O Chamado 2

Lacking the impact the 2002 film had, but still enjoyable and quite atmospheric- The Ring Two is hardly the horrible sequel many critics make it out to be- and instead proves just to be alright. I feel the films biggest issue is the writing. The idea of the film feels muttled, and at time a bit forced. The beginning is nearly a rehash of the original, and quite bland to be honest, but luckily it picks up as it goes on and decides to become something rather original. Thankfully we do see the return of Naomi Watts character and her character's son, instead of some new group of people to terrorize- but the effect just isn't the same. Some moments are a bit ridiculous (the deer especially) and some can be a bit dramatic- as Kruger simply doesn't know how to harness the films emotional impact in the most sincere way. Its slower than the original (american remake), although it does prove to be quite interesting- focusing on more ideas to unfold from the original- with the potential being its most glimmering part. Naomi Watt's was great as the films lead, and though it was short, I truly did enjoy Sissy Spacek in her role as well. The look of the film is incredibly well done, and honestly given the script provided, i'm thankful for the original Ring veteran director Hideo Nakata taking over this time around to give the film a much needed touch up. It isn't as scary as the film before it, but it is very creepy, atmospheric, and quite fun to watch unfold. It's a horror mystery, and if you are a fan of both, you'll most likely enjoy it despite the rest of the films flaws.

My Rating: 6.2/10.

The Ring was my favourite film of 2002, the best horror film I'd seen in ages, and I subsequently saw and enjoyed (with the exception of Ring 0 - What the hell was that?) all the Japanese films as well.

So when I heard that the director of the original films was set to do the second "remake", it was suitably excited. Imagine what he could do with a bigger budget and better technology? It is however, not even close to the first, and such improvements don't surface (same CGI, C-list Hallmark Channel cast). It does manage to keep you nervous throughout, but the proper scares are too infrequent and it appears to take itself too seriously. This is all too evident when the creepiest kid in cinema is admitted to hospital and The Ring 2 turns into a child abuse drama for around twenty minutes, leaving you wondering when it'll pick up a bit again.

It's also the kind of film that demands that you re-watch the first one before you go to see it; the opening makes no sense unless you've seen "Rings" on the Collectors Edition DVD, and there's a ton of stuff that may have easily been forgotten if you saw the film three years ago.

It's alright; it's a horror sequel-remake thing, so you don't expect too much and you wont be disappointed, but you can't help but think it could have been done a bit better.

Everyone knows the story of The Ring. You watch this tape and your phone rings and some creepy little girl says "Seven Days" which means you have seven days left to live. In The Ring Two, it forgets that story. The movie focuses on Rachael (Naomie Watts) and her son Aidan (David Dorfman). Racheal and Aidan have left their home that they used to live in and to start fresh in Astoria, Oregon. It is 6 months after the events in the first movie. However, Racheal's resolve quickly turns to dread when evidence at a local crime scene including and unmarked video taped-seems familiar. Racheal realizes that the evil Samara is back.

The original Ring was scary and thrilling. The sequel isn't loaded with terror. But there are some scenes when I did get a bit terrified. Before, seeing it, I expected to be jumping up and down out of my seat and being really scared. The Ring Two is not a bad movie, I just expected a little more.

I'm not a horror fan at all, but got invited to this screening and decided to go see what all the hoopla was about. What I got was an interesting piece which I might sooner qualify as a supernatural thriller than a horror movie (but I guess that's what J-horror movies are). Sure, it's quite gross in a couple of places and there are a few heart-stopping moments as well, but what really impressed me was that the entire movie, from the first minute to the last, is filled with this weird kind of suspenseful energy. Even when literally nothing particularly frightening in itself is going on, it still feels «off», it's still unsettling, uncomfortable, on edge. And that for me was the strength of this movie. Not having seen Hideo Nakata's previous Ringu movies, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he seems to be a master of creating an atmosphere scarier than any special-effect driven sequence could. All the actors did a good job as well – and Sissy Spacek's cameo was a nice touch – though I would have liked to have seen a bit more background to the Max-Rachel relationship. All in all, I predict a good show at the box-office for this one!

The Ring Two is a pretty good sequel for what it was, but it was not like the first one. I guess that is to be expected when you learn everything in the first movie, therefore it goes straight to the horror in the second movie. This was just about as creepy as the first, but the continuity between the two movies did not quite add up. For example, you do not automatically die in 7 days if you see the video but, if you can get someone else to watch it within that time, the curse is transfered over to them. Also, Samara (Kelly Stables), is not bound to the 7 days for those that have seen the tape in the original movie. She is nearly omnipotent, as the only place where you can talk and she can not hear is in your sleep. A little hard to make sense of, but the movie does a good job.

Rachel and Aidan Keller (Naomi Watts & David Dorfman) move to a small, new town to escape the horror of what they have just been through just 6 months earlier. Thinking they had destroyed the last copy of the tape and they were safe, somehow another copy has resurfaced in the small town they were in and Samara has killed yet again. When Rachel shows up at the scene and looks at the face, I assume to make sure it is the same as before, Samara had found her, and stalks her son, Aidan throughout the movie and eventually possesses him.

I can not really go too far into the story without giving a lot away, but there are many scenes which will always stand out and will no doubt be spoofed my movies like Scary Movie and others like it. Most notably, the deer scene was great. That made the movie for me, but there were others that were good, too. While I think this movie was not as good as the first, it does not make a complete mockery of itself either (like Jeepers Creepers 2). It is very good. 7.5/10