In the wake of what seemed like endless delays, Paramount Pictures has debuted Rings. The studio premiered a trailer for the belated sequel today.
Taking place thirteen years after the original, Rings follows two teenagers who uncover a disturbing video online. Once a cryptic voice calls one up and tells them, “seven days,” a series of terrifying and unexplainable events begins to unravel. It comes out October 28.
For a period of time, it didn’t seem like Rings was going to come out at all. The sequel to Gore Verbinski’s original, The Ring Two, was critically lambasted and earned the ire of series fans. After that, the series went quiet until Paramount quietly announced The Ring 3D. That project floundered until it was rebranded in 2014 as Rings.
But it seems like this current version hasn’t had an easy go of it, either. According to IMDB Pro, it’s been in post-production since early 2015. This smacks of something that’s been subject to reshoots, rewrites, and above all, a low-priority release for Paramount.
Which is a shame, as this trailer looks surprisingly good. The concept is compelling, and seems like a blend between a slasher flick and a Final Destination entry. It looks like Samara, the series’ perpetual victim/antagonist, is being treated like a sort of computer virus.
One might say that’s a “novel” concept, as it’s actually something that’s been done before. The Ring franchise is based on Koji Suzuki’s series of novels, which has seen Sadako’s (Samara’s Japanese name) curse translated to several things. It’s been a videotape, an AIDS-esque epidemic, and most recently, a computer virus. That last one was actually adapted in Japan, in both Sadako 3D and its sequel.
Which means that, thankfully, the American series is paying attention to the source material. While, of course, it’ll have its clear differences, it’s a nevertheless exciting prospect. Here’s hoping it’s done right!
As a fan of the franchise as a whole, it’s a good year. Not only is Rings hitting theaters in two months, but Sadako vs. Kayoko is being localized by the end of the year.
Now if only we could get a game that isn’t The Ring: Terror’s Realm…