It seems to be a trend these days to remake Asian thriller and horror productions into slick Hollywood productions. It also seems to be a trend to hire the original Asian director for the American remake. This was the case with the recent Americana version of The Grudge and for this sequel to The Ring (the original American film was directed by Gore Verbinski) the original Ringu director Hideo Nakata was flown in to take place on the directing chair. It shows, yet again, that the Japanese have a totally deviant approach to suspense and a different feeling of timing.

The events portrayed in this sequel take place six months after the occurrences of The Ring. Rachel and her son Aiden have left Seattle after the tragic events concerning a mysterious killing videotape and a traumatized ghost girl called Samara. She and her son seek refuge in a small town and she starts work as an editor for a small local newspaper, but Rachel is soon confronted with yet another dead teenager who has seen a copy of the murderous videotape. Rachel sees it all happen again and starts to investigate the case. On her quest she hopes to find out more about Samara, who seems determined to take over the life and body of Aiden.

The Ring (the first American remake that is) was an excellent translation of the Japanese original. It was a culmination of the original Ringu and some of the more psychological events of Ringu 2. The reason why it worked so flawlessly lied within the fact it was an effective remake for a Western audience. If one would watch Ringu after The Ring one would notice the Japanese have a totally different sense of suspense and timing and have a better eye for that what is hidden and left as suggestion. The biggest mistake The Ring Two makes (besides the rather messy and fragmented non-coherent screenplay) is the use of a Japanese director. Nakata does a steady job, but most freaky moments were totally ill-timed and lose effectiveness for a Western audience.

Although blessed with some visually stunning scenes (one involving deer near a forest which, although clearly computer-generated,was still a very stunning scene and a scene involving a very watery ceiling in a bathroom), this sequel in no way reaches the level of its predecessor. Thank God Naomi Watts is such a joy to watch (and has shown to be an excellent actress), because without her it would have been a true nightmare to sit through this one. There is also a rather appealing short scene starring Sissy Spacek, who is good as always, though is cursed with too little screen time to make a long-lasting impression. The biggest flaw, however, of The Ring Two, is its screenplay that serves as a an excuse to portray exciting scenes, the lack of effective timing and suspense and the rather messy ending.

Directed by: Hideo Nakata
Starring: Naomi Watts, David Dorfman, Simon Baker, Sissy Spacek
Runtime: 111′
Release Dates: US: 18 March, UK: 1 April, The Netherlands: 17 March
Official Website

THE RING LEGACY

1 – Ringu Kanzen-Ban (1995) – Original Japanese TV-series that formed the inspirating for Nakata’s film.
2 – Ringu (1998) – Original Japanese version directed by Hideo Nakata. Very scary and by far the best of all Japanese Rungu films.
3 – Rasen (Spiral) (1998) – Unofficial sequel to Ringu directed by Joji Iida.
4 – Ringu 2 (1999) – Official Japanese sequel, that gives us more background info on the story of Sadako (Samara in the American remake). Directed by Hideo Nakata as well.
5 - Ring Virus (1999) – Korean remake of the Japanese original.
6 – Ringu 0: Basudei (2000) - Prequel, tells the tragic story of Sadako directed by Norio Tsuruta.
7 – The Ring (2002) – American remake directed by Gore Verbinski. Combines the storyline of Ringu and some elemenst (especially the psychological capcities of Rachel’s son Aiden) of Ringu 2.
8 – The Ring Two (2005) – Sequel to American version of The Ring directed by Hideo Nakata. Has nothing to do with Ringu 2, but forms a story on its own.

LOOK OUT FOR

Dark Water is the American remake of another stunning Hideo Nakata film (click here for the review of the original Honogurai Mizu no Soko Kara - which I would really recommend), starring Jennifer Conolly and directed by Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries). The film focuses on a young divorced mother who moves into a strange apartment building. Soon she discovers the ceiling is leaking and there is a lot more going on than meets the eye.

Release dates: US: 12 August, UK: 19 August, The Netherlands: 20 October.
You can watch the trailer here (Link to IMDB). For the official website go here.