10 Toughest Dilemmas In Horror Movies
8. Would You Pass On The Curse? - The Ring
Horror movies revolving around curses are always ripe for some moral debate, and The Ring posits an especially crushing dilemma.
At the very end of the film, protagonist Rachel (Naomi Watts) realises that the only way to avoid being killed by Samara (Daveigh Chase) within a week of watching the cursed videotape is to make a copy and show it to somebody else, effectively passing the curse on.
Rachel was inexplicably spared from Samara's wrath because her son Aidan watched the copy of the tape that she made. And so, the only way for her to save Aidan's life is to make a copy of the copy and show it to somebody else.
Basically, Rachel saves her son by keeping the curse alive and ensuring it continues to propagate throughout the world - a hefty cost that will ultimately only cause a ton more death.
While there's nothing stopping you explaining to the person you show the tape to that they also need to make a copy and show it to somebody else, it's still an act of mortal buck-passing.
Refusing to pass the curse onto another person to save one's own life is one thing, yet the situation is naturally a bit more complicated in Rachel's case, given that her son wound up inadvertently cursed also.
Considering that the curse won't die with you, though, one might be able to rationalise passing it on a little easier.