The Ring Two (2005)

20% of critics liked it
(181 reviews)
54% of users liked it
(379,109 ratings)

A terrifying legacy haunts a single mother in this sequel to the frightening box-office hit The Ring. Hoping to leave their terrifying experiences in Seattle behind them, Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) and her son, Aidan (David Dorfman), move to the small town of Astoria, OR, where Rachel takes a job… More A terrifying legacy haunts a single mother in this sequel to the frightening box-office hit The Ring. Hoping to leave their terrifying experiences in Seattle behind them, Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) and her son, Aidan (David Dorfman), move to the small town of Astoria, OR, where Rachel takes a job writing for the local newspaper. When Rachel learns of an unexplained murder, which occurred after a teenager watched a strange videotape with his girlfriend, she suspects her past is following her and she begins looking into the case. Rachel believes that the otherworldly Samara has come back; however, as she tries to convince others of the young girl's powers, her own son falls ill and is hospitalized, and Rachel's stories fail to convince either Dr. Emma Temple (Elizabeth Perkins), who suspects Rachel is guilty of child abuse, or David Rourke (Simon Baker), one of Rachel's colleagues who fears for Aidan's safety. Also starring Sissy Spacek, The Ring 2 was directed by Hideo Nakata; it was the first English-language project for the Japanese filmmaker, who previously made Ringu, the picture that was the basis for The Ring. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 51 min.
Directed By: Hideo Nakata
Written By: Ehren Kruger
Genres: Drama, Horror

In Theaters: Mar 18, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Aug 23, 2005
Studio: Dreamworks Distribution LLC

Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
It is like an exercise in cinema mechanics: Images, music, photography and mood conspire to create a sense of danger, even though at any given moment we cannot possibly explain the rules under which that danger might manifest itself.
Anthony Lane, New Yorker
A perplexing compound of the silly and the glum.
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
May not be a masterpiece, but it has its share of thoughtful little angles.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Too many loose ends.
Ed Park, Village Voice
The let's-travel-through-the-TV-screen sequence was better in Fat Albert.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
I thought the original had a nice evil chill to it, but this is an unnecessary second chapter that dumbs down all the main characters and is curiously lacking in quality scares.
Joshua Starnes, ComingSoon.net
The Ring Two has a great deal of mood and there are some genuinely chilling moments, but weak characters sap it of all strength.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Scarier than the first, but not as interesting.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
"The Ring Two" is a horror movie with very few surprises and hit-or-miss moments of suspense that don't lead anywhere on a narrative or emotional level.
Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique
Unfortunately, the screenplay by Ehren Kruger is littered with plot holes that reduce the story to a generic thriller formula.
Joseph Proimakis, Movies for the Masses
full review in Greek
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Fracassa ao abandonar o interessante conceito da fita amaldiçoada para se concentrar numa trama boba envolvendo possessão. Ainda assim, é melhor que Ringu 2 - o que não é uma grande proeza.
Kurt Loder, MTV
[It] inevitably lacks the unsettling mystery and the evolving unease of the first one. While there are still startling moments, there are no surprises.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jeff "

Sequel to the superior remake of the Japanese horror flick Ringu (titled The Ring) in North America, this sequel is a painful, unimpressive mess of a horror film. The film was poorly constructed and had no memorable, memorable terrifying jolts that made the first film one of the best… More
Sequel to the superior remake of the Japanese horror flick Ringu (titled The Ring) in North America, this sequel is a painful, unimpressive mess of a horror film. The film was poorly constructed and had no memorable, memorable terrifying jolts that made the first film one of the best remakes in the genre. The Ring Two is a poorly made sequel with a poor plot, bad acting, bad directing and pretty much everything that makes a bad film, bad. The Ring Two was dull, unimpressive garbage that just didn't deliver what the first did, genuine chills. As a horror film, The Ring Two simply doesn't deliver. The script has limitations that prevents the plot to really take off. The acting is terrible with no real performance that stands out. The Ring II was created purely for cashing in on the success of the first, with no apparent thought of trying to create an effective horror film. The end result is a film that fails to tell an effective ghost story, and it ends up being a total mess. As a sequel, The Ring tries to duplicate what the first one did, however the film has nothing interesting to appeal to horror fans. I didn't like the film, and I thought it was an awful film. The Ring Two is yet another sequel that fails to deliver what the first one did, good entertainment. The Ring Two joins many other boring sequels that have failed to deliver the thrills and excitement of the original. As a horror film, this one fails. The plot, directing and acting all are bad; and you'd best avoid this on if you don't want to be disappointed.
Eric A

Not bad in the way it was made, just bad because you get a been-there-done-that feeling.
Brad W

