The Ring 2
March 22nd, 2005 by park
The Ring 2. It’s causing quite the stir. But allow me to be a voice of reason in the middle of a sea of praise. The movie fits very neatly into a particular type of film, one which I myself am rather tired of seeing. It’s the “boo” flick. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve seen a better working of this archtypical film style in a long time. There are some fine points to the film, don’t get me wrong. If you want a movie that will make you jump, it’ll do it. But without the overall terror of the first (and the director’s original Ringu). It misses on this point, and while I am not certain if it was a directional or editing fault, it is present.
The Ring 2 picks up after the story of the first one. They have moved to a town in Washington called Astoria. Remember that name? Yeah it was in Goonies. Nice touch. Anyway, Rachel has taken a job at the Astoria newspaper as editor, and obviously just doesn’t fit in quite perfectly. Her big-city style (she closes the door to her office) has an obvious effect on her staff, but they seem to like her nonetheless.
In this film, the tape obviously gets little screen time, as we’ve seen it a million times in the first. I will say this much, that was a smart move. If I had to sit through it now that we know the story it tells, I’d be bored to tears.
The eerieness of the first movie is gone. And instead it has been replaced by a constant and consistant close-up shot of every player in the film. I am serious. The only wide shots are on the country road with the deer. Oh, did I say that? Yeah, it’s a bit of a spoiler, but there are deer present. Lots of deer, and it plays out very well. Probably the most unsettling scene in the movie. And it is rendered beautifully. If there is a highlight to the movie, that is it.
Aidan now carries a digital camera with him almost all the time. I think it’s nice the kid has a hobby. Makes him less “the creepy kid”…which he still is by the way. I cannot figure that one out. He still calls Rachel “Rachel” instead of mom, but we find that it works out for the best…were you set up for that? Most definately a tool used to distinguish our hero from the forces of evil later. I am not giving away anything, if you haven’t seen it yet.
The music is properly menacing, but lost among the tight shots and closeups. I swear I was waiting for a camera that pulled away from someone’s nostril to reveal something scary. (It never happens, but that was my fear.) So again, the music is well done, and probably would be another highlight if this film had more of them. Famed Hans Zimmer did the score and music for the film and it is done rather brilliantly, but I was simply too distracted to enjoy it much. His use of long violins is respectable, and it really carries along nicely.
There are people in the film that are singled out (the twins, the dude in makeup) later on for no apparent reason whatsoever. I found it jarring and irritating.
I will say this, there are some chilling moments present. The deer notwithstanding, there are some nice scenes like that bathroom scene, the sustained shots of the twisted face of agony from death, and the spider-climb from the contortionist play out very well.
The storytelling really is good. However, overall I found myself obsessing about the closeups and waiting for the next big scare that would jar me out of my seat. People, that is not horror, it’s a fun house. Everyone will jump in their seat when you do that. Horror should be terrifying and leave me wanting to look around corners as I leave. And I watched this at 2am! As I left I was more concerned with if my car would warm up before I got home.
Some of the more masterful work is done late in the film, as Rachel simply gets tired of Samara and takes her on directly. You will see what I mean if you watch it. The washed out black and white has a very good effect on the way it plays out. But it got a little fantastic at that point, so I wasn’t sure what to think about it.
I understand the use of the closeups. Please don’t think I am badmouthing Hideo Nakata, he used them (I feel) to ensure a feeling of enclosure and entrapment, which is what Samara felt. But it was damned aggrivating to get a scare every single time.
The inconsistancy from the first is a bit annoying. For instance Samara is taller and bigger (I assume the actress grew?) and the well is not as deep as before. But honestly, the only reason I noticed is due to a lack of immersion.
Overall, if you like boo flicks, you’ll dig Ring 2. For my money, I’ll go see something else. I want abject terror, not what I’ve been getting lately. There is simply enough of the this kind of film to think all that much of it.
SPFX - 9/10
Direction - 8/10
Acting - 7/10
Cinematography - 5/10
Overall - 7/10