Where to begin, I had high hopes for this sequel. Well, not terribly high, but I was hoping for something more than this. I remember late one night a month or so ago, I should have been in bed, but no, I was doing some final surfing around in the darkness of my room, when I came across the teaser trailer for this movie. I clicked the link, the video slowly loaded up, then there was a figure on the left, back to the camera, cutting something, whispering something about the dead, then she fades into darkness, focus shifts to a television in the bottom right playing nothing but snow, then suddenly Samara jumps out of the blackness on the left. I swear, I jumped a mile, I was tired, and not ready for that. That moment made me start looking forward to the movie.
The first film, directed by Gore Verbinski, did a very good job at creating a feeling of unease, along with a story that held together, and one of the creepiest films that has been made in some time. The original Japanese film, was also very good, not as advanced in its effects, but was a genuinely creepy film. That original film spawned a sequel, a prequel, a TV series, and a Korean remake before it even hit American shores. Now, the director of the the original Ring 1 and 3, Hideo Nakata brings his sensibilities to the American screens with the remake sequel. I cannot compare this to the original sequel, as I haven't seen it yet, so this will have to stand up on it's own merits.
The film opens with a teen boy trying to get his girlfriend(?) to watch the tape. This scene sets up the first of the new victims for Samara. Following this is the title card and the reintroduction of Rachel (Naomi Watts) and her son, Aidan (David Dorfman). And guess what? They just happen to live in the same town as the previously mentioned teens, now what are the chances? Apparently, the tape has had further copies made since the first film and followed them to the small town that they have moved to, to further torment the young boy and her mom.
I wish I could say that this movie is up to the level of the first film. I would like to say that Nakata will wow American audiences with the same skill that he has wowed the Japanese audiences. I would like to say that we know have an equally creep y film that furthers the mythology that was begun in the first. But, sadly, I cannot say any of that and mean it. The best I can say about it is that it does a good job of creating a very real feeling atmosphere of unease, while simultaneously not making any sense whatsoever. And let's not forget the moments of absurd, and completely unintentional (I hope), comedy.
Since the events of the first film, Samara has learned a new trick, she can get into your dreams and show you the video. Her new mission is to become Aidan. So now it becomes a race against time for Rachel to discover how she is doing this, how to save her son, and finally end Samara's reign of terror. The logic through all of the events do not hold together, nothing is explained, but like I said before, the unease is there.
Samara wants to live again, and Aidan is her ticket out of the well. So, we follow Rachel as she tries to seek out Samara's birth mother in hopes of learning some more history, but this just leads to some bizarre detective work, and clues. The most out of place moment, and actually rather funny scene, features a large group of computer generated deer attacking Rachel's car. This had most of the theater rolling with laughter, it made no sense at all, it is just there to set up a non-event of a discovery later on. Then there are the obligatory characters who are only there as road blocks, this time a doctor who believes that Rachel is abusing her son.
This all leads to an ending that I will not reveal here, but if it had the courage to go in the direction it seemed to be going in, although I knew it wouldn't, I would have been much happier. Anyway, I must also make a quick mention of a scene with Samara climbing up the side of the well, let me just say it is another unintentionally funny sequence. They also prove a line from John Travolta in Be Cool, regarding language and the PG-13 rating.
Hideo Nakata is a good director, it is a shame that his American debut was with this. He is a good filmmaker, he is able to create and sustain creepy atmospheres in a number of films. This is not a complete failure. I like the slower, more even pacing that he brings to it, unlike a lot of Hollywood films which tend to want to speed up, Nakata ratchets the pace down and atmosphere up. Unfortunately there are those goofy looking scenes, and lack of logic which ultimately work against this being a successful sequel. In a lot of Asian films that I have watched, there is much that goes unexplained, it seems that Asian audiences are more accepting of what is on the screen, whereas American audiences like a little more explanation, not a criticism, just an observation.
Naomi Watts does what she can with the script, but it is hard to keep up an air of credibility when the logic fueling your dialog is suspect. I also must comment on Watts' appearance, it looked as if she had been punched in the face, kind of puffy looking, or maybe I'm just seeing things. David Dorfman, on the other hand, does a good job playing the creepy kid. It has been said he is near catatonic to begin with, but I counter that with the fact that he is probably disturbed over the events of the first film, who knows how a young mind is going to react to that, so I find him believable in that respect, and then he gets the evil girl inside and he gets creepier. He pulls it off rather well. The rest of the cast is more or less just there for the ride.
Bottomline. A film that is long on creep, low on story. Ultimately betrayed by a weak plot. This could have been a lot better than it was. It was shot well, it looks good, but that doesn't make a good movie. You will feel the darkness on the back of your neck, until one of the laughable scenes comes up and destroys the creep factor, at least temporarily. Do yourself a favor, instead of seeing this rent the Verbinski film and Nakata's original and give yourself a double feature.
Not Recommended.
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