Prime Video movie of the day: The Ring is still an unmatched piece of visual horror

The logo for The Ring movie, with a circle around the title of the movie, written creepily
(Image credit: Dreamworks Pictures)
Movie of the Day

Every day, we cut through the bottomless list of streaming options and recommend something to watch. See all our Netflix movie of the day picks, or our Prime Video movie of the day choices.

The American version of The Ring is one of the most visually and aurally striking movies of this century, from the astoundingly creepy video at its center, to the dread tone of its lonely homes, or cold islands. It's also a really compelling watch, because it's an investigation movie wrapped up in a horror. If you haven't seen it in a while, it's well worth revisiting for Prime Video subscribers.

You probably don't need me to tell you that, in The Ring, there's a cursed video tape that causes people to die seven days after watching it. What you might remember is that the plot of the movie is Naomi Watts investigating whether this can really be a thing, and then – once it's clear that it very much is a thing – where the hell such a video tape would come from.

The detective element of it makes it surprisingly watchable, for an existential horror movie, and the way it all eventually ties together is satisfying. The sounds and sights of the video itself mirror the events we learn about, giving this terrifying tape an extra dose of sadness and anger in its full horrible context.

The Ring has a huge cultural impact, but most people I talk to about it haven't watched it in years – often not since its release. I think it's definitely worth revisiting and among the best Prime Video movies, as long as you're in the horror mood.

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Matt Bolton
Managing Editor, Entertainment

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Entertainment, meaning he's in charge of persuading our team of writers and reviewers to watch the latest TV shows and movies on gorgeous TVs and listen to fantastic speakers and headphones. It's a tough task, as you can imagine. Matt has over a decade of experience in tech publishing, and previously ran the TV & audio coverage for our colleagues at T3.com, and before that he edited T3 magazine. During his career, he's also contributed to places as varied as Creative Bloq, PC Gamer, PetsRadar, MacLife, and Edge. TV and movie nerdism is his speciality, and he goes to the cinema three times a week. He's always happy to explain the virtues of Dolby Vision over a drink, but he might need to use props, like he's explaining the offside rule.