The Ring 2 (2005) - A Film Review By Peter Veugelaers - Movies on EntertainmentNutz.com

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The Ring 2

Release Date: March 18, 2005
Studio: DreamWorks Pictures
Director: Hideo Nakata
Screenwriter: Ehren Kruger
Starring: Naomi Watts, David Dorfman, Simon Baker, Emily Van Camp, Ryan Merriman, Sissy Spacek, Elizabeth Perkins, Meagen Fay, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for violence/terror, disturbing images, thematic elements and some language)
Official Website: Ring2-themovie.com

Plot Summary: Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts ("21 Grams") reprises the role of investigative reporter Rachel Keller in "The Ring Two," the sequel to the horror hit "The Ring." Hideo Nakata, the director of the original Japanese blockbuster "Ringu" upon which "The Ring" was based, directed "The Ring Two," which marks his American film debut.

The story picks up six months after the horrifying events that terrorized Rachel Keller and her son Aidan (David Dorfman) in Seattle. To escape her haunting memories, Rachel takes Aidan and moves to the small coastal community of Astoria, Oregon, to start fresh. However, Rachel's resolve quickly turns to dread when evidence at a local crime scene—including an unmarked videotape—seems eerily familiar. Rachel realizes that the vengeful Samara is back and more determined than ever to continue her relentless cycle of terror and death.

Reviewed by Peter Veugelaers © 2005
- Almost phony baloney

Sequel The Ring Two, another of Hollywood’s endless supply of follow-ups, is hybrid to 2002’s surprise box office hit. Directed by Hideo Nakata who helmed the Japanese movies which inspired the Hollywood remakes he invigorated a trend along with the likes of The Grudge, another Western remake from a Japanese source.

The Ring Two begins with a cryptic video tape in the hands of a student who forces a fellow to watch it so he won’t die. The tape conveys a message from the after life by disturbed teenager Samara, who was killed as a baby by her mother (Sissy Spacek). The set up by the student goes wrong and news of the incident gets to reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) who recalls how the tape inadvertently caused her trouble (in the first film) after it killed off a succession of teenagers who watched it. She burns the tape and then her son Aidan (David Dorfman) falls physically ill – the ghostly Samara wants to possess Aidan’s body, presumably motivated out of the girl’s loss of life.

This sequel does not have the same horror per se as the first movie which titillated with its occasionally suspenseful chills surrounding the mystery of the spooky video tape. Less pressing in Ring Two is scaring the viewer, while teasing audiences with the outcome of Aidan’s predicament and how Rachael works to save him predominates. It is not overly compelling to watch. Watts’ range is between looking scared with partially convincing grimaces over dead bodies and much of the same. Her character is emotionally attached to the situation strangely causing the suspicion of the medical fraternity, the old movie cliché of psychiatrists (played by Elizabeth Perkins here) sceptical of the supernatural and branding those who think otherwise as loonies. Supporting characters are minimally developed or barely minimal.

For a movie which plays like an oppressive and grim tale of ghostly possession you might have to throw in a human element to soften proceedings but you can only assume that Samara’s wish was to have survived, so any latent humanity is unclear and underdeveloped. We are left with what is essentially contrived and eerie but reasonably entertaining, and not as important or frightening as it makes out to be.

We would love to know what you think, sound off on the movie message boards and let us know how you liked the movie!

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