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Ring
2
(1999) |
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Ring signalled to the world the emergence in world cinema of a genre of intelligent, chilling and serious horror movies in Japan: the movie treats fear seriously, and studiously avoids the clichéd lampooning of horror film techniques, as in pseudo-horror movies such as Scream and (the even more tongue-in-cheek) Scary Movie. In the process, it emerged as the best horror movie of 1998, containing some truly chilling sequences (including the haunting short film that lies at the heart of the movie).
The eagerly Ring 2 traverses the same murky world of technological horror and supernatural forces occupied by Ring, taking for granted that viewers will already have seen its classic predecessor. And, for once, unlike many disappointing horror film sequels, it delivers. The essential plot follows the same lines as Ring: urban legend suggests that a mysterious videotape is circulating around Tokyo, haunted by the spirit of a girl called Sadako, and whoever watches this videotape dies in a week - unless they pass it on to someone else to view. Mai Takano, one of the key characters from the first Ring, tries to find out the facts behind the death of her ex-boyfriend Ryuji, and in the process learns much more about the world of Sadako and the 'killer' videotape that she haunts. Like Ring, Ring 2 effortlessly blends 'old world' supernatural horror with elements of horror in new technologies and machineries. Videotapes and telephones suddenly become objects of fear. It is in this interface of the old and the new that the film creates some truly unsettling imagery. One such sequence involves a reporter attempting to pause a video-film at a particular moment while a girl is speaking. As the grainy video-image jerks between two frames, the woman's face alters and a eerie, truly frightening image of Sadako appears. It is moments like these that ensure that all those who bought the basic premise of Ring, will not be at all disappointed by the sequel.
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