Questions

Author	Comment
MedHead Sadako slave (11/11/02 8:17:01 pm) Reply	Questions I recently watched The Ring for the second time. I brought my father along, and he had some questions about the film (they matched mine). I was hoping perhaps they could be answered (at least partially) here. I checked the FAQ, but I wasn't able to get the answers I wanted. I won’t contain the obvious questions (how did they die, where did Becca go, etc.). NOTE: We saw the American version of The Ring. We have never seen any other version. Q1. Why did Samara make the thermo graphical images? Reason: Most mental hospitals don’t x-ray their patients. X-raying patients won’t uncover any clues as to why a person is crazy. Why then would Samara be undergoing a thermo graphical experiment? Not only that, but x-ray film and video tape are two different mediums – magnetic, and thermographic. Q2a: Why did Samara choose the images for the video? Reason: Samara could see into the future: the bloody water, the centipede, etc. So if she can see into the future, why is the well still from the past? Some people I have talked to thought that perhaps the video was a ‘map’ – a way to ensure that the viewer would find the well. If this is the case, why would the images be useful? I would rather make a map, rather than maggots. Q2b: On another note… why was the fly important? Reason: I can understand that the maggots made the flies, but from what did the maggots feed? Samara’s body wasn’t available… why were there flies in the well? Q3a: Why is removing Samara from the well a terrible thing? Reason: I’ve read threads about this one in the past. Supposedly she was the blur in the beginning of the film. This was seemingly confirmed by the last few minutes of the movie. However, here is one contradiction: the teenagers at the beginning of the film saw SOMETHING. Katie screamed at the image of SOMETHING. A blur would definitely NOT scare me to death. Q3b: Why was the Samara blur still around Aidan? Reason: In Katie's room, days after her death, the blur is seen in the television. It's not revealed whether this is in the reflection of the TV only, or whether anyone could see the blur without the aid of a TV screen. The question is, why was the blur still there? Does this lend credence to the possibility that Samara stays at the scene, to watch the survivors? Q4: Does Samara make people uneasy just by being near to them, or does she have to project the thoughts? Reason: #SM0015 should not have been recorded, since she was nearby (since the football game didn’t record), unless she has to project. Q5: Why did Aiden see Samara come out of the well? Reason: This was his first viewing, but the hand appears at the edge. Is this because Rachel was in the room? If this is the case, then shouldn't there be multiple copies of her in the same frame, since more than one person can be cursed? Q6: At Katie's funeral, nobody seemed to notice that Katie was a rotted mass of twisted flesh! Reason: Many of the people there were worrying over the cause of death - yet they ignore the water, the rotted body, the location of the body, crazy Becca, and the strange writings in the notebook (which was sitting out in the open). This is all that I can think of at the moment. Thank you in advance for any answers. My Online Art Collection NARC Website Edited by: MedHead at: 11/11/02 8:26:17 pm
Turtle God Kame moderator (11/11/02 8:26:09 pm) Reply	hmm q1... well, I dont know about x-rays, but I dont think they are exactly thermographic (xrays are on the electromagnetic spectrum)... but you're right, an xray would be useless unless there's some type of blood clot or physical injury in the brain. a CAT scan would probably be best (or that other one that measures electromagnetic waves). it'd be interesting if they used that instead! q2b... well, lotsa discussions on this, and from what I can tell, they seem to be only a plot device... though you can read into ANYTHING if you look hard enough! q5... I tend to think the evolution of the samaravid is not directly to the characters but to the audience! most great playwrights will include the audience, so I think this is for the the viewers rather than the main characters. good q&a, but I think you anwsered most of your own questions >) you should probably copy this into the "before you post" thread... seems pretty informitive! Go to Kame's House for assorted junk! Last upd8: 10/10/02
MedHead Sadako slave (11/11/02 8:28:13 pm) Reply	Re: hmm Thanks! I was afraid I was going to break the rules of the FAQ...
ApacheRose Sadako slave (11/11/02 9:02:24 pm) Reply	Re: hmm Q5: Why did Aiden see Samara come out of the well? Reason: This was his first viewing, but the hand appears at the edge. Is this because Rachel was in the room? If this is the case, then shouldn't there be multiple copies of her in the same frame, since more than one person can be cursed? I have been doing a lot of thinking about this...and I think we are actually seing the tape that aiden is viewing through Rachel's eyes. She comes out of another room, and the first view we have of the video (scene, Samara climbing out of the well) is Rachel's. It has been a couple days since she has seen the tape...so possibly it is a representation of Samara getting that much closer... However, I think at this point that Rachel had already shown the tape to Noah, and Adien had just finished watching it, so she had already done her job as far as spreading the video....so there was no reason for Samara to still be after her...so I DON"T KNOW! lol. Thinking out loud here. -Diana "In search of a better quote"
miharu everyone will suffer (11/11/02 9:12:42 pm) Reply	Re: hmm perhaps the evolution of the the tape was noah's, and viewable to anyone watching the tape during the days that he is still doomed by not passing off a copy. -miharu she never sleeps...
