The Ring Collection (The Ring, The Ring Two, Rings) [4K Ultra HD]

Director(s): Gore Verbinski, Hideo Nakata, F. Javier Gutiérrez

Cast: Naomi Watts, David Dorfman, Matilda Lutz

Release Date: March 19, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopses:

THE RING
This cinematic thrill ride will keep you on the edge of your seat, from the stunning opening to the astonishing conclusion! It begins as just another urban legend – the whispered tale of a nightmarish videotape that causes anyone who watches it to die seven days later. But when four teenagers all meet with mysterious deaths exactly one week after watching just such a tape, investigative reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive) tracks down the video … and watches it. Now, the legend is coming true, the clock is ticking, and Rachel has just seven days to unravel the mystery of The Ring.

THE RING TWO – INCLUDES BOTH THEATRICAL & UNRATED CUTS
A terrifying legacy haunts a single mother in this sequel to the frightening box-office hit, The Ring. Hoping to leave their terrifying experiences in Seattle behind them, Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) and her son, Aidan (David Dorfman, Zombie Roadkill), move to the small town of Astoria, Oregon. When Rachel learns of an unexplained murder which occurred after a teenager watched a strange videotape with his girlfriend, she suspects her past is following her.

RINGS
Discover the terrifying new chapter in the groundbreaking Ring franchise. When a radical college professor (Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory) finds the mysterious video rumored to kill viewers seven days after watching it, he enlists his students in a dangerous experiment to uncover the secrets behind the Samara legend. When the deadly video goes viral, they must figure out a way to break the curse and defeat Samara before her evil is unleashed upon the world. But how do you stop her when she’s everywhere?

Please Note: Shout! Studios/Scream Factory provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

Gather up those closest to you, get comfortable and prepare to get creeped out once again with all three American films in ‘The Ring’ series. First, join a reporter named Rachel in ‘The Ring’ who gets caught up in Samara’s deadly vengeance along with her son as she begins to investigate a mysterious tape after her relative mysteriously dies and rumors from other teens blame a cursed videocassette. Upon delving into the mysteries and rumors surrounding the tape, Rachel quickly finds herself fully invested once she watches and begins to experience the terror herself. Then, rejoin Rachel and her son once again in ‘The Ring Two’ as they try to move on from the terror of the tape that shook up their lives only to have it show up at their new location. Before long her son starts experiencing weird moments which lead her to determine that Samara is trying to take over her child. Lastly, we join a new group of individuals in ‘Rings’ as the cursed tape becomes a viral phenomenon when a college professor becomes obsessed with its hidden secrets, eventually leading to one young woman who becomes oddly connected to Samara’s secrets and can’t resist hunting for the truth behind it.

Based upon the popular Japanese horror film ‘Ringu’, ‘The Ring’ offered American audiences their own take on the cursed ghost girl tale that ignited the box office and had many viewers praising its creepy approach and stylish aura, complemented by a solid cast and various other elements that all just click. The well-received film was followed shortly thereafter by ‘The Ring Two’ which brought back the two leads from its predecessor and delivers a similar but also in many ways notably different follow-up that may not have been quite as impressive but still held up well and kept fans intrigued. Unfortunately, the two were followed years later by ‘Rings’ which was definitely not the brightest moment for the series (and effectively ended its popularity, at least for the time being) and ended up being an almost painfully bad sequel with very few connections to the previous films.

While each of the franchise’s installments have their charms (primarily the first two, although there are a couple rewarding moments in the third at least) its history and dedicated fan base are impressive in their own right and even as someone who had previously seen each film at one time or another, they’re still quite fun to revisit, especially in the outstanding quality presented in this 4K collection from Shout. Perhaps the only disappointing element here is that the unrated cut of the sequel isn’t included in 4K, but it is at least featured on the Blu-ray disc; making this a perfect collection featuring all three films in stellar quality for fans to add to their collection at last.

