Judging by some of the comments below, some people didn't get it.. (WAY BIG SPOILERS) Some wrote something about only having to make a copy of the tape and you lived. Not the case at all. In fact, no copy would be necessary. The point was that Mom (Watts) and son won't die AS LONG AS there are OTHERS who have SINCE seen the tape and THEIR week hasn't passed. So, for example. I see the tape (my 7 days starts). But then I show it to someone else. My 7 days stops (pauses?) until the new victim dies. It's like a chain letter - or rather, a RING... The problem is that I would have to keep showing new people the tape in order for me to continue living. (that's kind of where the movie ends, which made it very creepy for me). Making copies would help this, but I suppose you could just continue showing people the original tape. The copying process has nothing to do with the curse. I hope this helps you appreciate the film a little more... 