The Ring Two Movie Review: By Adam Mast, ZBoneMan.com

The Ring Two is yet another in a lengthy line of films based on Asian horror films; but in an interesting twist, this sequel is directed by Hideo Nakata, the film maker responsible for bringing us Ringu – the Asian thriller upon which the first Ring picture was based.

The Ring Two picks up about six months after the first film, and finds Naomi Watts’ Rachel Kellar moving to a new home in Astoria, Oregon. Along for the ride, of course, is her son Aidan (played with creepy flair by David Dorfman), together they hope to leave their haunting memories far behind. While things are initially better for the two, Aidan begins to exhibit feelings of guilt stemming from the copy of the “famous” VHS tape he and his mom made in the original. Alas, running from their troubles proves impossible as a minor technicality with the whole tape-thing allows the ultimate “problem child” Samara to once again invade their lives. This time, the small, dark and creepy one has her dark heart set on young Aidan in what ultimately becomes a tale of possession.

I loved The Ring and quite often engage in debates with friends and fans of the horror genre who didn’t care for it. The original had a tone that I loved (one that several films since have unsuccessfully tried to conjure) and in many ways I prefer it to Nakata’s original Ringu. The biggest gripe I hear in regard to The Ring, is that there is no explanation as to where that tape came from and why it exists. I suppose there’s some validity to this knit-picky complaint, but I got so caught up in the movie and Rachel’s plight to save her son that I didn’t care. I still don’t - I was entertained and I just went with it. I also applaud the payoff of the picture which I personally found pretty damn scary. Through the years, television has become a teacher of sorts, and I loved how that comes into play in The Ring. Seeing that evil little girl climb out of a television set was truly chilling.

The Ring Two clearly lacks the pacing and scares of the first picture, which is unfortunate because Naomi Watts and David Dorfman have a much tighter rapport in the sequel. Their mother-son relationship feels extremely real. Also missing in action is the creepy tone so prevalent in the first installment. Ring Two takes place in Astoria which I thought would be the perfect setting, but somehow, I just never felt that sense of foreboding that underscored every frame of the original and made it so effective.

The concept of the tape is virtually non existent here, with the exception of an obvious opening sequence which features a couple of teenagers watching the unsettling images on their VCR. (And while we’re on the topic of VCR’s – I find it odd that no one in these movies appears to own a DVD player – all of you so perplexed by where the tape ‘came’ from, what about this lapse in plausibility? It’s not like the film is a period piece?) In fact the whole tape-related scenario is ditched in favor of the done-to-death subtext of possession. Throughout the picture, Samara attempts to use Aidan as a sort of host, and in an odd little twist, the only time Rachel and her son are really safe is when they’re asleep. For all of her television erudition, evidently Samara has never seen a rerun of Nightmare on Elm Street.

The scares in Ring Two come at a slow clip and some of the showier sequences fail miserably - including one in which Rachel and Aidan are attacked by a herd of CG deer while in their car. Like the berserk baboons in the Omen it’s just far too hokey and has nothing on that bizarre, horrific horse sequence in the first Ring. What’s more, there is no real suspense in this movie. In the first flick, there was the built-in tension heightening aspect of knowing that Rachel had a deadline, as it were. She had a mere seven days to sort-out the nightmarish barrage of circumstances that she is suddenly plagued by, or else. The Ring Two has no such plot device, in fact it is all but devoid of any real suspense. I suppose it could be argued that The Ring Two is attempting to tell a different story, but it lacks most of the elements that make a really good horror movie work – pacing, tone, and scares.

There are also a few too many pointless characters to be found in Ring 2. Simon Baker (soon to be seen in George Romero’s Land of the Dead) appears as Max Rourke, Rachel’s pretty-boy boss at the newspaper office where she now works. The fate that awaits him isn’t too surprising, but the most hilarious aspect surrounding his character - as music guru Kyle England was quick to point out - is the house this guy lives in. Kyle didn’t buy into the fact that some guy working for a small newspaper could afford such luxurious digs. My problem with the home is more simplistic - I just thought it looked silly. With it’s bright, sunny yellow exterior, it looked like a leftover from the set of Little Shop of Horrors. It certainly doesn’t fit into the world of The Ring. Nor does Sissy Spacek who pops up in a cameo which I assume was supposed to be a hip little wink to Carrie. Perhaps if this were a more significant character, it might have worked, but as it stands her little walk-on was as out of place as the big yellow house of sunshine.

Director Hideo Nakata does offer up a couple of spooky sequences - none more exciting than the freaky "well scaling" scene, which features a limber Samara briskly climbing the wall of a well in cat-like pursuit of a terrified Rachel. Aside from this, the only thing really worth mentioning about The Ring Two are the performances by Naomi Watts and David Dorfman. They’re both really good here, and this movie even plays on a story element that really bothered me in the first Ring - the fact that Aidan kept calling Rachel by her name, rather than calling her mom. They have fun with this whole scenario in this follow up. Furthermore, Watts and Dorfman manage to bring an element of drama to a picture that doesn’t really have a place for it.

The Ring Two is a huge disappointment. The first picture was a genuinely spooky and effective thriller, and considering that Nakata was at the helm and it wasn’t a sequel that they rushed to production, I had relatively high hopes for it. Alas, this follow up is pretty lackluster with only a few moments that deliver. I can only hope that after this movie makes buckets of cash, that the inevitable Ring Three: The Return of the Ring will go back to the drawing board and return with the kind of innovative film-making that is sorely lacking this time out.

Grade: C+

Adam Mast, ZBoneMan.com