This British low budget mishmash of cyberpunk, horror and exploitation has become a bit of a cult classic in certain circles. The idea was apparently entirely stolen from a story called Shock! that appeared in the 80s in the comic book 2000AD, which is a bit of a shame since it takes away from one of the film’s main attributes: its originality (in spite of several commonalities with Terminator).
Nonetheless, equipped with a meagre budget of 100,000 dollars, Richard Stanley managed to create quite a dreadful, claustrophobic and apocalyptic atmosphere that effectively captured the spirit of decay, waste and techno-paranoia associated with Cyberpunk. The film also contains several musical references that many connoisseurs will enjoy.
Unfortunately, beyond the visual and musical aspects, and with the exception of a few cheap thrills and a couple of funny cheesy lines, the film has little to offer and feels quite amateurish and boring at times.

For a certain crowd only.

I am bewildered that this film actually received several positive reviews. And it is because of these reviews that I decided to watch it. Roger Ebert even called it ‘smart Science Fiction’. What is he smoking? I should know better than to trust him, but still, my curiosity was aroused. Yet, the film is clichés and inconsistencies-ridden and Charlie Sheen couldn’t look more out of place as the nerd who discovers the aliens’ secrets if he were playing a priest preaching abstinence. And of course, the Aliens walk on two legs, carry guns (hello?), resort to all types of absurd killing methods that never succeed (enough to make Dr Evil proud), and, last but not least, have decided that Man is a menace and must be eliminated through….the terraforming of earth. I guess these are nature loving aliens…

Believe it or not, i did enjoy Vanilla Sky. So to see Open your Eyes, the original Spanish film upon which the Cameron Crowe remake was based, proved quite an enjoyable experience. No Tom Cruise, no overbearing and dictative typical Cameron Crowe pop soundtrack, this original version feels truer, richer and deeper.

I wish i had seen Nakata’s film when it came out. Instead, i became the victim of hype and overblown expectations. Ring offers an interesting premise and quite an appealing mix of myths and supernatural ideas, all blended together in a somewhat scary film that seems remarkably appropriate for the modern age. The cinematography uses dark and bluish tones perfectly to create tension and the sparse dialogues reinforce the visual aspect of the film. However, they cannot hide a narrative and overall storyline that often feels forced and stitched up.