\The Ring Two,"" sequel to 2002's ""The Ring,"" proves yet again that sequels usually fall short of their predecessors. Gore Verbinski, the previous director, was replaced by Hideo Nakata, director of the original Japanese phenomenon ""Ringu"" on which the first ""Ring"" was based. Despite a few fear-induced jolts for the audience, Nakata's track record did little to save this film from falling down a well of despair.
Naomi Watts returns as Rachel Keller, journalist and single mother to son Aiden (David Dorfman). The film begins with the familiar teenage couple watching another unidentified videocassette, but this time in a small Oregon town instead of Seattle, where the Kellers have relocated. This time, however, both the Kellers and the audience know that the tape is possessed by the victim of a historic murder, Samara (archival footage of original actress Daveigh Chase mixed with new footage of actress Kelly Stabler). Sparked by either loneliness or revenge, she emerges yet again from the tape to haunt and possess the characters.
The first ""Ring"" compiled bizarre and creepy images on a video cassette that led Rachel through a twisted maze of terror-filled discoveries to its origin. The second ""Ring"" mostly duplicates this plot, and unless the audience forgot what happened the first time around, it gives no new revelations until the mediocre climax. Rachel again makes the trek into Samara's past to try and uncover her unusual story.
The scenes turn from bizarre and creepy in the first film to downright ridiculous in the second. The herd of horses gone crazy in ""The Ring,"" is replaced by a herd of violent bucks who attack and destroy the Kellers' car. It is a somewhat a random occurrence, since the only other time the deer come into play is when Aiden locks eyes with some in a distant pasture and when there are some antlers hanging in a basement. The first film's confusing series of events were frightening, but the second film just makes them comical-the stags attacking the car actually brought a collective chuckle from the audience.
Naomi Watts does her best with this substandard plot and brings forth a truly riveting performance. Young Dorfman as Aiden, however, gives off an even creepier vibe than that of Samara's.
Though the film wraps up some of the original's loose ends a little too tightly, there are still lingering questions and new, unsolved problems. For instance, the tape that was such an integral motif in the first is quickly discarded in the opening scenes of the second, when Rachel burns the copy found in the teenager's house. Why they moved to a different location is also questionable because it is obviously the tape that was haunted, not their house or their town. But the big nagging question remains: How did a young girl turn her death into an experimental student film (which should most definitely have been transferred to DVD by now)?
For a horror movie buff, and especially those who liked the original, ""The Ring Two"" will probably lend a few chills. However, audiences will have to wait around a little longer for a good pee-their-pants, hide-behind-their-friends, leave-the-theater-horrified scary movie to come along.
