"Borrowing liberally from the Exorcist and Omen movies, and with little regard for credibility, The Ring Two has a familiar ring to it." Lou Lumenick NEW YORK POST "After seeing The Pacifier, I didn't think any movie this year could scare me as much. However, The Ring Two is much better and much scarier than the first." Willie Waffle WAFFLEMOVIES.COM "Get through the first hour and a half and then wait to be creepily enthralled. It's a nice climactic scene and Watts delivers a line that would make Schwarzenegger proud." John Venable SUPERCALA.COM "Watts is wonderful, and the story's forsaken-child theme still has plenty of horrific power." David Sterritt CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR "As in the first movie, there's a lot to the plot that doesn't make sense if analyzed closely, and, as in the first, the end is particularly implausible. But overall, the second Ring is more entertaining." Claudia Puig USA TODAY

"Forgets the mood and atmosphere from the original and tries to replace them with cheap thrills and manufactured manipulation." Jimmy O FILM SNOBS "Hullo. What did I say? Put the "Ring" story in the hands of Hollywood, get a decent cast, find a new director and they'd have one hell of a film. And they did! So what happens? They throw the bathwater, baby, the bath and everything else out the window and hey presto, I'm getting the disconnect tone. First time viewers will get their monies worth, but fans of the original will be wanting to leap into the well with Samara and pull the lid shut. Bloody awful. Don't Ring 3 me." Marty King THE MOVIE PAGES "a worthy sequel to one of the best American horror movies ever made" David Levine FILMCRITIC.COM "Under difficult circumstances, the actors admirably keep straight faces." Donald J Levit REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS "It’s creepy for sure… but it’s a dead ringer for every Hollywood horror sequel ever created" David Foucher EDGE BOSTON

