Scary movies are not really my cup of tea but I am willing to make exceptions if through of word of mouth they say it's great. So I have seen "The Ring 1 & II" (original version) and I actually quite enjoyed them. For a few nights I was actually careful on coming close to our telly in the dark thinking Sadako would come out there! I didnt have the chance to watch the Hollywood versions so I cant really comment.

As for "The Ring" series, the scariest so far is "Ring 0", the premise here is how it all started and boy it was really great fun watching it, we were watching with a male friend and we were all shrieking like crazy. Have you seen it yet Rich?

This Ring Two is a absolute, total and undeniable pile of SHIT! OMG, the worst movie I've ever been at in cinema. I just walked out of the theater after the first half oh the movie. Couldn't take it any more. I'm not THAT greedy.

0/10

i can understand those that say scary movies arent their cup of tea.... it perfectly logical and i completely respect that view.

however, i cant think of any single genre other that horror that i feel offers so much visceral or psychological thrill, so much visual opportunity, or that has (potentially, though not always obviously) so much "brain" too it.

always willing to be proven wrong though...!

Hi Logboy, thanks for your understanding. *winks* Like I said, I dont mind watching the odd one or two, its just that I dont go out of my way to wait for a scary movie to come out. When I was younger I liked "Nightmare on Elm Street" but didnt bother watching the subsequent sequels, I also liked "Friday the 13th" and watched it with the family but realised later on that Jason just keeps coming back, will there be no end to this? *laughs*

My genré of films is mixed - science fiction, spy espionage with a lot of twists, straight drama and occasionally, rom-coms.

I did appreciate "The Ring" series because it doesnt give you so much of the gore, no bodies mutilated or have been subject to really graphic killing.

I have not seen any of Nakata's work (just haven't had the time and it's hard to find in whitebread American where I live).

That said, I thought that the U.S. RING was a truly scary and psychologically engrossing. There were SO many questions that could have made for an excellent film. The fact that the Dr. said that Samara was adopted yet Mr. Morgan's possession of a birth certificate and the comment about his wife "was not supposed to have children" really made me wonder about how Samara was conceived/born. Granted, I realize that in some states when a child is adopted the birth certificate is changed, but still, there was potential just in what Morgan said. Did they do something awful in order to get Samara, like kill her mother or dabble in the occult? Like I said, lots of potential after THE RING.

THE RING 2 builds on NONE of that.

I don't want to spoil it (not that there's anything to spoil) but let's just say that Kiru Biru's comment above is right on the money. I'll go on record as saying that it is one of worst and most disappointing sequels I have ever seen. This from the guy that was able to find something of worth in ALIEN 3 and AvP.

hey diaz : if you have the internet (which you have it seems...!) order the ring discs online...

simone : i like a lot of other stuff besides horror too... but i have no problem with violence and gore, i also love gentle dramas and innocent thoughtful stuff too...

I very seldom watch violent movies, especially in horror films. I just cant stand it. Although my favorite film for all time "The Godfather" is one violent film! HAH! Talk about double principles! LOL

The last scary film I also enjoyed was the "Blair Witch Project". I like implied suspense in films. "The Others" was also a good film and some of the films that M. Night Shyamalan has made.

i think it makes me sound very masculine to say i like or can cope with violence in movies... anyway, good choices of films, and i would point out that japanese horror veers more towards things like "blair witch" more than it goes for violence, which itself appears in films of other genres more than horror over there it seems...

thing is, what i look into on DVD differs from most of what represents my taste : i use dvd as a chance to do just that... see something different. i prefer comedy to anything else, but i dont find it rewatchable for the most part (except "black adder" and "porridge" for example)...

Hey logboy, if I didn't know better I'd think you were me! Exact same tastes, although I mix in some Korean films as well.

Definitely agree though, Japanese Horror (I will not use that term J-Horror or J-Film), and Korean for that matter, rely heavily on suspense and wing action for want of a better term. By that I mean you'll see something happen almost off screen and if you get it, you get it, if you don't well then you've not been watching well enough.

They slowly build on feelings, rely on unusual camera angles and movements, tricks to fool your brain into thinking something is wrong about what your watching.

Perfect movie package. Again logboy has it right, Horror is the genre that affects the senses most, then perhaps thriller, then it's a mixed bag from there.

Some friends of mine saw it this weekend and told me that it sucks. After watching the trailer, I didn't have high hopes for this one. The first one was great but I knew that this one couldn't live up to it.

i was recently watching kindergarden cop and realized that the ring 2 could have possiably been filmed at the same house used in that movie check that out i could be wrong

"Ring 2" has a lot "Dark Water" in it. Only done really bad. It all sucked for me except some 30 minutes in the middle. I really think Hollywood should stop making japanese horror remakes. And Japanese directors are also helping in destroying the whole japan ghost formula. Has anyone seen the american version of Shimizu´s Ju on? I myself feel tired of the whole thing. And believe me, I really used to love the genre. Now Walter Salles is remaking "Dark Water" and Tom Cruise bought the rights to the Pang´s "The eye". Not Japanese but asian anyhow. I cant bear this, really. Its just too much.

ZOMBIE REMAKES ALSO SUCK!!

Well, mostly.

UBU, ages ago we listed a load of remakes that Hollywood had lined up, and they have a load of Japanese and Korean movies in line. There's even have a company set up just to pull movies across to Hollywood for remakes!

