The Ring: Explain the ending (spoilers)

[johnjohn320]

Great flick, but my friend and I are confused about some things in the ending.

What did "helping her" do, exactly? (The little boy says "you weren't supposed to help her!" Why? Are they now condemned to killing people by showing them the video?)

What was the significance of the shower scene?

It's late, I'm tired, and I can't think of any other specific questions at the moment. But can anyone out there help me (us) and explain the last 1/2 hr or so, starting with the "you weren't supposed to help her" scene?

Thanks. Great movie.

 

[XMan]

My take is on the second page

 

[Soccer55]

My understanding is that Rachel wasn't supposed to go physically help her. Rachel was supposed to help her in another way.....by showing the tape to other people. In the tape that Rachel watches at the Morgan's house (stolen from the mental institution), the girl says something to the effect of her wanting everyone to know. Recall that Rachel is the only one that watched the tape with the images (the ring, chair, ladder, etc) and didn't die. She is also the only one that watched the tape and then showed it to someone else. I think that is what the ending means. By making a copy of the tape and giving it to Noah, she has helped "spread the word" about what happened to Samara (which is exactly what Samara wanted). That is why I think they showed the scene where Rachel brings Aidan to the AV room and makes him press the buttons on the tape replicator. He would be spared death by making a copy of the tape.

As for the shower scene, I have no idea. I think that maybe since Rachel helped Samara, she is "cleansed" of the fate that would have befallen her had she not made a copy of that tape.

I thought it was a great movie.....one of the best that I've seen in a while.

-Tom

 

[silverpig]

Yeah, I got all that, but what was the big deal with getting her out of the well? That was what the kid was talking about. He was asking why she set the girl free. I don't see what difference that made. She killed no matter what.

 

[eliteorange]

the movie is a remake of the 1998 japanese movie called RINGU... which is much more crazier IMHO

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: EliteOrange
the movie is a remake of the 1998 japanese movie called RINGU... which is much more crazier IMHO

Ahhhh. I TOTALLY get the ending now.

 

[Soccer55]

Originally posted by: silverpig
Yeah, I got all that, but what was the big deal with getting her out of the well? That was what the kid was talking about. He was asking why she set the girl free. I don't see what difference that made. She killed no matter what.

I think maybe that was the point. As far as Rachel was concerned, the girl had been set free and she, Aidan, and Noah didn't die. So then do a little happy ending with her and Noah spending more time with the kid, the end. However, that wasn't what the girl wanted, but we don't really know that just yet. I mean, until Aidan flipped out and Rachel saw that the handprint was still on his arm, it seemed like the movie was over. So I think it was just a way to say "hey, this isn't quite over yet"

-Tom

 

[dafatha00]

Originally posted by: Soccer55
My understanding is that Rachel wasn't supposed to go physically help her. Rachel was supposed to help her in another way.....by showing the tape to other people. In the tape that Rachel watches at the Morgan's house (stolen from the mental institution), the girl says something to the effect of her wanting everyone to know. Recall that Rachel is the only one that watched the tape with the images (the ring, chair, ladder, etc) and didn't die. She is also the only one that watched the tape and then showed it to someone else. I think that is what the ending means. By making a copy of the tape and giving it to Noah, she has helped "spread the word" about what happened to Samara (which is exactly what Samara wanted). That is why I think they showed the scene where Rachel brings Aidan to the AV room and makes him press the buttons on the tape replicator. He would be spared death by making a copy of the tape.

As for the shower scene, I have no idea. I think that maybe since Rachel helped Samara, she is "cleansed" of the fate that would have befallen her had she not made a copy of that tape.

I thought it was a great movie.....one of the best that I've seen in a while.

