Ring Two

--Reviewed by Lindy Loo

Plotline: Samara is back again from the beyond to torture Rachel and Aidan some more. This time she's looking to take over the young boy Aidan's body so that she can have a mother and exist in the flesh.

Scariness factor: Doesn't even come CLOSE to the original. I mean, for pete's sake, they thought it would be scary to have a computer-graphic deer-attack scene? I mean really? REALLY?!

Originality: It's a sequel--need I say more?

Complaints:

The deer scene--silliest scene I've seen in a horror movie in a while.

Why in horror movies, when main characters are under pressure to figure something out as quickly as possible to save someone else (be it from dying or from horrific ghostly torture), do they always take gratuitously long to do so? Rachel is trying to figure out the key to what is happening to her son and so travels back to the Morgan Horse Farm in the hopes of discovering the connections to Samara. She slowly moves into the basement, and then while in the basement, takes the time to slowly walk around and touch things--ooh pretty merry-go-round music box! i shall touch it wistfully and ever so slowly; oooh dust! i shall touch it wistfully and ever so slowly.

Watching this movie made me realize what made the original such a fantastically creepy movie--the combination of the unsettling music and the Ring Video itself. Both play completely insignificant roles in this movie which made it way too sluggish and dull.

If Rachel asks Aidan one more time, "What's the matter, honey?" when his eyes are clearly sunken in, his flesh a pasty white, his eyes a vacant stare, I'm going to eat my own arm for entertainment.

Other High Points: One or two creepy scenes--Samara's creepy shuddery tv-staticky self can be a bit creepy at times, when handled well. I also kind of liked the weird tie-in to the whole post-partum depression, crazy mom kinda thing, though it didn't really end up going anywhere.

Overall: It was pretty much what I expected it to be--a sequel to a really good scary movie. All the mysteries were unravelled in the first one, so where could they really go from there? Like most sequels, it was weak and flabby. To be expected though, I suppose.

Grade: D+