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by Willie Waffle

The Ring Two

I wasn't a big fan of the first one, so I was quite skeptical about The Ring Two's ability to entertain me past my typical drooling over Naomi Watts, but I was surprised. After seeing The Pacifier, I didn't think any movie this year could scare me as much (Seriously, I get the shakes every time I think about Vin Diesel changing that diaper). However, The Ring Two is much better and much scarier than the first.

Watts is back as Rachel - a reporter and mother who has fled Seattle for the quiet life in rural, seaside Astoria. Six months after defeating the evil Samara (Daveigh Chase via old footage shot during The Ring), and destroying the video tape from which she escapes to kill anyone who has watched it, Rachel and her son Aidan (David Dorfman) want to get on with life. However, there are other copies of the tape, and Samara has made this battle personal. She's back, and chasing after Aidan.

What does Samara want from Aidan? Can Rachel stop her?

As director of The Ring and The Ring Two's Japanese predecessors, Ringu and Ringu 2, Hideo Nakata is familiar with the territory, so he brings us a sequel ready to draw us in as if it has nothing to prove. Nakata effectively and confidently takes his time to creep us out. He's much better at setting up the scary scenes, building tension and drama to the point we jump out of our seats when the shock reveals itself. Also, he sacrifices quantity for quality, which is a welcome relief. The scares count more because Nakata isn't just throwing anything at us and hoping some of it sticks. He picks his moments, whether it's Rachel walking through an empty basement or some creepy deer in the woods that make their presence felt. However, The Ring Two needs a better story.

Writer Ehren Kruger (based on the novel by Koji Suzuki and
Ringu 2 script by Hiroshi Takahashi) loses his way as the movie draws to a conclusion, and starts to rush the twists too much. After establishing an interesting challenge for Rachel and Aidan, Kruger can't figure out how to end the movie. He rapidly throws several twists and turns at us, but they don't have the logical basis needed to allow us to play along, or understand. What is Samara after? Who is she? What happened to her in the past? What's the deal with Sissy Spacek? My friends and I debated all of these questions after the film, but I don't think it should be a debate. Kruger, and Nakata, have to do a better job answering the questions, and resolving the action. Also, as pointed out by my friend Jessie, we were told in The Ring about Samara's past, but this ending and this movie don't quite fit in with those established facts, and don't explain the differences well enough. In the absence of explanation, the actors are left to emote, and do it well.

Watts and Dorfman do a commendable job keeping us interested, especially Dorfman, who plays a good weirdo. He's required to keep us guessing about his mental and physical state throughout the movie, and the kid pulls it off. That boy ain't right! Watts gets to looked worried most of the time, but she could have used a special moment most horror film heroines get where she stands up and shows her inner strength in some death defying battle. She does some tough stuff here, but the ending could have been bigger in scale, and provided that special moment.

The Ring Two has plenty of scares, but could use some help in the story department.

2 ½ Waffles (Out of 4)