Uncovering the True Villains of Gore Verbinski’s ‘The Ring’ [The Lady Killers Podcast]

“You weren’t supposed to help her.”

Who doesn’t love a good urban legend? From Bloody Mary and the ghostly passenger to alligators in the sewers and a killer in the backseat, we love an ominous story passed to us from a friend of a friend. We know it probably isn’t true, but … what if it is?

While urban legends filter through the horror genre, no film infuses this classic example of modern folklore with millennial tech like Gore Verbinski’s The Ring. Adapted from Hideo Nakata’s 1998 shocker Ringu, this remake follows a string of bizarre deaths all leading back to an ominous VHS tape rumored to kill anyone who dares to watch.

Rachel (Naomi Watts) is an investigative journalist and single mom who vows to find out how her niece Katie (Amber Tamblyn) really died. Seven days after watching an ominous home movie, the teenage girl and her three friends each pass away under mysterious circumstances. Just as the tape’s mysterious lore predicted they would. When Rachel watches the tape herself, the countdown starts all over again, giving her just seven days to uncover its secrets. Her investigation leads her to a decaying horse farm on Shelter Island that may have been the scene of an unthinkable crime. 

In the latest episode of The Lady Killers Podcast, co-hosts Jenn Adams, Sammie Kuykendall, Rocco Thompson, and Mae Shults will brave the dismal terrors of this iconic film. Is Rachel a hero or villain? What’s the story’s scariest moment? Does this film surpass its frightening source material and who is the ultimate villain? They’ll uncover these secrets and more while sharing their love for this unsettling film.

Stream below and subscribe now via Apple Podcasts and Spotify for future episodes that drop every Thursday.

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