Some help with "The Ring"

[Jo March]

I just watched The Ring and I was left with a few questions about it. I've searched the internet for some sane discussions about that movie but can't find any.

SPOILERS AHEAD

So, did the little girl kill people? The dr. in the mental hospital asked her, "You don't want to keep hurting people, do you?" Who did she hurt? How did she end up in the mental institution?

Why wasn't her mother "supposed" to have children? Was it because of all of the miscarriages? Why would that mean that she wasn't supposed to have children? Was it because the mother was a bit "off" herself?

Did the little girl drive the horses insane and that's why they committed suicide? I know that she never slept and good old Dad stuck her out in the barn but did she drive the horses insane or what?

What was the significance of the mirror? The mother is shown looking into that mirror several times and we see the mirror on the wall even after the mom and the daughter are dead so it must mean something but what?

Why kill the little girl after trying so hard to get pregnant and suffering all of the miscarriages? Why not off the dad since all he cared about was his horses anyway?

Argghh. This movie drove me nuts after it ended! I've discussed it with other people who were just as confused as I was after they saw it.

There. I feel much better now.

[truthspeaker]

1. The girl was evil, but...

Where the hell did she come from? Unsatisfying movie from my POV. I'll get around to watching the original Japanese version one of these days.

[Jo March]

3. Exactly!!

Where did she come from? We have a birth certificate showing that she was a Morgan but that's about it.

I was so busy analyzing that darn movie that I couldn't have nightmares! Cheated, I tell you. Cheated.

[LynneSin]

2. Patiently waits for some answers

I really enjoyed "the Ring" but you're right - those were questions that have bugged me to no ends. Maybe they'll explain it in "The Ring II" which seriously is being made!

[Connie_Corleone]

6. Hollywood always ruins movies

by making sequels. I thought the first movie was cool when the girl came out of the tv.

How many times can they show her coming out the tv??

[Jo March]

29. Depends

How many people will buy tickets to see her coming out of the tv?

I liked that part, by the way. I was rooting for her a bit there by the end. I'd had it with the people around her doing stupid stuff like running off without into who knows where alone without any protection. Dippy woman.

[Connie_Corleone]

4. The girl killed the horses

I guess that was like killing her adopted mother.

Yes, she drove the horses insane.

I don't think the mirror means anything. It was just a clue for the main character so she knows she's in the right house.

The little girl brought death to that town and the father wanted the mother to get rid of her because she was evil, bad luck, or whatever.

[LynneSin]

7. But why did the girl kill the horses?

ANd seriously, this all does go back to where did that kid come from, why didn't she sleep and what made her evil. If ever a movie needed a pre-quel - that's "The Ring"

[Connie_Corleone]

12. Well, if you ask that question...

What was the point of her being born anyway??

[Jo March]

9. Or maybe like killing her father?

Maybe she drove the horses insane because they kept her awake AND because she knew that her father loved them more than her and her mom.

?

The movie never talks about her hurting anyone, though, until the doctor asks her about it. Then she says that she does want to hurt people.

[slappypan]

5. And why did the little girl's mother dress in 1890s clothing?

High collar, puffy gathered sleeves, and a piled up hairstyle like Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman? Thought she was supposed to some vision out the remote past, then it turns out she is supposed to be contemporary ... really confusing.

[Connie_Corleone]

8. Good observation...

When I first saw the movie, I thought the pictures of her were from the 1800's too.

Maybe she was uptight, that's why she couldn't get pregnant.

[Jo March]

11. Maybe the husband was a lunatic too

Look at how he killed himself. That was a bit over the top, don't you think? One hairdryer would have done it, I would guess.

I joked with a co-worker this morning that maybe the wife was impregnated with horse semen. That led to all kinds of Equine-American jokes.

I am totally ashamed of myself. I blame Gore Verbinski.

[TexasSissy]

10. It's been awhile since I saw it, but my take on it :

It sort of reminds me of the old movie, "The Bad Seed." Did you see that?

Anyway, the mother killed the little girl 'cause she was evil. It had to be done. The viewer, of course, through much of the movie thinks the mother was the evil one for having killed her daughter.

They don't explain how she got into the mental institution, because it doesn't really matter. What matters is that at some point, the parents become aware the girl harms others, and the girl is institutionalized, at least for awhile. But apparently the girl was released, so the parents kept her up in the barn, not to be cruel, as the viewer initially thinks. But to keep her away from others and from harming others.

I don't remember the horses, and I don't remember much about the mirror, so I can't help you there.

I really liked this movie...the last half, anyway. The first part is too slow.

[LynneSin]

14. Remember, the Horses lived in the Barn

So the fact that she was kept in the Barn so she wouldn't harm others meant that the only thing she could harm was the Horses (who lived in the same barn).

But I still want to know where did the kid come from and how did she get like that?

[Jo March]

21. That's what I'm screaming

Where did this little spawn of Satan come from? Was she evil or just psychotic? Did the mating of the dad (obviously mentally off) and the mom (mentally ill) result in one seriously messed up little girl?