I think it's just Hollywood + remakes. They are so commercial profit focused that they are too scared to take chances on anything that's outwith the commercially acceptable guaranteed profit makers.

hmmm. ive watched a few korean films... chan wook parks stuff, 'spider forest', 'memories of murder', 'taegukgi', and so on... i prefer the more subtle horror for the most part, and highly recommend the R1 disc of kiyoshi kurosawas 'cure' as a good example of devastating horror. little gore, massively psychologically disturbing...

in the end, i am glad nakata got the recognition to get a job in america, but with john woos USA stuff mostly being poor, it looks like conspiracy theories are abound to distroy what is a much better industry that the USA has been since the 1970s...

i am glad takashi miike has so far stayed at home.

Logboy says, "I think it makes me sound very masculine to say i like or can cope with violence in movies..." Very masculine indeed! *winks* Most women tend to be more squeamish I guess.

"Little gore, massively psychologically disturbing..." I dont mind some of this, on controlled dosages.

Attn : Bill Mechanic "Pandemonium Films"

Source : fan discussion and webmaster fact finding on the source of The Ring Mythology.
http://www.theringworld.com/

Working Title
The Ring III : The Ring Virus Trilogy

The movie will consist of Japanese and English dialogue with corresponding subtitles of English or Japanese.

Character Sketches

Chizuko Mifune ~ Obtained her powers through deep breathing meditations and obscure text books on the practice of Shugendo. Performs a public demonstration of her psychic powers on September 15th, 1910, branded a fake and ingested poison at the age of 25. Cursed and unable to be reborn because of her bitterness of those who refused to believe she had real powers. Vows from the other world to project her "Nensha" powers through television, recordings, and even email and the internet. Her goal is to get gifted people to recognize and accept their powers and ignore the comments and hate of others or they must kill themselves. Her power is that of the chain-letter style email with a cursed virus in it. Suggested actress
: Nakama Yukie ~ who played Sadako in one of the Ring films, now older, perfect for the part. Ties into original series.

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Tomokichi Fukurai ~ His secret hobby is the study of metaphysics and he makes Chizuko his test subject.

Ikuko Nagao ~ Prof. Fukurai also took her as a test subject. Her power was Nensha and she was also branded a fraud. She willed herself to die with a raging fever. She joins Chizuko in the propagation of the curse.

Sadako Takahashi -- Her husband (Yamamura) taught her the techniques of mountain mystic ninpo. He is a decendant of En No Ozunu, the archetypal magician of Japan and founder of Shugendo.

Sadako, Chizuko, and Ikuko are like the mythical Fates, or ghosts in the machine (in this case the internet).

In 2005-2006 only Sadako and her husband are reborn and mature into adults by this time.

Plot Outline

Chizuko's spirit is trapped in the internet. The poison she drank is like a computer virus. She threw herself into a volcano like so many kids did during the popular fad suicides in Japan. She sends a spam mail to gifted people who must accept their powers or kill themselves.

Sadako is reborn as a Japanese pop idol and actress but has not yet accepted her powers though her acting and singing is very spiritual including her lyrics.

Sadako's Husband is reborn as an American, the grandson of the pilot who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. A trained military killer who has never killed anyone. He retires from the military and is suddenly driven to learn Japanese by the urging of the Ring Fates.

Revision 1:
He received the spam chain letter but reborn Sadako does not.

He spends the entire movie trying to find her in Tokyo and convince everyone he is not a stalker. He has 7 days to meet with her and reveal her powers or he will be compelled to kill himself by throwing himself into a volcano by the spirits of the ring fates.

He first goes to the mountain town, Birthplace of Sadako's husband and learns of his Shugendo and ninja past. He learns that his past life's mother tried to retrieve a statue of En No Ozunu in the sea and that is how she received her powers, by holding her breath and almost passing out retreiving the statue. Near death experience.

Ending 1:
Sadako recognizes his truth and saves him before he drops into the fire.

Ending 2:

They fall into the fire together but rise up having overcome the limitations of the flesh though awakening psychic powers.

Ending 0 :

The movie is set where he meets Sadako in Japan and they go to the place of Chizuko's death to release her spirit. The movie ends with Chizuko and Ikuko Nagao's souls are reborn as their child.

The Menace :
Perhaps the Yamamura family does not want this American to learn of their powers and they try to kill him and all of his visiting friends in Japan. Sadako's bodygaurds as she is famous also try to cause trouble for him. But he is actually helped by the Ring fates and not cursed by them though he thinks he is cursed.

I thought the Ring 2 blew the first one away (American Versions). The second one didn't spend time showing the same old stuff...people watching the tape. It carried on the story and developed one of the eeriest horror characters much further. Had they just rehashed the first film (like the 30 sequals we get with most horror films)it would've been a major disappointment for me personally. That said it is a differnt style movie; maybe it shouldn't be labeled just a horror film. The visuals were outstanding, most of the acting was top notch, and the extras on the DVD all make it worth while. I have read many comments that there is nothing original about this movie and it irritates me a bit. I point out for those who've seen it to remember the deer and the bathtub scene. Those were both outstanding and deserve many points for originality. The final thing that stood out for me was I got a real sense of Samara's power. That sounds weird I guess. But I can't think of any other way to put it.