By: Danielle Pucillo
“The Ring” series returns from a 12-year hiatus with its latest installment, “Rings.” This film examines the origins of the vengeful spirit of Samara Morgan and introduces a new way for her to reign terror: today’s technology. I had the opportunity to interview the director, Javier Gutierrez.
Where did you want this film to fall on the “Rings” timeline? Did you want it to be a sequel, prequel or an interpretation of your original idea?
“I would say it’s like a sequel. We talk about the original movie, we talk about how they found the body, Rachel’s character, and we acknowledge that those things happen. It’s like an evolution of what happened in the first one.
“We are familiar with the whole story of Aidan and Rachel and the position of the second one, ‘The Ring 2.’ We go back a little bit to the root of the original, the first ‘The Ring.’ And everything started in the college actually. Everything originates there because a young girl dies and it’s like, ‘What happened?’ And then she starts to investigate, right? So we are following the thread of that path at the college 15 years later… So it’s like an evolution, not exactly a sequel. It’s a next step following the original.”
When you had the final product and saw how everything came out, how was that experience?
“I was happy, I think it was a good balance of light and dark… I think the movie does a pretty good job of keeping the darkness of the original as well as the visuals. I like to bring the movie to my own world and I like to play with the colors, the textures. I did some tributes to the original colors of ‘The Ring,’ but I wanted to work with new layers, you know?
“…And at the same time people like myself are very attached to the original… So I wanted to feel some of the flavor of the original…
“There are moments of classic suspense and classic horror. That is a bit [different from] trends in horror where they show specifics like blood and gore…we wanted to do a classic horror movie. We wanted it to be adapted to the current times but not get too crazy or too violent. We wanted to focus on the psychology of the characters… That was very intense, because you’re put in situations where you have to make decisions and sometimes the wrong decision gets you in trouble.”
There’s a few really interesting scenes in the film; my favorite being the one in the cemetery. Which one would you say was the most difficult to film?
“The one in the cemetery was pretty complicated. That one was one of the hardest. We don’t want any spoilers. But everything was real. It was pretty practical. It was rough for the actress too. I’d ask her, ‘Please, do it for me.’ I want it to be real, I want it to be yourself and to be able to see your face. So it was pretty hard.
“And technologically, a real challenge was Samara coming out of the TV. Because I love the original film, I love when she walks out. And I thought ‘[Expletive], I have to do something different.’ I wanted to play with what a real girl would do in 2017. In this movie, she would be aggressive and she would say ‘… you’re not coming out from my computer. You’re not coming out from my TV.’ I like to work with female characters where they are strong.”
You directed a film that was meant to frighten your audience and inspire suspense. What would you say personally frightens you, and did you incorporate any of your own fears into this film?
“I’d have to say where I really portray my own fears is in my previous film, ‘Before the Fall,’ which is more based on my childhood. And this film has nothing to do with my childhood. I’m a fighter, and you see Sky fighting the darkness of the entity. No matter if you fight and fight, sometimes you cannot avoid a dark ending. It’s the core idea of fighting against your destiny… So I think that’s the personal link, to know that we are all going to die somehow. Seven days, 10 days, seven years, and all the decisions we make in that time. I think that’s scary.”
“Rings” is currently in theaters and is rated PG-13.
Caption: In “Rings,” director Javier Gutierrez said he attempted to find a balance between the original films and a new vision.
Photo credit: D. Pucillo
