Ring 2
Dir: Hideo Nakata
1999
****
Ring was huge upon its release in 1999 – not only in Japan but around the world. Koji Suzuki’s novel was well known in Japan and Ring – the first in his Ring series – had already been adapted for television. As the first was so popular, well known and so hotly anticipated, it was decided that Suzuki’s second novel – Rasen (Spiral) – should be adapted back to back with Ring. Unfortunately, audiences hated it, so the makers of Ring decided to quickly write a totally new follow up story that has nothing to do with Suzuki’s series and simply called it Ring 2. It’s shame in many respects as it would be great to see a series of films – possibly from different directors – following the other books in the series; Loop, Birthday, S and Tide but rather surprisingly, Ring 2 is a very strong film in its own right. I would call it more of an eerie mystery rather than a horror and I can’t say I was as scared as I was during the first, but I was far more intrigued by the bigger story. The film picks up a weeks after the events of the first. After the body of Sadako Yamamura is retrieved from the well, her uncle Takaishi is summoned by police to identify her. Detective Omuta explains to Takaishi that forensics concluded Sadako may have survived in the well for thirty years. Forensics experts reconstruct her body, giving it to Takaishi, who gives his niece a burial at sea, hoping to be free from the guilt he has carried since her mother Shizuko committed suicide because of his actions. The police search for Reiko Asakawa following the sudden death of her ex-husband Ryuji Takayama and her father Koichi a week later. Mai Takano, Ryuji’s university assistant, investigates his death, visiting Reiko’s news office where her colleague Okazaki joins Mai in her search for answers. They find a burnt out videotape in Reiko’s apartment, Mai sensing Reiko’s father died the same way as Ryuji. Investigating the urban legend of the cursed videotape, Okazaki meets a high school student Kanae Sawaguchi, who gives him a copy of the tape but admits she watched it herself. She begs Okazaki to watch the tape before the week is up, but he chickens out and hides his copy in his desk drawer at work. Mai and Okazaki go to a mental hospital to speak to Masami Kurahashi, a friend of Reiko’s niece Tomoko, but learn she is both mute and has a phobia of televisions, having witnessed Tomoko’s death. They meet Doctor Oisho Kawajiri, Masami’s doctor, and a paranormal researcher, who is trying to expel the psychic energy within Masami through experimentation. Mai steps out for some air, encountering Masami, whose presence causes Sadako to materialise on a television and terrify the patients. Mai finds Reiko’s son Yoichi alone in a shopping centre. Mai learns Yoichi has been mute since his father and grandfather’s deaths and his psychic abilities intensified. Returning to the hospital, Mai, Okazaki, and Detective Omuta observe Kawajiri’s experiment to exorcise the psychic energy from Masami by projecting her mental imagery onto a blank tape. However, it causes the cursed videotape’s imagery to appear and the horror of the first film begins all over again. You have to wait a long time for the scares – which aren’t terrifying it must be said – but the anticipation is enough. There are a couple of stand-out scenes that I absolutely love; one including disappearing mirrors and the other that takes place in a well. The videotape scenes are much better than the first also and they wisely try out new ideas rather than repeat anything. There is something refreshingly forensic about the sequel, making it a great mystery full of suspense and intrigue. The new and returning actors are all great and I also really loved the music. I personally think that Hideo Nakata’s direction in the second film is far greater than in the first, although I think I will always prefer the original film. Most horror franchises stumble in the second chapter, Ring however switches things around and produces something unexpected and solid.