The Inside Story

"Almost delivers." Tom Long DETROIT NEWS

Most cinemagoers are well aware that when it comes to sequels there is one glaring, golden rule. For those who are uninitiated that golden rule is, 'don't expect a smash hit to be followed by a smash hit sequel'. It's a trap for young players and one that catches many movie fans out time and again. Sure there's been a handfull of great sequals which have done well. The best examples of late are "Meet The Family" which was followed by the highly succesful "Meet The Fockers", "Men in Black I & II" and the Jackie Chan movies, "Rush Hour I & II", but in the main sequels generally let moviegoers down. Some even let down those who haven't seen the original because of that very fact. If you haven't seen the original, you haven't got the big picture and you don't have a starting point. Fortunately on the latter point the sequel to the smash hit "The Ring" delivers. You soon get an idea of whats going on. There is a video tape doing the rounds which shows a creepy, evil incarnation of a dead girl climbing out of a well. Those who view this videotape then hear the phone ring and after answering are dead within seven days unless they get someone else to view it, in which case that person then drops dead if they don't know. The good news is that you must have a VCR and a telephone, if you only have a DVD and a mobile, the creepy Samara will miss you and death will pass you by because Samara is not up to speed on the latest technology. Just kidding folks. As you and I know, everyone has a VCR, don't they? Yeh, right! So what can you expecy from this sequel, imaginatively and creatively entitled, "The Ring 2"? Basically more of the same but in a different location. Oh yes, expect to see a lot of water, strange unexplained behaviour from a herd of possessed Deer, more water, a suicide, a creepy death, Samara coming out of the plughole in the bath, more water and an ending that many will hope puts the lid on "The Ring" once and for all. Look, that is not to say it's all bad for those who have seen the original. It still has some very scary moments, good SPFX and both Naoimi Watts and the youngster who plays her onscreen son David Dorfman give credible dramatic performances. For those who haven not seen "The Ring", the important thing to remember is that this is not a slasher movie. "The Ring 2" is a dramatic psycholgical thriller. There's no Freddie or Jason lurking in the shadows in this remake of the Japanese classics "Ringu" and Ringu 2" which swept the world and garnered a cult following. "In recent years, horror has become the domain of slasher movies, but there was a time when horror was really mainstream in Hollywood, when some of the best directors, writers and actors contributed to the genre through movies like "The Exorcist", "The Omen" and "Rosemary’s Baby", says Producer Walter F Parkes [who while co-head of DreamWorks Pictures, oversaw the highly successful "Collateral", "American Beauty" and "Saving Private Ryan"]. "Our intention with "The Ring" was to try to elevate the genre again. Okay, so fade out, the movie is a bigger hit than even we expected it to be, which gave us the opportunity to continue the myth, to tell the next story. Our main goal with the sequel was to give it the legitimacy that the first movie had." The only way to maintain that 'legitimacy' is obviously to bring back as many of those who contributed to the original, something that is not always possible. In this case Parkes managed to bring together scriptwriter Ehren Kruger and the three Executive Producers Mike Macari ["The Ring"], Roy Lee ["The Grudge" & "Dark Water"] and Michele Weisler ["Saints and Sinners" & "Stirs Of Echoes"]. But for it all to work Parkes needed the two who had successfully played the original main characters. "I don’t think we could have had the first "Ring" without Naomi, and we certainly couldn’t have done the second one," Parkes attests. "After more than two years, she picked up the new script and she was immediately this character, this kind of slightly haunted, at times aggressive, vulnerable and yet strong person, who is Rachel. It’s something to see." Like cenemgoers, Naomi Watts is the first to admit that making a sequel is a scary prospect. "A sequel is a scary thing to enter into because of the comparisons to the first one, which did so well and really resonated within the genre, " she notes. "We want it to deliver and give the audience what they’re looking for, but you don’t want to repeat the same story. The upside is that you get to carry on with a role that you loved playing the first time around and explore the evolution of the character. So there are a lot of reasons why it’s challenging and also quite fun, I think." Unfortunately for the Producers, the man who helmed "The Ring", Gore Verbinski wasn't available for the sequel So if you're wondering how the director of "Ringu" and Ringu 2" came on board, hears the goss. It was on Verbinski recommendation. But getting Hideo Nakata on board wasn't a simple move. "It was a little bit of kismet," says Producer Laurie MacDonald. "When Gore was unavailable, we asked him who he thought should direct this film and he suggested Hideo. We all thought it was a great idea, but Hideo was attached to another movie and was also unavailable. We initially went with an extremely talented first-time director, but things ultimately did not work out. Then Hideo’s other movie did not come together and he suddenly became available, so I believe it was meant to be somehow." Watts said it made sense to bring Nakata on board. "Hideo is an incredible director of the genre, she explainded. "I had seen ‘Ringu’ as well as his film ‘Dark Water,’ so I had a huge amount of faith in him already. He understands the visual side of storytelling and knows about pacing; he knows how and when to reveal things and when it’s better to take your time revealing them. When Hideo came onto the project, it made perfect sense. Like it came full circle." Of course the worry is that "The Ring" theme may have come a full circle with this sequel. It will all come down to how much it grosses at the boxoffice. Finally, look out for Academy Award ® winning actress Sissy Spacek who appears as Evelyn, Samara's mother. While it's not a big role, it's one Spacek does with style. Strange But True! There were some bizarre happenings off-camera as well. Throughout production on “The Ring Two,” a sequence of unsettling occurrences repeatedly affected the production. The strange events began May 20, 2004, coincidentally the "seventh day" of production.
1) Early in the morning, the office staff arrived to discover that the production office had been flooded overnight. Though the reason turned out to be a burst water pipe in the wall, for some the pooling of water, so closely tied to a major theme of the movie was an omen of possible things to come. In an effort to forestall any future problems, director Hideo Nakata requested that a Japanese purification ceremony, conducted by Shinto Minister Reverend Igawa, be conducted at both the production office where the flooding occurred, as well as on set. Although the production was now officially blessed, nevertheless a string of strange coincidences continued.
2) While on location, a swarm of thousands of bees suddenly descended on the prop truck, prompting the immediate evacuation of the prop department, before the bees left just as quickly as they arrived.
3) For no apparent reason, a five gallon water jug burst open in the production office kitchen, once again flooding the room that had flooded only weeks earlier.
4) One morning at the lot at Universal Studios, a set costumer stepped out of the parking garage to discover an antlered buck charging across the asphalt in her direction. Though it’s a regular occurrence for deer to descend onto the lot from the surrounding hills, the similarity to the deer attack in the film was uncanny.
These incidents sparked many in the cast and crew to speculate that somehow Samara was making her presence known. Crew Bytes "THE RING 2" was .......
directed by Hideo Nakata ["Ringu", "Ringu 2", "Chaos" and "Dark Water"]; screenplay by Ehren Kruger ["Reindeer Games", "Scream 3", "Arlington Road" and "The Ring"]; original story by Kôji Suzuki; costume design by Australian Film Institute Award winner Wendy Chuck ["The Piano", "Country Life", "About Schmidt", "Bad Santa" and "Sideways"]; production design by James D Bissell ["E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial", "The 6th Day", "Jumanji", "Hollywood Homicide" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"]; set decoration by Lauri Gaffin ["Fargo", "House On Haunted Hill", "Charlie's Angels" and "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle"]; edited by Michael N Knue ["A Nightmare on Elm Street 4", "The Hidden", "Highlander: Endgame" and "Rocky V"]; director of photography Gabriel Beristain ["The Good Father", "Blade: Trinity", "Blade II" and "S.W.A.T"]; original music by Academy ®, Golden Globe, Tony and Grammy Award winner Hans Zimmer ["The Lion King", "Gladiator", "Pearl Harbor" and "The Last Samurai"] produced by Laurie MacDonald ["Men in Black", "Men in Black II", "The Mask of Zorro", "The Terminal" and "Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events"] and Walter F Parkes ["Minority Report", "Catch Me If You Can", "The Mask of Zorro" and "Road to Perdition"]. Casting About "THE RING 2" stars .......
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actress Award winner Naomi Watts ["Mulholland Drive", "Le Divorce", "The Ring", "Ned Kelly" and "21 Grams"]; Simon Baker ["The Affair of the Necklace", "Book of Love", "L A Confidential", "Ride With the Devil" and TV's "The Guardian"]; David Dorfman ["The Singing Detective", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Bounce" and "Panic"]; Elizabeth Perkins ["About Last Night…", "Big", "Avalon", "Moonlight and Valentino" and "Crazy in Alabama"]; Gary Cole ["Office Space", "Brady Bunch", "Dodgeball" and "One Hour Photo"]; Academy Award ® winnner, THREE time Golden Globe winner & five times Oscar ® nominee Sissy Spacek ["Badlands", "Carrie", "Coal Miner’s Daughter", "Missing", "The River" and "In The Bedroom"]; Ryan Merriman ["The Deep End of the Ocean", "Halloween: Resurrection" and "Spin"]; Emily VanCamp ["The House on Turk Street", "Lost & Delirious" and "A Different Loyalty"]; James Lesure ["Crimson Tide", "Show and Prove" and "Giving It Up"]; Daveigh Chase ["Donnie Darko", "Artificial Intelligence: AI", "The Ring", "Carolina" and "Stitch! The Movie"] and Kelly Stables ["Pride & Prejudice", "Bring It On Again", "The Haunted Mansion" and "Telling Lies"] as the evil Samara. What It's All About

