Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Ringu 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 25, 2019

Note: This film is available as part of Ringu Collection.

J-Horror.

What do you think of when someone mentions this “national” genre? If you’re like any number of fans, and as both commentator David Kalat and even the back cover verbiage of Ringu mention, the Ring* series will no doubt be at the top of the list. Interestingly, the back cover states that the original Ring film “launched the J-horror boom in the West”, though Kalat takes at least some issue with that assertion in his appealing analysis of the film. Kind of interestingly (and maybe just a bit peculiarly) given this series' outsized reputation, none of the Ring films has evidently been released on Blu-ray for the domestic American market before this, but Arrow, long the curator of niche items for some devoted collectors, has once again come to the rescue with both a standalone release of Ring, as well as a boxed set including four films.

*Kalat makes a cogent case that the coinage Ringu is due to the transliteration of Japanese orthography, and that the film's director himself told Kalat the name of the original film was Ring, so references to that film in particular and the series in general will use that version of the title. That said, the discs in this set sport the Ringu versions of the titles, and so links to films and/or reviews will show that version. Similarly, Spiral is listed with that title on its disc (as opposed to Rasen), so that title will also be used. Confused yet?

When is a sequel not a sequel? Or perhaps more accurately in this particular case, when is a sequel also a sequel? That perhaps confounding set of questions comes into play when looking back on what turned out to be a rather odd marketing decision on the part of Toho, which decided that Ring , having had some success as a novel and wide viewership as a made for television movie (a version some fans of the original source novel state is the most faithful to the source novel), might provide grist for the mill of more than one feature film. Rather weirdly, both Ringu and Spiral were shot more or less simultaneously, albeit with somewhat different casts and crews, with the obvious hope that those flocking to Ring would want to immediately experience Spiral to see “what happened next”. “What happened next” is that Ring became an almost instant sensation in Japan while Spiral floundered, never really finding an audience. The fact that Spiral had been written and directed by Jôji Iida, rather than Ring’s team of scribe Hiroshi Takahashi and director Hideo Nakata probably led to some second guessing, which in turn led to Ring 2, which in fact reteamed Takahashi and Nakata to give their version of “what happened next”. “This” sequel did substantially better at the box office than Spiral managed to, but fans of the first Ring film may still feel let down by a follow up that eschews at least some of what made the first film so memorable, in favor of more standard genre shocks.

In a couple of reviews of Marvel fare that I’ve written over the past couple of years, I’ve mentioned how the use of “alternate timelines” tends to suck some of the energy out of supposed “epochal” events like the deaths of major characters, since any viewer worth his or her salt is going to realize that the “next” alternate timeline a franchise offers may well “resurrect” that character as if nothing untoward had ever happened. There’s something at least a little similar at play when comparing Ring 2 to Rasen, but it may be best to divorce the two putative “sequels” and simply accept each film on its own merits (and/or demerits, depending upon how you personally feel).

As I mentioned in the Ringu Blu-ray review, it’s arguable that that film tries to stuff too many subplots into its tale of a desperate journalist and mother attempting to stave off the curse of a “killer video” that has afflicted both her and, perhaps more importantly, her son. That same proclivity toward darting hither and yon is one of the major stumbling blocks in Ring 2, with a story that tries to push that child from the first film, Yōichi Asakawa (Rikiya Ōtaka), into a more central position, with what was hinted at in the first film as his burgeoning psychic powers becoming more prevalent. Kind of oddly, however, the film keeps Yōichi’s parents, Reiko (Nanako Matsushima) and Ryūji (Hiroyuki Sanada), largely on the sidelines for reasons which won’t be spoiled here. The result may well be a diminution of the emotional tether that informed the first film, since this film’s “crusading journalist” (so to speak), Mai Takano (Miki Nakatani), is at best a surrogate parent.

This film kind of goes off the deep end (in more ways than one) in its depictions of so-called "paranormal research", as Yōichi's powers manage to "imprint" videotapes in much the same way Sadako's "energies" were able to in the first film. It's all kind of patently silly, especially in a climax that sees two characters adorned with numerous "sensors" that are supposedly linking their psyches, something that harkens back to (American) B-movies of yesteryear. Even one of the film's depictions of Sadako may provoke outright laughter in some viewers (an early scene featuring her hair appearing under a morgue sheet may also cause unexpected guffaws in some). The film does have some jolts, but they're often on the cheap side (including that aforementioned peek at Sadako).

Ringu 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ring 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. While Ringu was granted a complete restoration replete with a new 4K scan of its original 35mm negative, it appears from the verbiage inside the pamphlet sized booklet included in this set that none of the other three films in this release were accorded the same treatment. In fact, all three are lumped together with the following brief explanatory verbiage:

Spiral, Ringu 2 and Ringu 0 are presented in their original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 and 2.0 stereo sound. The High Definition masters were provided by Kadokawa Corporation.

While this transfer doesn't boast the same generally excellent detail levels of Ringu, it still looks manifestly better than the old DVD release. This is another film where the palette is seemingly intentionally tamped down, and so offers little in the way of traditional "pop". In decent lighting conditions, though, fine detail is nicely precise looking a lot of the time, especially with regard to things like fabric textures. There's a kind of blackish/grayish undertone to much of the imagery here, along with a somewhat gritty looking grain field. Some interior scenes have a somewhat brownish tone, including but not limited to fleshtones. Midrange shots can occasionally be slightly soft looking. I noticed no problematic compression anomalies.

Ringu 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ring 2's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix offers some substantial surround activity in some of the film's more hyperbolic moments, as in the big climax where a nearby swimming pool offers a portal of sorts to another body of water (again, I'm attempting to stay away from outright spoilers). Some of the urban locations also allow for good placement of ambient environmental effects. Occasional startle effects are delivered with sufficient energy. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track.

Ringu 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Ring 2 and Spiral share a disc, so supplementary material may relate to one or both films.

• The Psychology of Fear (720p; 25:11) is an interesting archival interview with original Ring author Koji Suzuki. Arrow advertises this as "newly edited". In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Ring 2 UK Trailer (1080p; 00:43)


• Ring 2 / Shikoku Double Bill Trailer (1080p; 1:28)


• Ring / Spiral Double Bill Trailer (1080p; 1:11)

Ringu 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ring 2, kind of like Spiral in fact, simply can't recapture the weird, hypnotic "magic" (?) of the original Ring film. Both of these purported sequels are rather interesting in their own way(s), and they make for a really bizarre double feature. Video is a little lackluster here, but never really problematic, while audio is fine, for those considering a purchase.