Scared Stiff

The Knicks were a horror movie yet again.

Good morning…

Cavs 109, Knicks 94

37-22 (L1); 15-14 on the road

Let me start by thanking everyone for their patience today. In case anyone missed my announcement at the top of Tuesday’s newsletter, today’s edition is coming late because yesterday was my wife’s birthday. As my present to her, I told her I was taking the night off from the Knicks and we could do whatever she wanted

(I know what you’re thinking…if more time with me is a gift, what could possibly be a punishment?)

We decided on a family movie night. That can be tough, because neither my wife or I have much patience for children’s fare and our kids are nine and four, respectively. To counter this issue, I’ve been proactively getting both of my children used to more mature cinema from an early age, over which time my older daughter has developed a taste for horror movies¹. The younger one is now at the age where she wants to do everything the older one does, which means we’ve been dipping our toes into horror as a family. After the four of us made it through Weapons in one piece a few months ago, last night we decided to go with a classic (or at least a classic to me and my wife) and watched The Ring.

I hadn’t seen The Ring in at least 15 years, and I have to say, it held up better than I expected. Even if I recalled all the jump scares, the story is compelling enough and Naomi Watts is a strong lead. Mostly though, Gore Verbinski does a great job with a tone that perfectly supports the story. Set in perpetually rainy and overcast Seattle, Verbinski brilliantly uses the setting to build up the suspense and mystery of a deadly tape and whatever the hell happened to this little girl. For two hours, I was fully immersed in a world overtaken by gloom and despair that ended on the most hopeless note possible.

And then I got up this morning and watched the Knicks.