Ring 2

Ringu 2 for me has to be one of the best sequels made. It has all the feel of Ring and also refers to back to the original movie. The scene at the hospital with the kid from the original who is too frightened to see a TV was a brilliant piece of look back setting.

It is definately a movie that makes one think that Ringu & Ringu 2 were one whole movie split into two separate ones. There is no indication of a budget increase, or special effects to impress existing fans, and definately holds the Ringu style strong.

With clever use of the original cast and elimination of them when needed and the introduction of newer characters makes this film seem as though you have already seen it but are reminded, that you have not.

Yes it is scary, yes it delves more into the mind of Sadako and Yoichi in brilliant technique and yes it will continue your nightmares. I think that something very clever has gone on with the directors in how they want to leave the audience thinking. The original movie left the audience thinking about something coming out of their TV. Then, in the second, tries to create a fear of TV all together and combined with what we see in the original and now in the sequel, does a bloody good job.

I am personally fearful of an "off" TV in a dark room alone. I know nothing is gonna happen, or that Sadako is not real. However, because of the shear impact that this movie has had on me my imagination can create a fear so bad that I must sleep with the TV on.

Even though Sadako had been around for a long time (there were Suzuki Koji's source books and two previous TV movies), it was the theatrical version of Ring that made her huge. So, of course, there has to be a sequel (which, oddly enough, wasn't based on the next book in Koji's series; different filmmakers had already adapted that as Spiral). It's a daunting task to make an effective sequel to one of the all-time creepiest movies, but the filmmakers pull it off. Unfortunately, a lot of stupidity gets in the way of the scares.

A lot of plot in this one. The movie opens a week after the first one ends. Reiko's dad has just died, and she and her son have gone into hiding. Mai, who found Ryuji's body at the end of Ring, is investigating her boss'/boyfriend's death. She thinks Reiko and her son hold the key to this mystery. So she teams with one of Reiko's co-workers (who's still working on the story of the cursed videotape) to try and track Reiko down. At this point, there's already enough plot for a movie, and I haven't even mentioned the return trip to Sadako's old home, the doctor who thinks he can get rid of Sadako, the burial of Sadako's physical body, the girl the co-worker betrays (and literally comes back to haunt him), and the weird, scary "exorcism of Sadako" finale. Plot, plot, plot.

Before I tear this movie a new one, let me say one thing: minute for minute, this one has more scares than the first one. In fact, the filmmakers have realized that Sadako has become so commonplace (a Sadako doppleganger appears in almost every Japanese horror movie made after the first Ring) that they need only show her trademark hair to invoke fear. And it works. But the massive, ridiculous plot nearly kills this movie. While it tries to explain the occurances of the first movie, it raises more questions than it answers (why does everyone suddenly have psychic ability?; why are people who haven't even seen the tape haunted by Sadako?; how does that girl see the tape if all the copies have been destroyed?) Still, with all of these potholes, the movie still works. It's also nice to see almost the entire cast of the first film reprise their roles (even the dead ones). An effective thriller, even though it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Fans of the first one won't be disappointed.

This movie takes place a week after the events of `Ring', making the first movie pretty which a pre-requisite for viewing (director Nakata fortunately doesn't feel the need to waste too much time on annoying exposition). We now look at those who were in contact with characters from the first movie and how they're getting on. This calls for the reprisal of most of the cast, including the lead Reiko. This time Reiko fears that her son, whom she saved in the previous flick, may be under the influence of the evil of Sadako. Guess what? She's out to stop her!

There's less tension evident in `Ring 2' than the previous, less a sense of worry and desperation. Part of this is due to the shifting of character's prominence. Another element is because this movie takes a somewhat more analytical approach to the events of the first – the police are involved, scientists are trying to understand the phenomena. While this makes sense from a realism angle, it does somewhat detract from the underlying menace of Sadoka.

Structurally the movie takes the same idea as the previous – a slow build up to a climatic event, interspersed with some moments of terror. Some of this terror now comes from a child – playing on innocence – and the child in question, Yoichi, is quite capable of being frightening in a blank-faced way. However he's just not as capable as having the greater, unknown, terror the previous movie produced – like any sequel in the genre there's the feeling of the killer slashing their way through each flick.

Nakata is fairly competent with what he has. The lighting is often muted, the camera work focused (without being intense), his actors giving grand performances… but somehow the second time it doesn't work out quite as well. This, coupled with a disappointing ending, left me somewhat disappointed. There's some good moments in it – particularly with the television images – but overall it fails to quite grab you. Still a far more intelligent fare than the gore-drenched horror that most adhere to in this genre, and you could do a lot lot worse. 6/10.

With Ryuji dead and Reiko missing, the search for the secrets of the tape becomes the mission of Rjuji's student Mai. She joins with a journalist friend of Reiko to undercover the secrets that lead to Reiko and her son. Yoichi appears to be channelling the power of Sadako and more facts become known.

Following up the famous Ring was never going to be an easy task, but this sequel is generally regarded by critics as being even better. However I felt a little let down. It was still creepy and occasionally scary but the images are now too familiar from the first film to be really unnerving and it loses a little of it's impact. Mind you – there's still plenty of scary bits or bits that just are creepy.

The plot is a lot bigger and suffers a bit as a result, however it is interesting to find out more about the legend of Sadako. The cast are all very good again – despite many of the characters being minor in the last film they still do well.

Overall this isn't as good as the original – due to both familiarity and the lack of special touches such as sound effects etc. However it still puts the Hollywood teen slashers to shame.

I recently rewatched Ringu 2 (1999) on Tubi. The storyline picks up where the first film left off, with the cursed tape still circulating and potentially causing a mass crisis. Meanwhile, the mother and son from the first film are in hiding, and the little boy begins to develop supernatural powers. Society starts searching for the mother and son to solve the outbreak from the tape that could end mankind.

This film was directed by Hideo Nakata (Dark Water) and stars Miki Nakatani (Ringu), Hitomi Satô (Ringu), Kyoko Fukada (The Teacher), Fumiyo Kohinata (Outrage), and Rikiya Otaka (Ringu).

I'm not sure I loved the direction they took with the storyline and overall premise for this sequel. The opening refresher is well done, but the way they portrayed the widespread outbreak was just okay, and the film got bogged down there. However, the last 30 minutes, when they finally return to the well, are exceptionally well done. The corpses are excellent, and the overall conclusion is well executed. There is a lot to like here, even if it isn't as good as its predecessor.

In conclusion, Ringu 2 is a significant step down from the first film but still has enough worthwhile content to make it a must-see. I would score this a 7/10 and strongly recommend.