Aliasi Sudonomo Sadako slave (11/11/02 9:25:32 pm) Reply	Re: hmm I've theorized that Samara's curse had its own twisted sense of "fair play". This is colored by the fact that in the original Japanese version, Sadako added a straight-out warning to "copy this within seven days or day", but even in the American version there's just enough clues, as well as the evolution of the videotape, to give someone an idea of what's going on (if they're reasonably intelligent). This would also explain the "glitch" in Aiden's viewing. It's a subtle clue by Samara that the tape isn't just a bunch of static images. <BR> <IMG SRC="http://webpages.marshall.edu/~wellma15/yendor.jpg">
inteferon citizen of the Loopworld (11/11/02 9:57:48 pm) Reply \| Edit	Re: Questions I’ll take a shot at a couple of these: X-ray films This was back in the 70s before ready access to PET scans and MRIs and it stands to reason that X-rays may still have been used at that time to look for soft tissue abnormalities such as tumors, etc. Also, when the occasional nut did themselves an injury by escaping from their straitjacket or through overzealous head banging, it makes sense for X-ray equipment to be around for a quick diagnosis. Multiple copies of Samara in the same frame It’s too fast for most people to notice in real time, but consider the three images below and notice how sometimes Samara seems to ‘bud’ into several clones upon emerging from the well. There’s an image where you can see three distinct Samaras near the well, but I can’t find it right now. Edited by: inteferon at: 11/11/02 10:06:06 pm
mikejonas moderator (11/11/02 10:12:26 pm) Reply	Re: Questions here, try this: Edited by: mikejonas at: 11/11/02 10:12:51 pm
MedHead Sadako slave (11/11/02 10:56:44 pm) Reply	Re: Questions I guess I always thought those were simple tape errors. Perhaps it could be clones...
mikejonas moderator (11/11/02 11:09:09 pm) Reply	Re: Questions Yeah, I buy more into the "tape glitches" sort of stuff. But back when all we had of Samara were these flash-frames from the first trailer, and I was concerned that a four-foot-tall Chibi Sadako wouldn't be scary enough for American audiences, I imagined the possibility that Noah would be attacked by a handful of Samaras.
SlowBurn Sadako slave (11/11/02 11:15:17 pm) Reply	interesting At that point in the movie, when it blurs like that, doesn't it coincide with a pronounced "tzzZZAAAAP" ? I remember seeing it for the second time and thinking that it looked like Samara was punching a hole into the real world. I may be remembering it wrong, but for one split second, isn't everything else a blur with only her standing in the middle? It was right about that point in the sequence. Sorry if I sound stupid/crazy.
inteferon citizen of the Loopworld (11/11/02 11:49:13 pm) Reply \| Edit	Re: interesting Seeing as this discussion has veered off in a technical direction, I thought that I would ask: Is it just me or did I hear an old-time projector start up at the beginning of the samaravid? Most of the samaravid has the grainly look and bumpy feel of an old celluloid movie. Edited by: inteferon at: 11/12/02 2:57:12 pm
MedHead Sadako slave (11/12/02 3:09:15 pm) Reply	Re: interesting I checked, and I don't notice in reel-to-reel sound. There was a lot of static in the clip, so I think it's going for the video tape feel. Any more answers for my questions - or at least speculation - would be appreciated. My Online Art Collection NARC Website
KuraiSoma further down the Spiral (11/12/02 6:48:41 pm) Reply	Re: interesting Originally the cursed video was full on digital quality, they later filtered it through and added static/glitches to increase its creep factor. IMO, this was the right thing to do... seeing it in 'true to life' quality doesnt give the right ambience, or feeling of surreality. As for the actual thread, I stand by my feeling that the film evolves in the audience's point of view; as for who is seeing what during the viewing, we can agree on the brunt of the video... but when we come to the well scene, you have to remember Noah's finding that this isn't just a normal recording. There's something odd going on here, and I think this is the point that Samara asserts her will upon the mind of the viewer. The Xrays: again, I totally agree with the comment about MRI and CATs.. these most likely weren't even around at the point of samara's hospitalization, and XRays were indeed used to search for problems in soft tissues.