The Ring Two is almost unbearable to watch, it sucked. The storyline was very dull and boring. The cast was exaxtly the same as last time, no big difference. The horrors are cheap redone scares of the first one, nothing new. This movie bored me, and was really stupid.
Alexander D

Some scares, but this one is pointless as a sequel and definitely not as good as the original. The screenwriter should have stuck to scripting an adaptation to the source novel's sequel.
erika b

Ring 1 is better than ring 2
Dean M

There are enough spooky moments to keep you watching this film, but slight, sequel.
Dead A

This was same like before. Not bad.
Tim S

Terrible movie.
Conner R

By far one of the worst horror sequels of all time. This was a terrible attempt at recreating the magic of the first film. The characters were turned into a joke and the story was over analyzed and simplified, coming off as an insult to the viewer. It has some of the most far fetched… More
By far one of the worst horror sequels of all time. This was a terrible attempt at recreating the magic of the first film. The characters were turned into a joke and the story was over analyzed and simplified, coming off as an insult to the viewer. It has some of the most far fetched sequences i've ever seen, including a deer rampage.
Jason O

Apparently, unlike everyone else, I loved this sequel also...they need a Ring Three!
Lewis C

I loved The Ring, so it kills me to have to give The Ring Two such low score. Unfortunately, I have to. It wasn't even slightly scary, the story made little sense, and then they added those ridiculous deer to put the icing on the cake. I like to pretend that The Ring Two never… More
I loved The Ring, so it kills me to have to give The Ring Two such low score. Unfortunately, I have to. It wasn't even slightly scary, the story made little sense, and then they added those ridiculous deer to put the icing on the cake. I like to pretend that The Ring Two never happened.
Arash X

Has its moments, But Could have been better
Brian D

Shit!!!!!!
Luke B

Not a remake of the sequel but a sequel to the remake means this film can examine some fairly original territory. Unfortunately it doesn't. It becomes another investigation and sheds further light but is ultimately pointless. The first film suffered by failing to adapt the story… More
Not a remake of the sequel but a sequel to the remake means this film can examine some fairly original territory. Unfortunately it doesn't. It becomes another investigation and sheds further light but is ultimately pointless. The first film suffered by failing to adapt the story to an American setting, here the director fails to adapt his skills for an American piece. The film has some amazing special effects, extremely real looking Deer and Water are utilised, unfortunately in the most ridiculous of ways. The deer attack is simply confusing, and the floating water is a real head scratcher. The supporting cast are just left to sit around and add nothing, absolutely nothing, to the story. The ending is nicely shot and dealt with in a calm manner which is refreshing for a horror but then it all just sort of fizzles out.
_kelly .

cryptic does not mean interesting; in this case it means plot holes the size of Jupiter. plus the visuals are completely uninspiring.
E.J. B

Suffers from overkill. Samara popping out of somewhere one time is scary. But if she's popping out everywhere, it's predictable.
Dean L

I give it about a .5 as a horror film and a 2.5 as a comedy. I laughed my way through most of this film as it was true tripe. Once again bolloxwood puts out a watered down version of an Asian classic and slaps a PG-13 rating on it so that it can appeal to the largest demographic.… More
I give it about a .5 as a horror film and a 2.5 as a comedy. I laughed my way through most of this film as it was true tripe. Once again bolloxwood puts out a watered down version of an Asian classic and slaps a PG-13 rating on it so that it can appeal to the largest demographic. PUH-LEASE! The most disturbing part of this movie was the fact that it involved a child (that always gets to me), but nothing else. Wait until you see the CGI scene with the deer. True Disney style. The first "Ring" was advertised as "The scariest movie since the exorcist." I took the day off to see that one and walked out afterwards thinking, "That was it?" It had a few moments to it, but c'mon now. This one ("The Ring Two") didn't even have those moments. It gets two stars: One because it made me laugh and two because I like Naomi Watts. By the way...why was this version unrated? It should have been unreleased.
moon r

scary that's what it's supposed to be that's what it is...
Lafe F

Highly disappointing sequel. They discarded the cursed video tape plot, which made the first film so special; and went with a possessed-kid plot instead, which has been done in many other films. They then cluttered the film with unnecessary backstory for evil little Ring girl Samara,… More
Highly disappointing sequel. They discarded the cursed video tape plot, which made the first film so special; and went with a possessed-kid plot instead, which has been done in many other films. They then cluttered the film with unnecessary backstory for evil little Ring girl Samara, as if she didn't have enough from the first film! The mother was faced with a difficult choice to defeat the evil girl. The important deaths weren't even shown onscreen. I felt cheated. I only enjoyed the scene with the army of deer attacking, which was cool CGI.
Leigh R

Pretty good for a sequel.