MOVIE REVIEW: Not quite the one true ‘Ring’
Movie Review: “The Ring 2″(PG-13)Grade: B-
I think all movie watchers should acknowledge the fact that sequels are considerably difficult to pull off.
Not only do you have to re-create the universe of the first film, with the same characters and freshness, but you also have to make it more compelling than the first. Most sequels make a strong effort to accomplish these things and “The Ring 2” is no exception.
However, “The Ring 2” doesn’t quite live up to the sustained level of fear from its predecessor, “The Ring,” released in 2002. In this horror movie we see much of the same things that we saw in the previous one with some perplexing new ingredients mixed in. These new ingredients make “The Ring 2” a decidedly different kind of film than the first.
The second, and presumably last, installment of this scary saga begins six months after the ending of the first film. It starts with the strong but fragile Rachel, played sufficiently by Naomi Watts (“21 Grams”) and her eerily stoic and mature little son Aidan (David Dorfman, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”), as they relocate from the hustle and bustle of Seattle to the small seaside town of Astoria. Unfortunately, their time spent recovering from the disturbing events shown in the first film is short lived. It isn’t long before Samara, the creepy girl from the haunting videotape, returns to track them down and frighten them at every possible moment.
This allows the plot to increase in suspense as the audience is tortured by numerous moments of terror that constantly jolt you out of your seat. But the story and ever-present feelings of dread quickly run out of steam when every trick of the trade is employed to spook the audience.
Since all the elements and methods of a good horror movie are soon worn out from use, the story transforms from a mysterious nightmare to a heavy emotional drama between the mother and son. Disappointment comes soon afterward as a result of this change and the climax fails to sustain “The Ring 2” as a classic bloodcurdling film.
Although it’s important to have emotion in films like this, it is far more difficult to take them seriously when the emotional content of the film outweighs the scary content. All the actors, in addition to Watts and Dorfman, provide helpful pieces to the progression of the story, most notably, Sissy Spacek (“Tuck Everlasting”) and Elizabeth Perkins (“28 Days”), but they all seem to be trying too hard to make it believable. This creates a modest attempt to elevate the quality of the film but doesn’t quite satisfy the viewer.
“The Ring 2” doesn’t exactly fit into the film genre of horror because it tries to evolve further than the first film, making it seem more like a confused family drama than a ghost story. The cinematography is subtle yet effective, the music is ominous and grandiose, the editing is crisp and the visual effects are proficient, but “The Ring 2” will not have the same affect as its powerful predecessor. There were plenty of screams from the audience but I doubt that the film, as a whole, caused anyone to keep their lights on that night.
Casey T. Allen is a junior majoring in English and reviews movies for the Utah Statesman. Comments may be sent to caseyal@cc.usu.edu.