The Ring Two (2005)

Director: Hideo Nakata

Writer: Kôji Suzuki, Hiroshi Takahashi, Ehren Kruger

Tagline: Fear comes full circle.

Actors: Naomi Watts, Simon Baker, David Dorfman, Elizabeth Perkins, Gary Cole, Sissy Spacek, Ryan Merriman, Emily VanCamp, Daveigh Chase, Kelly Overton

Runtime: 1h 40m

Category: Supernatural, Ghost

Synopsis: Not long after the first movie, Rachel and her son relocate to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. With the memory of the tape still a haunting nightmare, the past begins to catch up with them. Rachel notices her son is acting strange and thinks nothing of it until she notices a second, and familiar, face in a photo he had taken of himself. Once again on the run from Samara, they end up running right back to the old farmhouse where Samara used to live. Then end up finding out that they had let her out and she is in search of a mother. Rachel’s son becomes the vessel of a supernatural platonic tragedy, forcing Rachel to choose between stopping Samara and saving her son!

Review: After the first movie I was expecting quite a bit from this one. Although it did not disappoint, I could have done without all of the backtracking. It went into all of the stuff the first one did. If I wanted to watch the first movie again…I would! Watching the first one twice should not be the second one (Ring 1 + Ring 1 ≠ Ring 2). Anyway, this movie made up for the lack of special effects from the first. The killer deer and the bathtub scene were spectacular. What really got me was when Samara started climbing up after Rachel inside the well. The way she moved was creepy as hell! I love creepy dead ghost children! Other than that there isn’t much more to say. Acting was alright and the plot was kinda loose. Sissy Spacek just gets creepier and creepier.

Rating: 16. Rated it lower because of all of the rehashing from the first. I wanted to watch a sequel, not the first one again. Plus the plot was loose and the characters got weaker and weaker (not physically). I didn’t see any advancement in the plot really, just a drawn-out continuation (advancements have steps upward toward some goal, continuations simply follow the same storylines). Not terribly thrilled with this sequel, and am not looking forward to a third installment. It’s unfortunate…I liked the first one. (16of25).