-Tom

You got it...kind of. The video tape is like a curse and when someone watches it and passes it on, that curse is lifted off that person and given to the new person that watches the tape. Hence, Noah dies because he watched the tape and he didn't give anyone else a copy. The reasone why Rachel didn't die is because her son watches the copy that she made. Now Rachel's making a new copy to help lift the curse from her boy because her boy watched the copy that she made. Now remember at the end when she helps make Aiden another copy? They're going to show it to someone else to lift the curse from him.

edit: by the way, Noah never watched the copy. He watched the original. Her boy Aiden watched the copy.

 

[johnjohn320]

Originally posted by: dafatha00

Originally posted by: Soccer55
My understanding is that Rachel wasn't supposed to go physically help her. Rachel was supposed to help her in another way.....by showing the tape to other people. In the tape that Rachel watches at the Morgan's house (stolen from the mental institution), the girl says something to the effect of her wanting everyone to know. Recall that Rachel is the only one that watched the tape with the images (the ring, chair, ladder, etc) and didn't die. She is also the only one that watched the tape and then showed it to someone else. I think that is what the ending means. By making a copy of the tape and giving it to Noah, she has helped "spread the word" about what happened to Samara (which is exactly what Samara wanted). That is why I think they showed the scene where Rachel brings Aidan to the AV room and makes him press the buttons on the tape replicator. He would be spared death by making a copy of the tape.

As for the shower scene, I have no idea. I think that maybe since Rachel helped Samara, she is "cleansed" of the fate that would have befallen her had she not made a copy of that tape.

I thought it was a great movie.....one of the best that I've seen in a while.

-Tom

You got it...kind of. The video tape is like a curse and when someone watches it and passes it on, that curse is lifted off that person and given to the new person that watches the tape. Hence, Noah dies because he watched the tape and he didn't give anyone else a copy. The reasone why Rachel didn't die is because her son watches the copy that she made. Now Rachel's making a new copy to help lift the curse from her boy because her boy watched the copy that she made. Now remember at the end when she helps make Aiden another copy? They're going to show it to someone else to lift the curse from him.

edit: by the way, Noah never watched the copy. He watched the original. Her boy Aiden watched the copy.

Makes sense, but why did it have to be a copy?

 

[Parrotheader]

You guys might want to read through some of the user reviews at IMDB. There was one on the first page (currently anyway) by a person named M.A. Rogers that had a rather long take involving a bunch of symbolism that was at the very least an interesting read even if you don't agree with the interpretation. It talks about the parallels and possible ties between the girl Samara and the boy Aidan.

 

Here's what I got, I might be wrong. The kid was evil like the kid in Twilight Zone that can kill people with his mind. She made bad things happen so the dad put her above the barn. She scared the horses with her mind and they had to lock her up. She can burn images from her mind. When she was released from the mental hospital her mom took her to the place where the cabins are and threw her in the well. The kid made the tape from her mind like she does pictures so people can suffer with her or pass along the message. The blonde mom lived because she helped by copying the tape. They kid lived because his mom made him make a copy.

I can see a stupid sequel already being formulated in Hollywood where some TV exec goes mad and tries to broadcast it over the air. Complete with 10 million dollar budget and all.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: dwell
Here's what I got, I might be wrong. The kid was evil like the kid in Twilight Zone that can kill people with his mind. She made bad things happen so the dad put her above the barn. She scared the horses with her mind and they had to lock her up. She can burn images from her mind. When she was released from the mental hospital her mom took her to the place where the cabins are and threw her in the well. The kid made the tape from her mind like she does pictures so people can suffer with her or pass along the message. The blonde mom lived because she helped by copying the tape. They kid lived because his mom made him make a copy.

I can see a stupid sequel already being formulated in Hollywood where some TV exec goes mad and tries to broadcast it over the air. Complete with 10 million dollar budget and all.

That was all pretty obvious. But, WHY was it so bad that the mom let the girl out of the well?

 

That was all pretty obvious. But, WHY was it so bad that the mom let the girl out of the well?

