The Ring 2

Ich habe damit gerechnet, dass ich enttäuscht sein werde. Ich habe aber nicht damit gerechnet, dass ich keine Lust haben werde, eine Rezension zu schreiben. Am Anfang sieht der Film noch vielversprechend aus. Dann kommen aber klischeehafte und unsinnige Szenen. Das Vertrauen des Zuschauers verschwindet und im Finale ist ihm alles egal. Eine komplett andere Kurve als bei dem ersten Film. Das Drehbuch ist nur ein verlängerter Brei, der um jeden Preis versucht, in dem vorigen Thema etwas zu finden, was er aufgreifen könnte. Die Figur von Samara hat keinen Wert mehr, die Angst funktioniert zu 30 % (in dem ersten Teil waren es 90 %). Der Regisseur verlässt sich zu sehr auf digitale Effekte, die er sich bisher nicht leisten konnte und die leider völlig selbstzweckmäßig sind. Die einzigen positiven Aspekte: das anfängliche "supernatural feeling" mit dem Höhepunkt in der tollen Szene mit den Hirschen, die dezente Kamera, das ausgezeichnete Hauptmotiv von Hans Zimmer und die immer noch schöne Naomi Watts. (12.04.2005)

Technically brilliantly filmed, unatmospheric boredom. The main problem is that it completely lacks the atmosphere of part one. This is mainly due to the incredibly dumb screenplay that is all sixes and sevens, absolutely ignoring the rules laid down last time round. Here “fear" is invoked by randomly located, cheap, non-functional frights. The actors have nothing at all to act, so they are stylized into one common expression, and that unfortunately includes Naomi. It is painfully obvious in her performance that if she weren’t bound by contract, she wouldn’t have played in it, given the choice. Only two scenes of the entire two hours of running time are worthy of mention. One for its incredible dumbness (the scene at the university) and one coolly made scene with the bath and the water on the ceiling. I think that Nakata wanted to put an end to remakes of Asian pictures and so he sacrificed himself, putting his reputation on the line and filmed this pile of codswallop to end up on the shelves at the very back of the video rental stores: I see no other logical explanation... (04.05.2005)

Same cassette, same Rachel and Aidan, same gloomy "neither night nor day" atmosphere, same musical background. And Nakata didn't manage it the same way. The plot itself is already absurd, and from the trailer, it is more or less clear that the film has to fall apart at some point, which eventually happens with the unnecessary detour to Samara's mother. However, it is precisely the connection to the visual style of the first film that gives a sense of a cohesive story. Moreover, when I remember the deer or the fateful well, it immediately gives me goosebumps and convinces me that the second Ring is definitely not the disaster it promised to be. However, I wouldn't venture into further experiments because the aura of the first film could develop a dangerous crack. (08.07.2006)

Solidly shot wholes/half-parts clash with utterly incompetently shot details in this aesthetically very uneven work. But the camera impotence and the inability to captivate are nothing compared to the stupidity of the script, which has more logical errors than holes in Swiss cheese. And even the idea itself – if it can be called that at all – is rather laughable. (09.12.2005)

A typical sequel. The screenwriters apparently decided to give the first part a good beating, they wanted everything to be even more gripping, shocking and scary, but somehow it didn’t go beyond the effort. The Ring 2 doesn't have nearly the atmosphere of fear that Verbinski's film could boast, all the scares are forced and unsuccessful, the director serves one cliché after another, ultimately drowning the great performances and plot potential. The story digs its own grave from the beginning, sinking deeper and deeper into it, despite the great effort to scare the viewer and keep a true horror face. A big pompous sequel trying to capitalize on the success of the excellent first one, which, while watchable, is still best avoided. (11.03.2012)

"Ring 2" marked the beginning of the decline in interest in Japanese horror. It was a gradual decline because even today there are still people who seek out Japanese supernatural stories, but the interest is no longer as huge. It's logical. Hideo Nakata is just repeating himself in the film "Ring 2" and trying to come up with an interesting ending, but he gets lost in the whole sense of the story. And the worst part is that the only scene that is frightening is the one with the deer. (04.11.2014)