Scream Factory brings home all three films in the American ‘The Ring’ series in one collectible set, featuring all three in full Ultra High Definition with Dolby Vision (and HDR-10) and while some of the films in this series are undeniably superior to others, I can say that all of these new 4K presentations look pretty wonderful in their own right and look superior to any other previous home video releases available. The great new UHD presentations are nicely boosted by multichannel DTS-HD MA soundtracks on each which don’t disappoint, in addition to a nice offering of bonus content including some nice, brand new extras along with a number of previously released bonus goodies as well. All three films come in their own sturdy cases that include both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs within; while all three of these individual cases are packed inside of a glossy and nicely sturdy side-slip box and fans should be very satisfied with the nice, sturdy and collectible packaging as a whole. If you’re a fan of the franchise that’s fully 4K capable and would like to own the entire series in the format, then this new 6-disc set from Scream Factory should be right up your alley and is recommended.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Ring Collection’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 on all three films (The Ring, The Ring Two, Rings) presented in their original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentations are each sourced from new 4K transfers, with notes below regarding each:

‘The Ring’ features a new 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative Supervised And Approved By Gore Verbinski, while ‘The Ring Two’ features a new 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative (although only the Theatrical Version is included in 4K, with the Unrated available on the Blu-ray) and ‘Rings’ just notes that it features a new 4K Master.

All three films look quite spectacular here and deliver sharp, clean and richly detailed presentations from start to finish that are absent of any notable issues or glitches to be uncovered along the way. The first film retains plenty of grain and other artifacts representative of its source and delivers a splendidly filmic and gorgeous presentation throughout, while both of the sequels look quite marvelous in their own right. Each film shows impressive detail and clarity across the board, noticeable on character faces and specifics, along with indoor rooms and outdoor landscapes and surroundings, in addition to everything else along the way. Each film’s solid 4K presentation is only further complemented by Dolby Vision HDR which shows nice improvement in the greens and other colors on display while also allowing faces and various other elements to look more realistic and faithful in their display; all boosted by deep, clean and very nice black levels. Overall, these are largely fantastic Ultra High Definition presentations for the films that never falter or disappoint and they should have fans of the series thrilled.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack for ‘The Ring’ and ‘The Ring Two’, while ‘Rings’ features a 7.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack. All of these multichannel soundtracks hold up nicely and offer crisp, clean and immersive audio presentations throughout. They repeatedly take advantage of all available channels in order to send some music, creepy sound effects, vehicle and nature activity, along with dripping water, crowd chatter and plenty more consistently whipping throughout the various speakers at every logical opportunity, while always making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously remain clean, sharp and fully audible at all times. Overall these are very nice DTS-HD MA soundtracks that may not be wildly hard hitting and aggressive like some soundtracks these days but still do their job quite well and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Ring Collection’ includes a nice helping of bonus content with a collection of extras for each film. I’ve broken down the extras by disc below for simplicity and easier navigation; please note that the entirety of extras are featured on the Blu-ray discs and not the 4K discs with the exception of the Theatrical commentary on ‘The Ring Two’ which is featured on both discs.

The Blu-ray disc for ‘The Ring’ includes a new retrospective Feature exploring the legacy and reception of the series in ‘Ghost Girl Gone Global’ (running approximately 92 minutes in length), along with the ‘Rings’ short film (running approximately 17 minutes) and a collection of eerie footage in ‘Don’t Watch This’ (approximately 15 minutes). Also included on the disc are ‘The Origin of Terror’ (4 minutes), ‘Cast & Filmmaker Interviews’ (8 minutes) and the film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (2 minutes).

The Blu-ray disc for ‘The Ring Two’ features an ‘Audio Commentary with Film Critics Emily Higgins and Billy Dunham’ (only available on the Theatrical Cut, and additionally included on the 4K disc). Also included is the ‘Rings’ short film once again (17 minutes), in addition to a collection of ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the film (approximately 18 minutes altogether). A handful of Behind the Scenes Featurettes and promotional videos are also featured including ‘Fear on Film: Special Effects’ (6 minutes), ‘Faces of Fear: The Phenomenon’ (6 minutes), ‘Samara: From Eye to Icon’ (6 minutes), ‘The Power of Symbols’ (5 minutes) and ‘The making of The Ring Two’ (13 minutes). The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (90 seconds) is also included.

The Blu-ray disc for ‘Rings’ includes a collection of ‘Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes’ from the movie (running approximately 19 minutes in length altogether), in addition to a few behind the scenes Featurettes including ‘Terror Comes Full Circle’ (running approximately 13 minutes), ‘Resurrecting the Dead: Bringing Samara Back’ (approximately 9 minutes), and ‘Scary Scenes’ (7 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Remastered Blu-Ray discs included in the release and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD discs themselves and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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‘The Ring Collection’ is Now Available to Own in a 6-Disc 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Box Set from Scream Factory!

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You can purchase your copy of ‘The Ring Collection’ in 4K UHD on Amazon HERE or purchase it directly from Shout HERE!

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