The Ring opens in the simplest way possible: a dark house, heavy rain, two girls chatting in a bedroom. It’s nothing flashy, but it sets the tone for everything that follows: gloomy, quiet, and laced with the sense that something dark is looming.

I first saw this at my local theater, alone, sitting up high near the projection booth. At the end of the movie, right as the credits rolled, the projectionist pulled a trick I’ll never forget: the screen went dark, the credits stopped, and a phone rang from behind us. The entire theater screamed. Then the credits started up again, but what’s wild is that no one laughed. Everyone was still shaken. It’s the best theater gimmick I’ve ever experienced, and it cemented The Ring as one of the most important horror films of my life.

The whole movie is bathed in blue, which I know can be divisive, but I love it. To me, it evokes those endless gray days perfectly. This entire film feels like one big, bad, cursed day. I love the original too, but I have to admit, the remake is scarier. One of the most frightening moments comes right in the beginning, which I already listed in my Top 5 Scariest Moments post. It catches you so off guard because the scene is so subdued and quiet until she says, “I saw her face,” and we get one of those jarring sounds that work so well in horror and a rather horrifying image. Even though it’s only on screen for less than 30 seconds, I can still picture it in my mind with zero hesitation.

What makes The Ring so effective is that it isn’t just about jump scares. Some of the strongest tension builds during Naomi Watts’ investigation, when she’s digging deeper into Samara’s story. Brian Cox plays the hardened, grief-stricken father of Samara and I love his performance here, he brings so much gravity to the role. Naomi Watts matches him perfectly, balancing fear, determination, and vulnerability. Even the child actor passes my very high standards; he’s creepy enough to fit the film, but sympathetic enough to not terrorize you.

The story and performances alone make The Ring a standout. But it’s the atmosphere that pushes it over the edge into horror history. It changed the landscape of horror in the early 2000s, opening the door for a wave of J-horror remakes, but none of them are quite like this one. Nearly twenty-five years later, Samara crawling out of that television is still one of the most iconic images in modern horror.