The Ring Two

Reviewed by Rich Drees

     In this day and age when home DVD burners are becoming more affordable and prevalent, it is hard to imagine that one of the most successful horror movies in the past few years centered on a rapidly obsolete piece of technology such as videotape. However, The Ring (2002), based on the successful Japanese horror film franchise Ringu, succeeded in scaring enough movie goers that a sequel, no matter how dated the premise is rapidly becoming, was inevitable.

     Anxious to put the events of the previous film behind her, Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) has moved herself and her son Aidan (David Dorfman) to the small town of Astoria, Washington. But, as luck often has it in these sorts of sequels, a copy of the cursed videotape has surfaced, killing one local teen. Circumventing the police investigation, Rachel gets the tape, but in attempting to destroy the cursed cassette, she inadvertently releases the spirit of the evil Samara, who finds a new way to extract revenge against Rachel.

     As a supernatural horror film, it is important that The Ring Two works within the framework established by its predecessor while expanding the premise to give the audience something new. Unfortunately, in this case the expansion comes at the expense of the internal logic already established in the first Ring film and reiterated at the beginning of the new film. The script sets up some interesting elements, such as the local children’s services department’s investigation of Rachel as a possible abuser of Aidan, but these are seemingly forgotten in the rush to get to the film’s end. The movie also sets up the method for how Rachel will see through Samara’s plan so blatantly that one spends most of the film waiting for the payoff scene in the climax.

     One can only sympathize for Naomi Watts, whose presence here was very probably contractually obligated. The script pushes her character along, making her reach illogical conclusions and poorly motivating the choices she does make. By the time Rachel is forced to drastic measures to be rid of Samara, the audience is so disconnected from her character that the true horror the situation should invoke is missing.

     Replacing the United States franchise’s original helmer, Gore Verbinski, in the director’s chair is the creator of the original Japanese series, Hideo Nakata. However, after directing the first and second installments in the Japanese Ring series, it seems as though he has lost interest in the material. Several scenes that are meant to generate tension fail to do so. One sequence involving deer, which reportedly have a strong mythic resonance for the Japanese, is staged so badly that it comes off as laughable.