Ringu 2

Original japanese movie poster.

Before we set our minds to talk about Ringu 2, we have to remember a few key elements that were revealed in part I. First, we now know that Sadako is a victim of her parents. She developed the same psychic abilities her late mother had, so his dad wanted to use her for his science research. However as Sadako's powers went beyond imaginable his dad had no choice but kill her himself. The videotape was made with the abilities Sadako had, so once you saw it you had the chance to look at her miserable life: Her mother who predicted an eruption and kill herself jumping into the volcano; the well where his father took her to kill her and other minor elements. Why am I remembering all of these elements? because we are to review part II, which continues were part I left us...

Taking place immediately after the events of the original Ringu (1998), Ringu 2 features Mai Takano (Miki Nakatani) continuing the investigation into the events of part I. At the beginning of the film, Reiko and his little son Yoichi Asakawa are still on the run after their ordeals in Ringu. Both the police and Mai are hoping to find them. Meanwhile, Masami Kurahashi, one of the two girls from the beginning of Ringu, is now in a mental hospital, the police have the remains of Sadako Yamamura's  body, they're trying to recreate her living appearance through forensic modeling, and they've located a man who is supposedly Sadako's father, a guy known as Takashi.

In case you guys haven't noticed as should be apparent from the above description, it's imperative that you watch Ringu before seeing Ringu 2. You may also wish to watch Ringu 0: Basudei (2000) before the original part I, and for fun, the original Ringu 2, AKA Rasen/Spiral before or after this "replacement sequel" (believe it or not, this one was produced when audiences were dissatisfied with the very differently toned Rasen/Spiral).

Unlike Rasen/Spiral, Ringu 2 is so close in tone to Ringu that it seems more like a "deleted scenes extended edition" than a full time sequel. However, Rasen/Spiral had better results as a whole, probably as it continued the Koji Suzuki novel original idea while on the other hand, Ringu 2 is much more uneven. There are lots of unnecesary scenes, some make sense, some not.

"So this is the studio they used for amateur porn"

Many fans were dissatisfied with Rasen/Spiral heading off into sci-fi territory, on the way providing something of a scientific explanation for what turned out to be some sort of a "Ring virus". They thought it ruined the mystery setting from the first film. It's curious in that light that many of those same fans like Ringu 2 much better. There is also an attempt here at explaining the curse, and it also inevitably ends up in sci-fi land.

Admittedly, though, the explanation for the curse in Ringu 2 is much different than it was in Rasen/Spiral, and despite the sci-fi, the strong mystery genre "investigation" elements that many loved so much in Ringu are woven throughout the plot. The sci-fi here is more psychological than Rasen's medical sci-fi, so probably that is why Ringu 2 is a bit better than Rasen, you know, not a lot of people is interested in medical sci-fi, I for one don't five a shit about stuff like ER or Dr. House, but psychological sci-fi feels more like a classic way of revealing the true story of a horror film. There is a lot of talk of intentionality and theories of intentionality being physically manifested. The film's ontology has it so that "mental energy", emotions and thoughts can be suppressed and subsequently "accumulated" to such a high range that when released externally, they can be extremely dangerous to others. Sadako, the chairperson of the Ringu villains, is the principal, most focused example of this, primarily because she's had 30 years in a veritable isolation chamber to effectively bury her thoughts. Watching this made me think that this could probably be an attempt to provide a subtext about the suppression of one's "real feelings and desires" in our current disposable society.  Maybe, only the author can tell for sure.

"My mouth is ready for some cock daddy o'"

So we have to evaluate Ringu 2 more on its surface level rather than an in depth analysis that would reveal the truth: a poor film that barely makes it to a B movie level. A lot of the film is a fairly pedestrian drama. Early ostensibly horrific events--such as the perusal of Reiko's apartment, deaths of supporting characters, possible ghost appearances, and the supernatural events surrounding Masami in the mental hospital--too often come across as a bit flat, almost banal. Ringu 2 is nothing if not a slow cooker. It improves, but very gradually.

By the time we get to one particular, very significant death, the film is cooking with full gas, but that's nearly an hour into a 90-minute film. Before that point, Ringu 2 feels like a much ado about nothing film. I won't mention who dies in this pivotal scene, but it is beautifully realized. We never really see the body, but instead the director Hideo Nakata shows us bright red blood slowing flowing across pavement, trickling down cracks, filling up depressions.

"Gotta get rid of this homemade porn movie of myself before it's too late"

"My mom would kill me if she saw these guys cumming in my mouth"

"Please fuck me hard, please!"

"Show me your wet twat Sadako"

From here to the end, Ringu 2 is much more even. The bulk of the "atmospheric" or "creepy" material arrives in this last half hour to forty minutes, such as the videotape of another young girl suddenly changing, her head bizarrely, violently shaking. Another standout moment is at the Yamamura family "hotel", when both Sadako and her mother eerily appear.

By the time the climax is revealed, the film is quite exciting, and Nakata forgoes dramatic sci-fi for more focused, horrific surrealism. Like Ringu, there is a climactic scene in a well, this one much more enigmatic, possibly meant to be a symbolic journey to the core of the pent-up emotions associated with the character of Sadako, with the emergence from a light-filled "ring" perhaps, representing the physical manifestation and release of the emotions through a person's eye. In the finale, Nakata also more literally combines the ring symbolism with the series' ubiquitous water symbolism--water more than likely being used to represent a kind of unifying "spiritual" ether that permeates the world. Of course, he still leaves an opening for another sequel as well.

Overall, unlike many films, Ringu 2 is impossible to evaluate "properly" in isolation. It must be contextualized with part I to add more sense. It may be far from an excellent film on its own, but it's certainly above average when viewed in conjunction with the series.So, after this long talk I would say to understand Ringu 2 you must watch the entire trilogy plus Rasen to have a wider view of why this movie became the new Ringu part II.

Here's the movie trailer:

Next review will be the strongest movie from the trilogy: Ringu O Badousei (Birthday) stay tuned!