Although The Ring is a classic, the arrival of its belated reboot Rings on streaming is not necessarily a cause for celebration. There are 14 movies in The Ring franchise, a series that boasts the rare distinction of succeeding with critics both in its original incarnation and its English-language remake.

Beginning with 1995’s under-seen Ringu, the franchise gained critical acclaim with director Hideo Nakata’s 1998 follow-up, also тιтled Ringu. Ringu was a huge hit in its own right, but 2002’s English-language The Ring introduced the series to a new, larger audience and spawned sequels on its own.

The original Ringu series is still ongoing, with over ten тιтles, including Rasen, Ringu 2, The Ring Virus, Sadako 3D, Sadako 3D 2, Sadako Vs Kayako, 2019’s reboot Sadako, and 2022’s Sadako DX. However, the English-language franchise was killed by an infamous 2017 reboot that failed to impress critics upon release.

2017’s Rings Was A Critically Slated Reboot of The Ring Franchise

The Movie Earned A Paltry 8% On Rotten Tomatoes

After the success of 2002’s The Ring, 2005’s sequel The Ring 2 was seen as a critical disappointment. However, it was director F. Javier Gutiérrez’s Rings that truly doomed the future of the franchise, and 2017’s The Ring reboot Rings will soon be available to view on Prime Video from June 30.

Rings stars Revenge’s breakout star Matilda Lutz as Julia, the latest victim of the franchise’s infamous curse. Julia must find a way to pᴀss on the curse after viewing Samara’s video, but that is just the beginning of this needlessly convoluted reboot’s knotty plot.

Co-starring Vincent D’Onofrio, Johnny Galecki, and Aimee Teegarden, Rings was a failed attempt to update the franchise formula with a new take on the material. Although Rings earned $83 million on a budget of $25 million, the reboot wasn’t seen as a hit, largely thanks to its terrible reviews.

Our Take On Rings Streaming On Prime Video

The Ring Reboot Is Only Essential Viewing For Franchise Purists

Rings received criticism from both extremes, with Rotten Tomatoes reviews claiming that the reboot was both too similar to the original movie and too bizarre in its new variations on the franchise formula. The scariest scenes in The Ring movies are genuinely terrifying, so it would have taken a lot for Rings to successfully live up to them.

However, the critical panning that the movie received was still too much to justify another follow-up. Viewers who truly love the series and want to see all of its installments may want to check out Rings once the movie arrives on Prime Video in July 2025, but The Ring reboot is hardly essential viewing for anyone less invested in the franchise.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes