Return engagement: Samara (Stables) makes an unwelcome return in Ring Two.

Ring Two
Well-dweller returns
Naomi Watts, David Dorfman, Sissy Spacek, Kelly Stables

Rating: 3 ½

The killer videotape, freaky child actors and a decrepit old well all return in this surprisingly good sequel to The Ring.

The terror of the original has all but gone in this second chapter, directed by Hideo Nakata, more so because the audience pretty much knows the nature and methods of the well-dwelling ghost with a chip on her shoulder, Samara (Stables). But that’s not to say there aren’t a few surprises left.

It appears Samara has been busy looking for Rachel Keller Watts) since their last encounter and the audience is transported deeper into the dark recesses of her domain as she tries to occupy the body of Rachel’s son, Aidan Dorfman).

A darker mystery unfolds as we learn that this is not Samara’s first attempt at rising from the dead. Who can blame her? It must get cold down the bottom of that well.

We meet her institutionalised mother (Spacek) and discover that she tried to kill Samara when she was an infant because the “voices” told her to.

This film, which does not attempt to outshine the original, delves deeper into Samara’s curse with the aid of Nakata’s disturbing take on the story, accompanied by a creepily clever soundtrack woven into the dark visuals.

Fans of the genre may appreciate the incorporation of some of the key audio bytes from the original Japanese films into the mix, and a small tribute to the author of the Ring books, Koji Suzuki.

– ABPH Kade Rogers