The Movie: This is a pretty good modern horror movie. It isn't the best one ever, and it isn't as good as all the folks who were raving about it when it was in theaters made it out to be, but it's still pretty good. That is, if you can get yourself past asking just how a video tape can be cursed and kill you. But if you let yourself get past that and just believe whatever the movie tells you, The Ring is definitely good for a few thrills.

I especially liked how the ending plays with the audiences expectation of how a movie should end. I also liked the fact that this isn't one of those movies where something pops out of nowhere and characters die. You actually get some real suspense built up... not just cheap startles. And I liked the fact that the kid in the movie was creepy. Super, dooper creepy. Like if there ever was a such thing as a 10 year old undertaker, this kid would probably be it.

The DVD: The presentation of the film on this disc is superb. The transfer is fantastically clean, though most of the movie was (by design) covered by a sickly yellow-green cast (which I think actually was overused, but oh well), so there isn't much to say about bold colors, although the couple of shots where they did choose to use strong colors came through 100% loud and clear. The audio was equally clean, with some great use of the surround channels to create an immersive, suspenseful environment.

Special features are a little on the wacky side -- you get a couple of trailers for other movies (including Ringu, the Japanese adaptation of the same book this movie was based on), and a little link titled "don't watch this" which is a collection of deleted and alternate versions of scenes strung together in a montage with visual images from the movie. And yes, you can watch "the video" though it is hidden, "easter egg" style... but not too hard to find if you look!

Please note that there are separate widescreen and full frame versions of this DVD, so make sure you're getting the one you want!