look he gives the film is quite distinctive. From the afore mentioned tape itself to a nice effect he uses for flashbacks, it's an impressive looking film. No more so than during the scene near the end that I mentioned, its brilliant stuff and very well executed.