It does not make sense. It should be because throwing the kid in the well sealed off her evil. But the kid still killed people through the tape when she was in the well. The only thing I suppose it did was have the kid come and kill you herself. If anyone has a logical explaination I would love to hear it.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: dwell
Here's what I got, I might be wrong. The kid was evil like the kid in Twilight Zone that can kill people with his mind. She made bad things happen so the dad put her above the barn. She scared the horses with her mind and they had to lock her up. She can burn images from her mind. When she was released from the mental hospital her mom took her to the place where the cabins are and threw her in the well. The kid made the tape from her mind like she does pictures so people can suffer with her or pass along the message. The blonde mom lived because she helped by copying the tape. They kid lived because his mom made him make a copy.

I can see a stupid sequel already being formulated in Hollywood where some TV exec goes mad and tries to broadcast it over the air. Complete with 10 million dollar budget and all.

That was all pretty obvious. But, WHY was it so bad that the mom let the girl out of the well?

yeah i think it would have made more sense if he said something along the lines of "thats not the help she needed"

the kid made it seem like she unleashed a horror upon the world by getting her from the well, but in reality she just killed the same amount of people...

another ?...i put this up before but in a different thread...y did she hid and not warn the other women that the guy was dead...also while she is hiding from the other woman she looks at a tissue with blood in it, was that blood from her nose or was thtere something else in the tissue...it wouldnt make sense if it was her blood cause she has already been saved at that point

 

[johnjohn320]

Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: dwell
Here's what I got, I might be wrong. The kid was evil like the kid in Twilight Zone that can kill people with his mind. She made bad things happen so the dad put her above the barn. She scared the horses with her mind and they had to lock her up. She can burn images from her mind. When she was released from the mental hospital her mom took her to the place where the cabins are and threw her in the well. The kid made the tape from her mind like she does pictures so people can suffer with her or pass along the message. The blonde mom lived because she helped by copying the tape. They kid lived because his mom made him make a copy.

I can see a stupid sequel already being formulated in Hollywood where some TV exec goes mad and tries to broadcast it over the air. Complete with 10 million dollar budget and all.

That was all pretty obvious. But, WHY was it so bad that the mom let the girl out of the well?

yeah i think it would have made more sense if he said something along the lines of "thats not the help she needed"

the kid made it seem like she unleashed a horror upon the world by getting her from the well, but in reality she just killed the same amount of people...

another ?...i put this up before but in a different thread...y did she hid and not warn the other women that the guy was dead...also while she is hiding from the other woman she looks at a tissue with blood in it, was that blood from her nose or was thtere something else in the tissue...it wouldnt make sense if it was her blood cause she has already been saved at that point

Damn it, this is my third attempt at posting this....oh well.

My friend said that the woman getting on the elevator had on the same little dress thingy underneath her coat that the little Samara girl had on the whole time. But I dunno, shrug.

 

[0roo0roo]

hm didn't notice the dress bit. your talking about the assistant right?

i think everyone answered the rest of the questions..

What was the significance of the shower scene?

you are a male director. you have naomi watts. do shower scene? oh yea....!! there were other gratuious changing scenes tossed in there for good measure.


and yea, i think the point was u were supposed to help her, even if your not really unleashing her, your not doing yourself any good and yea, it was to also to mess with your mind since they lead u to the wrong conclusion already.

 

Just watched the Japanese version. It's so much simplier than the American version. Everything is pretty much explained and it does not try to be spooky like the American version. It's clear now the ending of the American version was just a dumb device. It was not as scary as the American version but it was a much better, simpiler story. Check it out if you are interested in the movie.

 

[MrDudeMan]

all i can say is....this movie was SO scary, i almost took a big D in my pants when i saw that girls face in the beginning!!!

 

[Parrotheader]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan
all i can say is....this movie was SO scary, i almost took a big D in my pants when i saw that girls face in the beginning!!!

ROFL! Even a week later, if I think back to certain parts it still freaks me out a little.

