Starring: Naomi Watts, David Dorfman Directed by: Hideo Nakata
Last October, surprisingly, the best movie I reviewed was The Ring. It was great precisely because it was more of a mystery to unravel rather than a 'spooky things jump out at you around every corner' film.
Apparently when The Ring 2 was written, the opposite intent prevailed. The movie is chock full of Evil Samara (Kelly Stables). Her video still exists, and she's stalking Aidan (David Dorfman) even though Rachel (Naiomi Woods) has attempted to take them away to the small town of Astoria, Oregon.
Though Rachel finds the tape and stops its circuit among the town's teenagers early on, Samara is still not finished with her and Aidan. Instead of just the well and TV dwelling specter, she is now able to manifest in a public restroom, command a herd of murderous deer, do poltergeist-y things to Rachel's house, kill Aidan's fish, turn a bathroom into a visually impressive illustration of centripetal force and…oh yes, attempt to possess Aidan.
Sure there's still a mystery Rachel has to unravel, but it is somewhat half-ass. The roughly half hour Rachel potters around trying to figure out more about Samara's history is pretty much the most interesting part of the film.
The rest is just monster around the corner (or monster at the bottom of the well) fare. What's really creeping me out now is a fly has been buzzing around by my computer the whole time I've been writing this review…perhaps it’s Samara returned from the beyond in insect form…
Also I have no idea how they're going to pull a third film out of this one. Unless it's a prequel, I am thoroughly uninterested.
If you:
- Can't resist a sequel
- Like movies where the scary thing is always lurking around
Put it in the queue!
However, if you:
- Prefer the thrill of a creepy mystery rather than a creepy monster
- Can't suspend your disbelief enough that Samara all of a sudden decides to make the leap from video to stove/lightbulbs/fauna/human
- Are easily annoyed by Naomi Watts moping around looking all skinny and concerned
Don't put it in the queue!
Written by Jennifer Venson