| Director: | Jonathan Liebesman |
| Cinematography: | Lukas Ettlin[1] |
| Editing: | Sheila Kay Moorland |
| Studio: | CatchLight Films |
| Distributor: | DreamWorks Home Entertainment |
| Runtime: | 16 minutes[2] |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Rings is a 2005 American supernatural horror short film directed by Jonathan Liebesman, who co-wrote with Ehren Kruger.[1] [2] It serves as a sequel to The Ring (2002) and a prelude to the opening sequence of The Ring Two (2005), both written by Kruger. The film was initially released on March 8, 2005, as an extra disc with a re-release of the first film on DVD.
Some time after the events of The Ring, Samara Morgan's videotape has spread, as each person who sees the video makes a copy and shows it to someone else. A subculture has grown surrounding the video: people wait to see how close to the seven-day deadline they can get. When they grow too afraid to go on any longer, they show the tape to the next assigned person. Groups that have watched the video are called "rings".
The film is focused on Jake Pierce, the latest member of one such ring. The ring has recruited its next member, Tim, who will watch the tape when Jake cracks. Jake is amazed at what he experiences but it soon turns sinister, as he starts seeing visions of Samara, and has a similar dream that Rachel Keller had of Samara grabbing his arm and leaving a bruise. He cracks on the sixth day, but Tim refuses to watch the tape. It is revealed that another member, Vanessa, made Tim refuse, as she wants to see what happens on day seven.
By the next day, Jake has become so desperate he tries to play the video on the display models at an electronics store, but is caught and thrown out. Jake thinks of Emily, a girl he goes to school with. He invites her over. He experiences a vision in which Samara arrives; she reaches through the screen on his video camera and the vision ends.
An hour before the deadline, Emily agrees to come, leading to the opening sequence of The Ring Two; Vanessa is seen encouraging Emily when she is making her decision to go to Jake's house.
Rings was released in the United States on March 8, 2005, by DreamWorks Home Entertainment.[3] It initially appeared in a DVD re-release of The Ring as one of the two discs.[4]
The short film garnered positive reviews from both critics and audiences who purchased the special edition of the first film; released shortly before The Ring Two. Felix Vasquex Jr. of Cinema Crazed said, "...a very sleek and morbid short film, and one infinitely more enjoyable and tense than the sequel could be".[5]