Aaron1375 This film follows the Japanese version of the Ring known as Ringu. Where it follows I am not sure. The back of my box which is a collection of the Japanese Rings places it second, however the alternate title here suggests it was the fourth film. All I know is that this film is a sequel to Ringu, but a disappointing one. There are things that follow the first film, then things that are completely wrong and this one makes the mistake of trying to logically explain things and give reasons for what is happening. Kind of like the Phantasm series, the first one you wondered what the heck was going on and in the later installments they tried to explain everything and it just was not as intriguing anymore.The story starts out with a man autopsying a former colleague who was the father in the first film. This leads to the best scene in the movie as this autopsy is rather bloody. Too bad that the highlight of the film is like less than ten minutes in. This doctor lost a son and soon stumbles upon the cursed video tape. He begins seeing things, and it is not long until he has played the video. However, things completely go off track as they start introducing a sort of virus in this one seemingly dismissing the little girl all together. And it is not even a little girl this time! Yes, this film tries to scientifically explain things this time and it just does not work. Not for me anyway. It also changes the little girl into a woman. Maybe this was not the second installment and things were explained in the previous flicks, I only went by the order given me on the box, but I still hate the cause for all the deaths and stuff they give here.So, what we get is a sequel that changes things around, but still has the core from the original. It may be enjoyable for some, I enjoyed it up to a point, but I certainly thought the ending was very dull. I do hope the movie titled Ringu 2 is better than this one was.

Lee Sherman I'll try to handle this with only minor spoilers. "Rasen" is an alternate version of "Ringu 2" in some ways. Both begin shortly after "Ringu" (one day for "Rasen," one week for "Ringu 2"). Both have most of the main cast of "Ringu" and much of the supporting cast, and use or recreate many locations and sets, believably portraying the immediate aftermath of the prior film's conclusion. Lastly, both place a large emphasis on Takano Mai, Takayama Ryuuji's student who is implied to have an intimate relationship with him in "Ringu" (in "Rasen" it's established that they were lovers, in "Ringu 2" she had a crush on him which he didn't reciprocate), who has E.S.P. (which wasn't even hinted at in "Ringu"). But "Rasen" and "Ringu 2" are mutually exclusive. Neither is consistent with the other, nor is "Ringu 2" (made only a year later) a remake of "Rasen"). Basically things diverge into two different fictional universes at the end of "Ringu" (both are consistent with "Ringu 0," or at least the parts of "Ringu 0" that I understood). I haven't read any of the books or short stories, so I don't know which of the sequels, if either, has a is based on one. The Wikipedia is of no help, since one page says "Rasen" is based on the written sequel to "Ringu" and "Ringu 2" has no literary basis, while another page says the opposite.Our protagonist is Mitsuo Andou, a somewhat unhinged colleague and friend to Takayama Ryuuji. He's not in "Ringu," but his insertion into continuity isn't awkward. The rest of the cast is mostly from "Ringu." Ryuuji has lots of screen time, despite being dead.In a totally random digression, Takayama Ryuuji's full name is said numerous times in the first three minutes of the movie, and it's unintentionally funny. It reminds me of a similar thing in "The Godfather, Part III" with Joey Zasa.The first half hour of "Ringu 2" is little more than a recap of "Ringu." Two different people synopsize it, and there are lots of flashbacks. Actually, there are lots of flashbacks in the remaining hour, too. To "Ringu," to other backstory, and to earlier parts of this film. Some are shown twice, one is shown three times. Most are unnecessary, and even the helpful ones are usually worked in awkwardly. But back to what I was saying: Over a third of the movie is over before anything really happens, and much of the next third is superfluous. At about the one hour mark, Mai's E.S.P. is revealed, her and Andou begin having an amorous relationship completely out of the blue, and the real story kicks in. This is also where it all starts to fall apart because, once the movie gets past all the creepy set-pieces and recaps of "Ringu," all that's left is the plot. And the plot is pretty bad.I won't spoil things by going into too much detail, but it's about what Sadako's ghost does once it's released from the well. Basically getting its revenge on the world in ways that weren't remotely suggested in "Ringu." The videotape ceases to be important. I don't think anything explicitly contradicts anything in "Ringu," but it doesn't feel true to its spirit. And the speed at which this plot unfolds is still remarkably slow, because there are more flashbacks, more unnecessary exposition and restatement, and scenes that play out much longer than necessary. Of course, even if you remove the padding, it's still a silly little runaround with people doing things for the sake of the plot rather than any realistic motivation. By the end, I really didn't care anymore, and was mainly just watching in case I would have to know some of this to understand "Ringu 2" (at that point I didn't realize "Ringu 2" wasn't any kind of sequel to "Rasen").The high point of this movie, without a doubt, is Andou's vision of the dissected Ryuuji coming to life during his autopsy. It's an incredibly realistic effect, and truly chilling. Not for the faint of heart, yet still the only good reason to watch "Rasen." Watch the other three as a trilogy and forget this one. Four out of ten might be a little generous, but on the other hand it seemed to be a good movie for well over half its length.

