Ring 2 (1999)

Simply Perfect

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Ring 2 came out one year after the most terrifying film of the year,Ring directed by the same director who's name I can't and don't want to announce. The film follows the main character's ex's girlfriend who is now very curious to find out how and why her boyfriend died,as she digs deeper into the case of Sadako,she finds out some secretive things kept away from the first film. When Ring came out,another film,just at the same time came out called Rasen but I did not watch that film so I skipped on to Ring 2,leaving it out. Ring 2 is a highly brilliant horror film and a great sequel to Ring,but it obviously was not as great and frightening as Ring,the film has a kind of sci-fi roll to the film which I did not like,in Ring,it was so creepy and silent,knowing that something would happen,this film did not have any creepy vibes or silent parts it was just really intense,like a lot,another thing in the film I hated was that they created a lot of silly information on Sadako,the ghost,like that she survived for thirty years after being thrown down the well,the acting in the film was obviously really good considering most of the original actors and actresses are back. The ending to the film was probably the best part in the whole film. Ring 2 is a good sequel but a few flaws can't make it like the original classic J-horror!

The original Ring (1998) was largely considered to be the first major release to kick-start the recent revival of Asian horror/supernatural cinema in the west, with the characteristics, folklore and iconography setting the template for future films like The Eye (2000), A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), Ju On: The Grudge (2003) and One Missed Call (2004). This sequel, which picks up largely where the first film in the Ring cycle left off, continues the supernatural themes of ghosts, chance and possession, but adds a more clinical, psychological and scientific element that isn't always complementary. Most of it works; and for a large portion of the running time I felt that the film advanced somewhat on the territory of the original, presenting better scares, sharper direction and a more engaging plot. However, an ultimate lack of focus in the final act and an overall sense of confusion ended up creating a rift in the narrative, which kills off some of the escalating tension and terror presented in the final stretch of the film, causing a loss of momentum. It's still an intriguing story; one that further explains some of the more enigmatic elements from the original film without removing the air of mystery, and one that still contains at least three scenes of genuine terror.As I've mentioned in countless reviews before, the thing I like best about Japanese horror is the sense of atmosphere. The use of lingering, slow burning tension, when a character approaches a closed door that we know they shouldn't open, but we still want them too regardless. For me, it's everything that horror should be. No gratuitous gore, no shock MTV style montages; just a slow, lingering feeling of dread that grows with intensity from one scene to the next. It also helps that the majority of these films are directed with flair and imagination, whilst - for the most part at least - offering us intelligent characters and interesting scenarios. Like the subsequent, similarly-themed films that came in its wake - such as Audition (1999), the aforementioned Ju On: The Grudge and director Hideo Nakata's own ensuing feature, Dark Water (2002) - the horror of Ringu looks back to the days of the slow-burning, classical Japanese horror of films such as Kwaidan (1964), Onibaba (1964) and Kuroneko (1968); films that perhaps don't seem all that horrific to a more adventurous or desensitised audience, with the horror really coming from the personification of ghosts and demons, or the sense of general taboo.As is often the case with Japanese cinema, there are certain elements of social commentary, with the idea of home entertainment pushing people further outside of society and allowing them to wallow in loneliness and alienation; an idea that is further developed in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse (2001). There's also the vaguely self-reflexive set up to a sequel that is literally about copying video cassettes, setting up the various sub-textual references to the idea of a copy, and furthering the original films meta-textual notions of a video that kills. Although it is admittedly less immediate in terms of shocks than the Ju On series, and a lot less thematically successful than similarly minded Asian horror such as The Eye and A Tale of Two Sisters, Ring 2 is still a solid piece of supernatural mystery and suspense. Yes, it is slow, and yes, it might require more than a single viewing to get the full effect, but it does stand up surprisingly well; even though I'm sure most potential viewers will know the broader aspects of the plot already. Still, this is definitely a film for anyone who appreciates interesting characters, intelligent and deliberately-paced plotting, and an atmosphere of claustrophobic and foreboding dread.

Just recently, I was the 376th person on the IMDb to review the 1998 Japanese horror classic "Ringu"; a day later, and I am now #78 to review the sequel to that film, "Ringu 2" (1999). This disparity in numbers surprises me, as it's hard for me to believe that any viewer who saw the original film would not want to know more about Sadako, the lank-haired ghost girl who kills via videotape. However, although we DO learn more about this fascinating character in "Ringu 2," and get some plot points cleared up, this sequel proved something of an anticlimax for me, and raised more questions than it explained. The original "Ringu" is a truly scary film, with great, ominous atmosphere and at least one classic horror sequence (that TV crawl-through). The sequel picks up precisely where the original left off, but is somehow not as creepy, centering on one of the minor characters of the original (the very pretty Miki Nakatani) and on police and scientific investigations into the Sadako phenomenon. The movie indulges in strangeness for the sake of strangeness, logic be damned, with the Sadako curse now affecting even those who haven't "gone to the videotape," and features psychic manifestations and assorted spectral mishegas thicker than a bowl of soba noodles. It's a case of atmosphere over coherent content, but man, what atmosphere! Still, I dare anyone to explain those final 15 minutes to me, as we go back into that darn well. The movie is a fascinating one, although it sure does leave one scratching the ol' noggin. Guess we'll have to proceed on to "Ringu 0" for some additional explication...

