The Ring Two (2005)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Rachel Keller	Naomi Watts
Max Rourke	Simon Baker	½
Aidan Keller	David Dorfman
Dr. Emma Temple	Elizabeth Perkins
Martin Savide	Gary Cole
Evelyn	Sissy Spacek

Review

I suppose Naomi Watts was contracted to do this sequel, because I doubt that she would think it'd be such a good idea today as she thought a few years ago when she first appeared in Gore Verbinski's successful The Ring. The sequel isn't actually a bad film, it tries hard to be intriguing (perhaps more so than its predecessor) and has its fine moments. But there's nothing new in here either, and where The Ring was truly scary (albeit in a overly cynical way), The Ring Two is just repetitive. The direction, by Hideo Nakata who directed the original Japanese sequel (how about that for a contradiction in terms) is handsome but bland. It makes the film lack any real soul of its own, and after we've disclosed its weaknesses, screenwriter Ehren Kruger present some of the usual bad-horror-movie-dialogue that Watts delivers in agony. What I do want to point out, however, is the performance by David Dorfman. I felt that Dorfman was holding Verbinski's film back with his uncomfortable acting, but the three passing years have done the young actor good and he is one of the few inspired elements in this film. Let's hope he can continue that development. Look fast for Sissy Spacek in a cameo.