 

[Johnbear007]

Originally posted by: dwell
Just watched the Japanese version. It's so much simplier than the American version. Everything is pretty much explained and it does not try to be spooky like the American version. It's clear now the ending of the American version was just a dumb device. It was not as scary as the American version but it was a much better, simpiler story. Check it out if you are interested in the movie.

If its simple, all explained and not scary how is that f#$#ing better than the american movie? Isnt it a horror movie? Arent Horror movies supposed to scare you? if one scares you more than another it has done its job better

oh BTW what ISNT a device?

I hate it when people get int the whole "Im going to like the wierd esoteric original better, because it makes me feel special to be part of a cult following rather than to like the big budget film, because I like to feel different, different is better, LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT HOW DIFFERENT AND SPECIAL I AM!"


that being said, the movie scared the pants off of me. I wish I hadnt seen it, it was so scary. Some people say it didnt scare them. I think if it didnt scare you:

1. you are amazingly desensitized

2. you didnt get it

 

[Banana]

Originally posted by: Parrotheader

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan
all i can say is....this movie was SO scary, i almost took a big D in my pants when i saw that girls face in the beginning!!!

ROFL! Even a week later, if I think back to certain parts it still freaks me out a little.

Same here--I saw the movie alone in a mostly empty theater. Then I returned to the motel where I spent the night alone (on a business trip). I had chills and goosebumps all night!! Damn scary flick!

As for the ending, here's my take: I don't think Aidan is saying that Rachel helped Samara by removing her from the well, but he is wondering why Rachel would even consider helping her in the first place. Prior to that scene, I don't think that it was established that Aidan knew Rachel was trying to help the malevolent Samara.

Another question: What is the significance when Aidan said "Don't you understand? She never sleeps!"

1YP

 

[slycat]

ok boys and girls...heres the real take on the Jap original version of Ring(Ringu)
MAJOR SPOILERS

Short version:
Sadako(samara) was brutally murdered dumped in a well for being a know-it-all, witch...
and u know what we do to them in the past...even more so in chauvinistic Japan.
She gets pissed see and her ghoul seeks to take over the world(people watching it thought
she only wanted revenge for her murder but NO...she said F-it...i'm gonna rule them all..).
How does she do that?...in the form of her "virus" in a video tape.

So...some stupid camping kids in the woods(who else?) stumble upon the tape she has
infected and they watch it. The tape clearly says if u watch this, u die in 7 days unless you
do this ".....". She even tells u how to avoid dying in 7 days...kinda like the antidote. However,
those stupid kids, thinking its a joke, erased over the "antidote" part of the tape. So now, anyone
who watches the tape dies in 7 coz the remedy has already been erased.

So police find the dead kids...grab the video...people start examining it(watching) and dying.
In comes the reporter and she watches it...long story short...she found the remedy by luck.
REMEDY=make copy of tape. See thats Sadako's plan to take over the world...make more and more
people watch it, they in turn make copies, it spreads..virus-like, to everyone in world.

However, in the end...Sadako also said F-this..its too slow...so the virus mutated to other forms,
other medium...so like if u watch the tape and make copy now...u still die coz the remedy has changed.
Also, it mutated into books and near the end of the movie(Jap ver)...the story had apparently become famous
so it was gonna be made into movies...etc..etc., meaning sorta EVERYONE in the world can get infected thus
Sadako got her dream come true. FYI Sadako is supposed to be a young super cuty gal when she was killed.

Actually it does come true...see the story was a book, then movie in Japan...and now movie in the US.
It is a reality now.

 

[Banana]

Aha--so the original version fleshes out the plot further. This would explain the flaw in Samara's plan, which the movie implies was to make more and more people watch the video, but to what end? If Samara is malevolent, then something bad has to happen to the people who watch the video, even if they "pass it on." I'm sure this will be revealed in the money-making sequel.

1YP

 

[WinkOsmosis]

The original sounds cheesy. "Ghoul of a witch destroys the world with a video tape virus".

 

[SUBxWRX]

so if Rachael broke the last tape........Aidan would've died eventually but everyone else in the world would be saved?