MedHead further down the Spiral (11/12/02 10:49:43 pm) Reply	Re: interesting So then we are to suppose that they were going to test her with x-rays, but she instead pasted her own pictures on them? What then of the tape? And another somewhat strange question - it deals with the scene of her SM0015 interview. What is the object that is connected to her chair, and over to the plug in the wall? I can't tell what that thing is. My Online Art Collection
mikejonas moderator (11/12/02 11:14:24 pm) Reply	Re: interesting *Quote:* So then we are to suppose that they were going to test her with x-rays, but she instead pasted her own pictures on them? What then of the tape? What of it?
anouke Sadako slave (11/13/02 12:40:29 am) Reply	re: questions Okay, those pics are freaky... Well, for Q2b, flies often are a symbol of demonic possession or reveal the presence of a demonic entity. (think about Beleezebub being called "Lord of the Flies.") IMO, Smara's mom was trying to vanguish the evil that was her daughter when she killed her and had the well covered. Upon learning that she had failed and her daughter still could effect the outside world, she killed herself. When they took the cover off, the flies (as well as Samara) was fully "released." Q4: A bit of both. Horses sppok over just about anything, and can sense if soemthing not "quite right." Having Samara around prolly drove to to suicide just to get away from her. Q6: People were questioning why their was a closed casket and why her parents wouldn't really talk about what happened. You can hear them clearly right before Aiden's mom reaches her sister.
MedHead further down the Spiral (11/13/02 1:36:37 am) Reply	Re: re: questions mikejonas: I'm sorry, I didn't explain myself. I meant the SM0015 tape. If she just 'made' these x-ray images, should that not also mean she should 'make' the video on the SM0015 tape? Or are we to assume (agh) that she only learned how to do tape editing after she 'died'? anouke: I only remember them asking why she had a heart attack, or a stroke, something to that effect. But that's not really the big point. The mother asks Rachel about why her child would suddenly have a heart problem. She never mentions the condition of her body, even though she says something about seeing her face. Or are we to assume (agh) that she DID tell Rachel, and the picture was only a summary of the mother's narration? My Online Art Collection
inteferon citizen of the Loopworld (11/13/02 1:50:23 am) Reply \| Edit	Re: re: questions Quote: She never mentions the condition of her body, even though she says something about seeing her face. It's possible that, in death, the victims appear quasi-normal and that the ghastly expressions and decomposed appearance were put there for our (the audience's) benefit to better illustrate the fear and horror experienced by the victims in their final encounter with Samara. This perhaps explains the casual attitudes of the relatives and the fact that no investigations seem to have been initiated into what otherwise would have been paranormal deaths. One hole in this theory may be Rachel's reaction on seeing Noah's face - but then again, his face could have been normal (to her) and she may just have been reacting to the fact that he was clearly dead. Hope this helps.
MedHead further down the Spiral (11/13/02 1:54:09 am) Reply	Re: re: questions Hmm, not sure if I buy that. But hey, I've been known to be wrong! Heh. Oh, another one: why was the fridge open in Katie's kitchen? Samara getting a snack, or Mr. Verbinski simply feeding the Scream fans? I enjoyed The Ring, but I'm a diehard nitpicker. Just because I have questions doesn't mean I hate the movie.
inteferon citizen of the Loopworld (11/13/02 2:08:08 am) Reply \| Edit	Re: Fridge My guess is that when Samara is on her way to do you in, all kinds of electromagnetic disturbances are manifested in the victim's surroundings. These disturbances perhaps sapped the strength of the fridge door magnets, and the door swung open. It would have been cooler still if all the fridge magnets had also suddenly slid to the floor. Maybe in the sequel....
JustaPinoy further down the Spiral (11/13/02 2:14:32 am) Reply	Re: re: questions I think it's definitely Verbinski feeding the Scream fans... Throughout that entire first scene, we get instances of what "could be" and scary movie cliche's, and instead.. nothing. And I agree with Inteferion's response, although the answer could be as simple as: Katie didn't shut the fridge door all the way. Whatever floats your boat though.
devilworm Sadako slave (11/13/02 5:11:55 am) Reply	questions I agree with the theory of good directing. the whole opening scene appears to attempt to pull us away from what we expect to be "the same old scary movie" by simply giving us the hint of it and then going completely away from it. I have to admit that it was killing me that he was throwing all this stuff at us and having it be nothing and then flooding it at us as she opens the bedroom door. examples: the TV on and off, the distortion in the black screen, and most of all, the fact that you could see in the reflection in the window by the fridge door that it was good old fashion family food inside and nothing else.
Ghetto Ring Sadako slave (11/13/02 8:29:17 am) Reply	Re: questions This talk is making me hungry -Thinking hurts...
inteferon citizen of the Loopworld (11/15/02 8:56:01 pm) Reply \| Edit	Projector "Is it just me or did I hear an old-time projector start up at the beginning of the samaravid?" Just realized how I made this mistake: The samarvid clip I watched was put out by lightsoutentertainment.com and their intro has a projector running on the audio track. Sorry for any confusion.
SadakoIsEve the chosen infected (11/16/02 8:32:34 am) Reply	Re: Projector We forgive you
MedHead further down the Spiral (11/16/02 12:17:32 pm) Reply	Re: Projector That's what I figured interferon. My Online Art Collection
EmeraldEyes shambler (11/16/02 11:31:40 pm) Reply	noah's face actually, you do see noah's decomposed face eventually...it's hard to catch, but it flashes when Rachel is putting together all the facts after she realizes that she didn't die because she made a copy of the tape and spread samara's story by showing it to noah.