February 3, 2017, the horror movie “Rings” was released. The movie is an updated version of “The Ring” which was released in 2002. “Rings” is about Julia and Holt, a couple that fell apart when Holt went off to college and Julia stayed home to take care of her mother who was very ill. They told each other that they would keep in contact, but began to fade away from each other. Julia gets worried and goes to his college to see what is going on, and soon realizes that Holt and other students were studying a videotape and the effects of a mysterious urban legend. The students had to make copies after watching the video and make other students watch them to keep them alive and Julia was no exception. After watching this famous videotape, you get a phone call from a little girl saying “seven days.” The video is about the pain Samara went through as a little girl and wants other people to feel her pain and experience the moments she did. While watching this video, Samara will physically harm you leaving burn marks. You have to make a copy of the video and get someone to watch it within those seven days or else you will die before the end of the week.

This sadly unnecessary horror sequel attempts more of the same mythology but quickly proves to be boring, with dull characters, no genuine scares, and not much to say. The logic of everything in the movie is beyond sketchy. Although the “rules” of the tape are the same as in the original (you watch it, you get a creepy phone call and you die in seven days), characters are constantly re-watching it. Wouldn’t that mean multiple death sentences or the seven days reduced to a five day weeks?

“Jump scares” are usually cheap and heightened by loud sound effects which can actually really get to you, but here, the audience is supposed to be startled by an umbrella opening. Also, being stuck with only two main characters doesn’t help; they are arguably the dullest couple ever. The message of “Rings” is one that proves that this shouldn’t even be a movie: if someone says there’s a horrible movie that will kill you if you watch it, just say no!

This movie has gotten some good and some bad reviews because everyone seems to see it differently. After asking many YLHS who have seen the movie if they like it, I got a “yes” from most of them. “The movie was so suspenseful and left me on a cliff hangar. It was a very good movie”, said Arezu Monshizadeh (10), when asked if she liked “Rings”. To me, this movie seemed like it could be good after watching the trailer, but after actually watching it, it was just another cliché, predictable, and unnecessary horror film.