Remember, the Morgans had to "go away" somewhere and then - bam! - mom is pregnant. Where did they go?

[Nadienne]

33. It's been a long time since I've seen it, too

(and quite frankly, I didn't watch all of it :scared:)

but I think it was kind of implied that when Morgan "went away" she went to a witch or something that made her able to get pregnant... And maybe something the witch (or whomever) did caused the girl to have demonic powers... And maybe the girl's powers is what caused the mom and dad to go crazy... :shrug:

[Jo March]

15. "The Bad Seed" creeps me out

Even today, I get a creepy feeling thinking about that movie.

I liked this movie but there were too many unanswered questions.

[RUSTY SHACKLEFORD]

13. My two cents.

The little girl was Satan's daughter. Yes, she killed people. The mother tossed her down the well, signifying Satan being thrown into the pit. The mother was like Satan's Judas. When the woman helped the girl out of the well, the little boy said "YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO HELP HER." When the doctor said "You don't really want to hurt people?" The girl replied "BUT I DO!" meaning that SHE DID really want to hurt people.

Also, there's the seven days stuff. It took God seven days to create the universe. There's all sorts of analogies.

This whole movie IS about Satan's daughter.

[Connie_Corleone]

17. I didn't even think of the whole satan stuff

I always wondered why it took 7 days.

Question:

Who the hell made the video!!??

[Beware the Beast Man]

18. Psychic Imaging

Remember the video of Samara in the institution? The doctor asked her how she made those drawings. She says she didn't; she just thinks them, and they appear. Same with the video.

[VOX]

22. I recall that the Dr. also had some photographic images she created..

By the same method.

[Beware the Beast Man]

24. Yep, those are the ones

The Pics done on X-ray material....creepy :scared:

[Jo March]

31. Like the rocking horse one

That darn picture showed the rocking horse's BONES, for cripe's sake.

[Jo March]

37. That's how long it took her to die in that well

When she was dropped down into the well, she lived for seven days.

[Beware the Beast Man]

16. Here's what I got out of the movie:

Some of these answers are perosnal theories, others are backed up by the Japanese version of the films.

So, did the little girl kill people? The dr. in the mental hospital asked her, "You don't want to keep hurting people, do you?" Who did she hurt? How did she end up in the mental institution?

When she was alive, she didn't kill people. She did drive them crazy though.

Did the little girl drive the horses insane and that's why they committed suicide? I know that she never slept and good old Dad stuck her out in the barn but did she drive the horses insane or what?

Yes, her psychic energy, of sorts, made the horses uncomfortable.

Why wasn't her mother "supposed" to have children? Was it because of all of the miscarriages? Why would that mean that she wasn't supposed to have children? Was it because the mother was a bit "off" herself?

Yes, Anna Morgan wasn't "supposed" to have children. My theory is the Morgans made a deal with the devil, of sorts, to have a child. Remember that lady in their home town? She said the Morgans just showed up with a child...

What was the significance of the mirror? The mother is shown looking into that mirror several times and we see the mirror on the wall even after the mom and the daughter are dead so it must mean something but what?
This is explained in the Japanese prequel to "Ringu." The mother was going insane, and would spend hours in front of the mirror brushing her hair.

Hope this helped!

[Jo March]

27. Ah, yes! The mirror was weird to me

I didn't see how it fit in anywhere at all. That explains that a bit more.

So, the little girl is surrounded by horses that keep her awake, a mom who is slowly going insane and a dad who loves the horses, fears/hates the daughter. No wonder she made others go insane.

[VOX]

19. When will the girl upgrade to burning DVDs?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

But why is the girl more dangerous out of the well than when she was in it? It seems an obvious question, but she was able to do damage while sealed in the well.

Is it just a matter of mobility?

[Connie_Corleone]

23. I don't know...

She still killed the guy on the 7th day.

Maybe she will be more evil in the sequel.

Was there a sequel to Ringu?

[Beware the Beast Man]

26. I believe there were 2 or 3

sequels to Ringu, as well as a TV series and a Korean remake of the original. It was a huge franchise in Japan.

[TXlib]

20. She drove the horses insane

She projects her thoughts into others' heads... she kills by literally scaring them to death.

[VOX]

25. Why do the corpses look like crispy critters?

Does being scared to death entail immolation?

:shrug:

[Beware the Beast Man]

28. In Ringu, there was no makup on the corpses at all

Just faces frozen in fear. In a way, they were creepier than the gory-looking American ones.

[Connie_Corleone]

32. We americans like gore!!

n/t

[DrWeird]

34. They weren't burnt.

They looked like they had been drowned in a well for seven days.

[DrWeird]

30. Answers.

Why did the girl kill people? She was pure evil. The doctor asked her if she wanted to hurt people, and she said yes. They put her in the hospital because she was evil, and people were getting hurt. Kind of like Linda Blair, only she's like that naturally.

