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The Ring Two By David DiCerto Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- In "The Ring Two" (DreamWorks) -- the stylish and scary, but less satisfying, sequel to the 2002 horror sleeper -- Naomi Watts reprises her role as Rachel Keller, an investigative journalist trying to uncover the secrets behind a "cursed" videotape that causes certain death seven days after being viewed. The new film, which takes place six months after the first, provides little in the way of background, in order to bring latecomers up to speed: The killer tape, which contains a series of macabre images, is somehow connected to the vengeful spirit of a murdered child, Samara (Kelly Stables). The only way to escape Samara's insatiable wrath is to get someone else to watch the tape, thereby spreading the hateful curse (a morally murky solution chosen by Rachel at the end of the first film). Rachel has now relocated from Seattle to a quiet seaside community in Oregon where she hopes to make a fresh start with her young son, Aidan (David Dorfman). But then a copy of the video surfaces at a local crime scene where a teenager is found dead before his television. Before long, Samara sets her evil sights on Aidan, forcing Rachel to plumb deeper into the mystery surrounding the ghost's origins. Unlike the earlier installment which, despite its spine-tingling trappings, was essentially a race-against-time mystery, "The Ring Two" is much more a conventional horror movie, relying less on psychological suspense than special-effects centerpieces, such as a computer-generated herd of antlered deer violently assaulting Rachel and Aidan in their car. And while the new picture echoes the visual creepiness of "The Ring," it lacks its predecessor's overall sharpness and originality. Still, director Hideo Nakata -- who also directed the original Japanese "Ringu" fright films on which the two American remakes are based -- keeps viewers' nerves reasonably taut and supplies some (though not enough) genuine goose bumps. Watts once again delivers an understated performance, and Dorfman, with his dark, haunted eyes, gives Haley Joel Osment a run for his money as best "dead-seeing" child actor. Sissy Spacek provides a cameo as Samara's institutionalized biological mother. As for the sex and gore usually associated with the genre, there isn't any, so some parents may feel comfortable sending older adolescents, but it should be noted that there are some intensely unsettling scenes, including one in which Rachel, trying to exorcise Samara's spirit from Aidan, holds the struggling boy under water in a bathtub. The film contains recurring frightening images, some disturbing violence involving child peril, an instance of rough language, and some crude and profane expressions. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. - - - DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. END Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
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