The Ring Two
Joe Nguyen, staff writer
March 22, 2005

Synopsis
The story picks up six months after the horrifying events that terrorized Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) and her son Aidan (David Dorfman) in Seattle. To escape her haunting memories, Rachel takes Aidan and moves to the small coastal community of Astoria, Oregon, to start fresh. However, Rachel's resolve quickly turns to dread when evidence at a local crime scene-including an unmarked videotape-seems eerily familiar. Rachel realizes that the vengeful Samara is back and more determined than ever to continue her relentless cycle of terror and death.

Review
Back in 2002, I saw Gore Verbinski’s "The Ring" – one of the creepiest, most ominous films I had ever seen. When I got home, I couldn’t help but throw my blanket over my head to shield my eyes from the TV that sits at the foot of the bed. Last year, a chill ran down my spine and a grin grew across my face as I watched the teaser for the sequel.

Naomi Watts and David Dorfman in "The Ring Two"

Unfortunately, "The Ring Two" failed to live up to its enormous hype even with the enlisted help of director Hideo Nakata ("Ringu," "Dark Water"). The biggest problem was that it wasn’t all that scary – a big dilemma for a horror movie. The character of Samara (Kelly Stables) seemed to have lost the edge she had in the first one. She was nowhere nearly as sinister or intimidating as she was before.

The basic premise of the movie was actually pretty good: Despite the fact that Rachel and Aidan moves away from Seattle to get away, Samara finds her way back into their lives. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t written or translated well onto the screen. The pace of the film was pretty sluggish and that just took my attention away.

The acting was the saving grace of the film. Watts and Dorfman were just good, much as they were in the first one. I enjoyed the appearance of Gary Cole ("Office Space") who plays Martin Savide, the sly real-estate agent who’s trying to sell the old Morgan home. “I believed... they moved to Phoenix” in response to Rachel’s question about what happened to the Morgans. Classic.

"The Ring Two" isn’t an awful movie, but it’s not one that’s worth paying to see in theaters. If you loved the first one, this one’s just going to disappoint. Go watch the first one and scare yourself all over again.

Joe gives "The Ring Two":

Joe Nguyen is a staff writer for asiaXpress.com. You can reach Joe at joe@asiaxpress.com.

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