Matthew Berard You ought to know that in Japan, this movie was released simultaneously to Ring. The idea was that you saw the original, and then saw the sequel, a great idea for money. Unfortunately, it wasn't a great idea for two separate crews to work on these movies, because this one is complete trash, when compared to Nakata's "Ring".Though you might like it. A few people do. The characters are boring, the dialog is uninspired, and it's too complicated. However, people see through that and find the goodness this movie offers.You should watch Rasen with no anticipation for it to live up to "Ring" because both movies head in different directions. Nakata uses the setting to darken the mood, while Iida concentrates on using familiarity and stagnant settings to give feeling. Lastly, this movie approaches science to explain the curse. This is why people banish this film from its existence - it abandons Nakata's horror and feels like it was slapped together.But enough about comparison. Lets concentrate on the acting in this film. Sato Koichi (who takes on the role of Ando Mitsuo) acts well, overall. But his acting seems to get better, and then worse, and that is just no fun for anybody. Such as the sub-plot of his suicidal issues. Sometimes, you'll just feel edgy for how cheesy the situation, others, you'll feel compassionate about his issues. His character also feels undeveloped, but this is because this movie takes on different roles than the proper storyline in the novel. The main character, in essence, feels broken.Tsurumi Shingo plays Miyashita, who is just great. He really does feel like his counterpart, and it just makes me want to cry. Seeing him and Koichi on screen is just excellent. Those scenes are the ones to look forward to. Later on in the movie, he gets to show off his acting skills as his character becomes a major counterpart in the story.Saeki Hinako plays Sadako Yamamura, who delivers one of the best performances any Sadako/Samara has. Yes, there is things to like in this movie.Nakatami Miki plays Takano Mai, who is a mixed bag. When she is by herself, she is all over. You'll be impressed. When she's on screen with somebody else, she just looks like her mind is focused on other things, like as if she's staring at some crew equipment. But she does improve, at the end of the movie. (I did mention spoilers, and that will be the last three paragraphs. Don't worry, I'll warn you) This movie does have something to tell, but fails to execute it. I've questioned if the crew responsible for the movie even read the book properly, because it is so unfaithful to the source material (explained in spoilers) that it makes me sick. But after all, this is a movie adaptation, and it does not fail at that.So, what is this even about? Ando Mitsuo is a pathologist who has to perform an autopsy on Ryuji Takayama early in the movie (his fate is explained in proper fashion in "Ring", unless you haven't already guessed). They were classmates in medical school, and Mitsuo feels burdened with the task of cutting his body open. While investigating, he finds an unusual tumor in his neck as well as a slip of paper laying in his stomach, revealing a code. Mitsuo, with his partner Miyashita, explore and find out about four teenagers who died under suspicious circumstances. They also bear the same unknown virus as Takayama. Then Yoshino steps into the picture, claiming information about Sadako Yamamura and a copy of the cursed video with a ridiculous premise. Mitsuo watches the tape, and then is forced with a decision dealing with humanity's extinction with Sadako pulling the ropes in the background.**/***** SPOILERS! Below is spoilers to the movie. These last paragraphs reveal even more concerns with this movie, but are unnecessary to read. If you have not seen this movie, everything read until now should be satisfactory enoughYou should know the real story behind the cursed video. In short, 30% of it is Sadako's DNA, since she was the one who made the video. The other 70% is smallpox. The smallpox comes from the man who raped Sadako prior to her death. Therefore, the viewer can successfully become pregnant to Sadako if she is a woman and is ovulating while watching the tape.In fact, in the novel, it is clearly learned that Mai Takano was the first person to impregnate Sadako. One thing that irritates me is that when we see Sadako re-born on screen, she looks EXACTLY LIKE MAI TAKANO. What were they thinking? I was so confused when I watched it! I've never liked this decision, because it is so unthoughtful of the crew to have left something like this in the movie. It just doesn't make sense. Since the host, Mai, acts like the incubator for Sadako, and since Sadako's DNA is not modified in any way with Mai's... it is just too confusing. And this isn't the only movie guilty of this "crime"... the Rasen TV series has also built upon this idea.If you have read Rasen, you will probably enjoy it because it's an intelligent medical thriller, explaining the supernatural ways of Sadako with science. However, this movie makes the explanation feel like excuses. This is because Iida has destroyed the explanations and modified them... and god knows why. It would've just made more sense if he hadn't tampered with the formula.

Zombified_660 Having eventually got round to watching the Ring's 'awkward, contradictory pseudo-sequel' I can honestly say that Spiral is more enjoyable than any of the other Ring sequels or remakes, thanks in part to the fact that it's completely different to the original film. It's a surrealist chiller in the David Lynch mould, with a little bit of a sci-fi edge. Also, much of the film is aimed squarely at a much older, more clued-in audience.Joji Iida's clever mature direction takes the whole Ring mythology away from the urban ghost story vibe of Ring and into a deeper horror, the true intent of Sadako and her world plan. In a similar fashion to Kairo, Spiral begins as a ghost story and develops into apocalyptic Sci-fi. Personally I found Spiral much more impactful than Ring, purely because you realise how clever and truly unstoppable Sadako is becoming. It's also interesting that a large portion of this movie was cannibalised for Nakata's own US Ring Two.Simply put, Spiral is a clever, smartly made and humane chiller that deals with deeper emotions and maturer themes than your average Joe horror flick. It isn't without it's shortcomings though. The version I watched had an awful transfer, making certain parts of the movie look like I was watching some kind of VCD knock-off, and I'm told this is the only print with English subtitles available. So, be prepared to put some work in to get your enjoyment out of it. Eyestrain could be a near certainty.The other key issue is that if you're a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the first series of movies, then this is, as they say, totally contradictory. Sadako is in her early twenties when she dies for instance, and is fully capable of communication. In a way, this makes her all the more frightening, as she is arrogant, manipulative and obviously in complete control of proceedings. Then there's the complete canyon of difference between the tapes and their effects. Still, it's understandable given that Spiral and Ring were actually made back to back with the only common factors being certain cast members and the books used for source material. Also, the erotic edge given to Sadako will probably make more prudish viewers very uncomfortable.Still, Iida has succeeded where many fail, in making a horror movie with a very strong plot and mature themes. Personally I loved Spiral, and was glad to find a movie that didn't treat me like a child because the main audience they envisaged for it wasn't out of high-school yet. Spiral is a creepy, atmospheric underground treat. Check it out.