The Ring 2 (Two)
Martin Drury reviews the UK release of The Ring Two on DVD starring Naomi Watts, David Dorfman and Simon Baker. The Ring 2 is another US remake of a Japanese movie, but much like the grudge it's directed by the original director Hideo Nakata.
Rachel Keller and her son are trying to put the past behind them. They are happy in Oregon. Rachel works on a small town newspaper. The events of the past have been firmly pushed into the background. Until a crime scene reveals an odd, enigmatic addition to the evidence cupboard. A blank videotape is discovered and soon, Rachel Keller realises that the darkness in her nightmares has already announced her downfall. The fiend is back and this time, there’s nowhere left to run. The sound you can hear- that slow, deliberate toll of the bell- encourages you to stay tuned for a forthcoming announcement. The corpse of horror fiction has been found and a hunt for the killer has begun. ‘The Ring 2’ is confusing, lengthened without reason, tepid in terms of chills and thrills and laughable throughout. In the age of DVD and high definition television, precisely how scary can a blank VHS tape possibly be?
Japanese myth- as one can discover five minutes into ‘The Grudge’- visualises ghosts differently to Western mythology and the oriental interpretation of the dearly departed has long been at odds with the spooky tales around the campfire in the Northern hemisphere. One would be well advised to digest ‘The Ring’ before watching its’ offspring in action. Yet, even with that precaution taken, the plot of ‘The Ring 2’ is still incomprehensible. Someone was trapped down a well long ago. Somehow, she has managed to create an alternative reality and forged it into a better television channel than ITV1 could envisage. The girl down the well is, quite naturally, afraid of water. What on earth she wants with Keller and her “Sixth Sense” inspired son is anyone’s guess. Naomi Watts is stunning but her “run and pant” approach to playing the female lead in a horror flick makes sure we realise that she is an actress playing a part and not a character we should care about.
‘The Ring 2’ is yet another in the cycle of “appointment with the monster” films. If there’s an evil monster chasing you and it won’t go away until you confront it then, for the sanity of the movie going public, will characters in horror flicks please just go out there and shout: “Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough!” to the fiend pursuing them? ‘The Ring 2’ falls flat on its’ face and drowns in failure, leaving ‘The Descent’ is the only remaining hope for horror fiction on celluloid. The supply of credible Japanese myths has been exhausted. It’s time to close the cupboard and actually sit down and think about a story.
The extras on ‘The Ring 2’ are designed to sell the movie you’ve already watched. If you’re interested in finding out more about the film you’ve just enjoyed, your pleas for attention will fall on deaf ears. The deleted and alternative scenes add nothing to the plot of the film and it’s clear why they were excluded from the final cut. The making of featurette is informative but the interviews and profiles of the director of the film are misplaced and fans intent on worshipping their idol have pirated the special features of a horror movie DVD once again. According to the extras, there’s a surprising, horrific connection between ‘The Ring’ and ‘The Ring 2’. They’ve obviously forgotten the importance of numbers. ‘The Ring 2’ is the cold tea of horror fiction. If this movie scares you, God help you when you grow up.
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