"The Ring Two is subtler and slower-moving than the brand of horror to which we are accustomed, but it is nightmarish, in the true sense of the word." ....... David Hiltbrand PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Six months have passed since Rachel Keller last encountered the entity, Samara. Rachel and her son Aidan have moved to the town of Astoria where she now works for the "Astoria Gazette". Life in Astoria is pretty uneventful and Rachel is slowly settling back into the routine of a normal existence. Then a report comes in of a teenage homicide. Rachel immediately notices some aspects are familiar. By the time she reaches the crime scene, the body has been bagged up and is being removed to an ambulance. Sneeking unnoticed into the vehicle, Rachel unzips the body bag and recoils in horror at the twisted expression on the victims face. He has obviously seen the videotape. Recovering the video tape she destroys it. It's not enough. Unusual things begin to happen. Aidens nightmares get worse and his temperature plunges as he begins to suffer the effects of hypothermia. Samara is back and she wants to take over Aidens body. Desperate to save her son, Rachel decides to track down Samara's family history. She returns to Seattle where she uncovers a vital clue. The Verdict "If you haven't seen the original "The Ring" then you will find the sequal "The Ring 2" moderately entertaining and easyily pickup on the storyline. However, if you've already seen the original, don't go along expecting it to be nearly as frightening or quite as entertaining. There are still some scary moments, great special effects and quite a tale to tell. Fact is, even though it's not as good as it's predecessor, if you've seen the original you just have to see "The Ring 2". Worth a look at!" The Cast

Naomi Watts Simon Baker David Dorfman Elizabeth Perkins Gary Cole Sissy Spacek Ryan Merriman Emily VanCamp Kelly Overton James Lesure Daveigh Chase Kelly Stables Cooper Thornton Marilyn McIntyre Jesse Burch Michael Chieffo Steven Petrarca Michael Dempsey Kirk B R Woller Jeffrey Hutchinson Chane't Johnson Mary Joy

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Rachel Keller Max Rourke Aidan Keller Dr Emma Temple Martin Savide Evelyn Jake Emily Betsy Doctor Samara Evil Samara Father of Emily Mother of Emily Male Reporter Printing Staff Young Detective Desk Sergeant Detective Coroner Attendant Adoption Counselor Sister Elizabeth

The Crew Directed by Hideo Nakata Adapted from the novel "Ringu" by Kôji Suzuki Theme source the 1998 film Ringu directed by Hiroshi Takahashi Screenplay written by Ehren Kruger Produced by Laurie MacDonald and Walter F Parkes Original Music by Henning Lohner/Martin Tillman/Hans Zimmer Cinematography by Gabriel Beristain Film Editing by Michael N Knue Casting by Deborah Aquila/Danny Stoltz/Mary Tricia Wood Production Design by James D Bissell Art Direction by Christa Munro Set Decoration by Lauri Gaffin Costume Design by Wendy Chuck Run Time 109 minutes Rated M 15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - DreamWorks Distribution LLC - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved