Grade: B
The first movie was original. It made you think twice before popping another cassette in your VCR. Some people even bought a DVD player to solve their problem. While the movie doesn’t leave as much of a lasting impression the second time around, it does bring a new spin to the story behind the tape.
Do not expect to be frightened by The Ring Two. Rather than following the surfacing tape and a bunch of teenagers who watch it only to die seven days later, this movie follows devil child Samara Morgan, as she makes her way out of her well and into our world.
A few months after ending the curse of the videotape, Rachel Keller and her son Aidan have moved to an Oregon suburb in an attempt to start over. However, memories of the past soon come crawling up on their new life, when a local teenager is found dead, his face distorted in terror. He watched the tape.
So the little girl is back; but this time it’s personal. Samara is now seeking to possess Aidan to live the life she never had. Rachel will have to find a way to send the little girl back to her well where she once died, before she takes over Aidan. As Samara’s grip tightens, signs of violence on Aidan’s body begin to put Rachel in a rather uncomfortable position…
Don’t be fooled by the opening scene. Although the first few minutes are quite reminiscent of the first movie, The Ring Two is far from being a carbon copy of the original. As most writers would have gone down the easy path of the cassette resurfacing to increase the body count, this new instalment offers a story that complements the original, rather than copying it.
In 2003, The Ring was a remake of the Japanese hit Ringu. Although Ringu is now a successful series in Japan, Dreamworks decided not to base The Ring Two on the sequel to the original Ring.
Reprising the role that has made her popular among American audiences, Naomi Watts delivers a decent performance by bringing class and talent to a tormented character. Twelve-year-old David Dorfman, whose only talent lies in looking freaky, is somewhat of a disappointment. He was awkward in the first movie; two years later, he still is. Bigger names complete the cast, as Sissy Spacek makes an appearance as Samara’s birth mother now confined to an asylum, and Elizabeth Perkins plays a child psychiatrist.
The Ring Two is definitely not your typical horror movie. Rather than fuelling on gratuitous thrills, it creates tension through plot twists and creepy atmospheres.
For once, Hollywood delivers a sequel that is actually worth viewing, after a history of disappointing follow-ups. The Ring Two marks the beginning of a new trend. This movie is obviously no match to its predecesor, but is nonetheless a decent movie.
So, although fear doesn’t quite come full circle, at least the story does.
The Ring Two opened in theatres over the weekend.
