Could a Ring prequel be in the works?
January 7, 2003
Having banked $127 million since it opened in mid-October, The Ring has
become somewhat of a phenomenon. The $40 million remake of the spooky and
popular 1998 Japanese horror film, Ringu, debuted with $15 mil at a slim
1,900 theaters on Oct. 18 and actually increased in ticket sales the next several
weeks, the only horror movie to do so since 1996's Scream. With this
enormous and unexpected success, it is only a matter of time until moviegoers
are be treated with some more cursed videotape terror.
Rumors have been circling the net of a plan from distributor DreamWorks on
filming a prequel. The story would follow the life and hardship of young Samara
(Daveigh Chase), the ghostly child responsible for the video. Although
prequels usually end up as nothing more then a vapid way of making money off of a hit
movie (the same tends to go for sequels), it worked wonderfully for the Japan
market.
After Ringu, or, Ring if you prefer, there was Ring 2, in
1999, and the prequel, Ring 0: Birthday. All three films were blockbusters
in their hometown, the equivilant of the Scream movies for America.
Respectively, Ring 0: Birthday is one of the more elegant and creepy
horror films I've ever seen.
If DreamWorks, and director of the Ring remake, Gore Verbinski, do decide to
head on into prequel territory, I'd welcome it with open arms considering
2002's Ring, which stars Naomi Watts, is the best horror movie I've seen
in years.
Matthew Dalton
Source: Check out Ringworld
Filed under: The Ring