In very unusual fashion, the film adaptation of the sequel of Japanese smash hit novel, "Ringu", began production and was released at the same time as "Ringu"'s own film adaptation. As the novel, this film was called "Rasen" (the spiral) and while it kept the characters from "Ringu", it followed Kôji Suzuki's novel more closely than the first. However, this move didn't bring the results the producers were expecting as while "Ringu" became a bigger hit than the novel, "Rasen" soon was destined to oblivion. As a result of this, the produces decided to reunite the crew from the first "Ringu" and shot a sequel that followed a new story based on the first film's plot instead of Suzuki's novel. "Ringu 2" was the name of the sequel and director Hideo Nakata did the miracle one more time."Ringu 2" picks up where "Ringu" ends, with Mai Takano (Miki Nakatani) discovering the dead body of her boyfriend Ryuji Takayama (Hiroyuki Sanada), death under mysterious causes related to the video that Ryuji and his ex-wife Reiko (Nanako Matsushima) were investigating. Mai decides to investigate what exactly happened to her boyfriend and starts looking for clues about the cursed video. Troubles arise when she discovers why Reiko went into hiding: her son Yoichi (Rikiya Otaka) is beginning to develop the same psychic powers that Sadako, the girl who supposedly created the video, used to display. Sadako's curse is not finished yet.Reunited with most of the crew from "Ringu", Hideo Nakata returns to complete the tale of the cursed video expanding what he experimented on the first to truly make an improvement over it. While he keeps the subtle, almost minimalist style of the first film, the bigger budget allows Nakata to try new things and play with suspense in exciting different ways. Moving away from "Rasen", "Ringu 2" is like better executed "Ringu", and it almost feels as if Nakata was really happy with the chance to give a proper ending to his own "Ringu". While it lacks an "iconic scene" like the first one's famous ending, "Ringu 2" is a better balanced and overall improved example of Nakata's particular (and very influential) style of the New Wave of Asian horror.Written by Nakata himself and Hiroshi Takahashi, "Ringu 2" acts like an extended epilogue for "Ringu", with the character of Mai Takano trying to find the missing pieces of the puzzle that Ryuji and Reiko tried to complete, and finally facing the evil supernatural force that Sadako was revealed to be in the first film. Like in the first movie, the film bases a lot of its power in the relationships between characters, and while the bond between Yoichi and Mai may not be as strong as the one with his mother in "Ringu", it is very well-developed thanks to a cleverly written screenplay. Avoiding the mistakes of "Rasen" (that tried to give a proper scientific explanation to the Ring curse), "Ringu 2" keeps its mystery as the driving force of the film, and delivers a conclusion that, while probably less shocking than the first one, it's no less satisfactory.To be fair, Miki Nakatani does a remarkable job filling the shoes of Nanako Matsushima as main character, and probably a better job than her, as Nakatani shows a freshness and charm that Nanako never showed (in this aspect, Naomi Watts was also better than her in the American remake). Most of the cast from the first "Ringu" returns, which gives the film a nice continuity. Nanako Matsushima feels more comfortable as a supporting character than carrying the entire film, and the same is true for Hiroyuko Sanada (who plays Ryuji) and the late Yoichi Numata (again as Takashi Yamamura). Newcomers to the series like Yûrei Yanagi and Fumiyo Kohinata deliver a good job that fully completes a well-rounded cast."Ringu 2" is far from a perfect film, but in many ways it is a complete improvement over the influential first part. Still, as "Ringu 2" is basically an extension of the first film's ending, it's definitely pointless to watch it without having seen the first movie, as it's plot is completely dependent of the first one, and it can't stand on its own without the knowledge of the events of "Ringu". Another minor quibble, is that the film moves to a very slow pace (even slower than the first one did), so those expecting a scary experience like the first one will probably be disappointed. "Ringu 2" plays heavy on atmosphere, even more than the first ever did, so it's slow pace is actually beneficial in this aspect.Probably it won't become a classic as the first part did, but judging it as part of the "Ringu" series, this film is definitely a winner. Overall an improvement over the first one, "Ringu 2" is definitely a film to see on a dark night with no lights on. Fans of the series (specially those disappointed by "Rasen" or "The Ring Two"), this is the sequel we demanded. 8/10