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Preview by: Jack Foley
IN TERMS of remakes, The Ring
surprised many by being a genuinely enjoyable, and frequently
unsettling, Hollywood take on the Japanese original, which properly
thrust Naomi Watts onto the Hollywood A-list.
Given that the original spawned a sequel in Japan, it's little
wonder to find that Hollywood has now delivered Ring 2 as well.
But the first thing to say about it is that it's not a simple
retread - far from it.
And the second is that the original Japanese director of both
Ringu films, Hideo Nakata, is also back on board, replacing Gore
Verbinski.
As a result, horror fans are in for a real treat, particularly
as, according to screenwriter, Ehren Kruger, 'the storyline doesn't
follow the first Japanese sequel at all'.
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Hence, Naomi Watts returns as the
plucky reporter from the original and relocating to Oregon with
her young son in the hope of escaping the curse of the deadly
videotape that claimed the life of her boyfriend at the end of
the first film.
Needless to say, things don't go as planned and, according to
Kruger, 'bad things come their way, very bad'.
Beyond that, not much is known, so as not to give too much away.
But Nakata's presence should, at the very least, ensure a global
audience is licking its lips, especially if the sequel is different
to Ringu 2.
What's more, given the acclaim and box office success that also
greeted last year's The Grudge,
which saw the original Japanese director travel to Hollywood to
take control of the remake, then The Ring 2 should be among the
year's first and best fright-fests.
Dare you press rewind?
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