Why wasn't the mother "supposed" to have children? She was infertile. She was naturally not able (supposed) to have children. After years of clinical attempts, she turned to the occult (you see in the hospital records the odd eastern alternative medicine stuff). This is why Samara is evil (in the japanese films, she's the daughter of an evil sea god.)

Why did she kill the horses? Her father stuck her out in the barn cause she was dangerous. The horses kept her up at night by making to much noise. So she had them killed out of spite.

Significance of the mirror? It's an object from her house that makes an appearence in the "video." One of several, including the ladder, and the window.

The little girl wasn't trying to get pregant, the mother was before she had Samara. Both the mother and daughter ended up in the same mental institution, that's why there's medical records at the same place. Remember, the father wasn't the bad guy.

[Connie_Corleone]

35. How much better is the Japanese film...

compared to this one?

I might rent it this weekend.

[DrWeird]

38. I'd say it's about the same.

It's pretty interesting to compare the two, seeing what got changed and what didn't. Much of it is a shot for shot remake, a la van Sant and Psycho, but some is not.

[Beware the Beast Man]

40. It's great, but different

The plots are pretty much the same, but there are some obvious character and cultural differences in the story. In the American version, they go out of their way to explain the signifigance of things (like the images in the video). Ringu, however, has a completely different subplot regarding the Japanese version of the Morgans (I can't remember their name at the moment). I definitely recommend it!

[Jo March]

36. The dad didn't seem to be the "good guy" either

He blamed his wife for the child. He was more concerned for the horses than the child. He hated and feared the child.

Well, then again, I can understand that. He just seemed a bit sinister to me.

I missed the references to the eastern alternative medicine stuff. I'll have to watch it again. Was it from the video or was it mentioned in her medical records that they showed?

[DrWeird]

41. The idea was to suspect the father initially.

In all movie mysteries, you have a bit of misdirection, suspect the guy who seems nasty but didn't actually do it.

Frankly, if my wife ran off with a japanese sea demon and had a child of pure evil that was killing people, I wouldn't exactly be the father of the year either.

The eastern medicine stuff comes up when Noah (?) breaks into the room with the medical files and looks at the info on Samara's mother. Among the standard carbon copy american files, there's an odd scroll with undecipherable japanese characters. Very Lovecraftian.

[Blue-Jay]

39. I thought this was going to be about Richard Wagner.

:D

/killed the wabbit, killed the wabbit.....

[David__77]

42. My answers.

"So, did the little girl kill people? The dr. in the mental hospital asked her, "You don't want to keep hurting people, do you?" Who did she hurt? How did she end up in the mental institution?"

She was full of evil intent. Her sick, depraved mind would cause imaginings on the part of those tormented by her. She didn't necessarily kill people herself. But she may have made people believe they were being hurt by her, and they certainly knew that proximity to her was associated with their hallucinations and suffering.

"Why wasn't her mother "supposed" to have children? Was it because of all of the miscarriages? Why would that mean that she wasn't supposed to have children? Was it because the mother was a bit "off" herself?"

The mother (or father) was likely infertile. The mother and father weren't "off" prior to adopting the girl. The newspaper article shows her the proud, beaming equestrian. After years, she was reduced to insanity, and her own suicide.

"Did the little girl drive the horses insane and that's why they committed suicide? I know that she never slept and good old Dad stuck her out in the barn but did she drive the horses insane or what?"

She drove the horses and her mother to suicide, yes. She never slept because "evil never sleeps." Dad stuck her in the barn because he thought distance would protect he and his wife from their daughter's mental grip on them.

"What was the significance of the mirror? The mother is shown looking into that mirror several times and we see the mirror on the wall even after the mom and the daughter are dead so it must mean something but what?"

Many of the images in the "deadly video" sequence I immediately recognized as resembling those in an experimental film by Maya Deren. A reviewer also pointed out that the imagery of the ring of light amidst the dark also suggest Deren's work. I think that imagery is more "surrealistic" than anything else in many cases. It is more to suggest mood rather than explicit content.

"Why kill the little girl after trying so hard to get pregnant and suffering all of the miscarriages? Why not off the dad since all he cared about was his horses anyway?"

The father killed the girl hoping to end his torment. The father likely did care about the girl at first, until the suffering began, and only then did he retreat to his horses. In fact, the entire story about the girl as revealed to the main character (the little boy's mother) in this film is likely deliberately skewed by the little girl in order to gain her sympathy and mislead her. Notice that at first the little girl says "I don't mean to hurt people--it just happens" in a timid little girl voice. But later when the same scene is shown, her voice is sarcastic and taunting saying the same words.

I'll add that I really enjoyed this film. Its twist on the traditional "he/she/it only really wanted release" was wonderful. Isn't it so disappointing when the evil protagonist is really only a scared little girl. In this case, she was truly evil and really only wants to hurt others, without any particular motivation comprehensible to people.