One of the absolute most important things about a great horror movie is how effective it is at visualizing the source of its horror. Whether it’s something as tangible as a slasher with an iconic costume or something more incorporeal and supernatural like a ghost or a cosmic entity, cinema is ultimately a visual art form; an interesting premise is all well and good, but figuring out how to make that premise visually striking and terrifyingly memorable is more than half the battle.
The first time I ever saw The Ring, Gore Verbinski’s 2002 remake of the Japanese film Ring, I was seven years old watching a cable airing in 2005, the same year its sequel was set to release. My grandmother had fallen asleep with the TV on in the background and my curiosity inevitably emerged victorious over my creeping dread throughout the opening — through covered eyes I watched the entire thing, and for years two things from the film were burned into my mind: the chilling and incoherent images from the central VHS tape, and the haunting look of Samara Morgan, the movie’s forever iconic ghost girl. Daveigh Chase played the role when she was just 11, and although she recently passed on June 16 at only 35 years old, her presence can be felt all over multiple classic films of the early 2000s like A.I., Spirited Away, Lilo and Stitch, as well as the one that terrified a generation.
