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Starring
:
Miki
Nakatani
Hitomi
Sato
Kyoko
Fukada
Nanako
Matsushima
Hiroyuki
Sanada
Fumiyo
Kohinata
Producer
:
Taka
Ichise
Director
:
Hideo
Nakata
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RING
2 (1999)
A.K.A.
- Ringu 2; The Ring 2
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
When
we last entered the world of 'Ring', Asakawa had fled her home
in fear and Professor Takayama had just met with a horrible
demise. Following this, the Professor's assistant, Mai
Takano (Nakatani), decides to take it upon herself to do a
little investigating of her own and it isn't long before the
trail leads her to tales of the video. Of course, little
has been resolved about the true power of the video so Takano
decides to head over to the television station that Asakawa
was working at. Here she meets Okazaki, the reporter who
has been given the task of finishing the story on the video.
Considering neither of them have any real knowledge to share,
they decide to team up and together they start the long and
fateful journey that will eventually reveal secrets that they
will wish they had never uncovered.
Picking
up where the first film left off, 'Ring 2' takes several
outskirt characters from the original (mainly the only real
survivors) and uses them in an attempt to build on the mythos
of the infamous video. However, what really spoils this
idea is it's failure to allow the story to progress by
spending the majority of the running time re-covering a large
amount of familiar ground. Takano is inserted as a fresh
face to fill the detective role and, due to her lack of
knowledge of previous events, spends the entire film following
the same path as Asakawa without uncovering any significant
revelations. Characters here also appear decidedly
weaker with Takano lacking a convincing motive for her
interest in the video (aside from a vaguely explored
relationship with Professor Takayama) and Asakawa displaying
none of the strength and conviction that guided her through
the first film. In fact, the only consistent factor that
seems to connect the two films is Nakata's creepy directorial
style that once again hits all the right buttons on the scare
factor. Its just a shame that this time you have to wait
until the finale for any of the real chills to begin.
On
the whole, 'Ring 2' fails to bring about any real advances
from the first film and even Nakata's knack for haunting
imagery can do little to make it stand out on it's own.
Perhaps this is a sign of filmmaking for the sake of it and
proof that 'Ring' is one classic that is better enjoyed as a
solo outing.
Rating:
  
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