The Ring

Gore Verbinski's The Ring brought J-horror to American audiences and traumatized an entire generation in the process. The cursed videotape premise is deceptively simple, but the film's execution — washed-out greens, perpetual rain, Samara's lank hair and broken movements — creates an atmosphere of inescapable doom. Naomi Watts anchors the film with a performance that balances maternal desperation with genuine investigative intelligence. The television scene — where Samara crawls out of the screen — is the defining horror image of the 2000s. Hans Zimmer's score is oppressive and beautiful. The Ring proved that the scariest thing in the world is a phone call telling you when you are going to die.