Taking the conventional route of a horror sequel, The Ring Two is predictable and formulaic. Samara is back, but this time she’s looking to possess Rachel’s son; meanwhile Rachel investigates Samara’s origins, trying to discover a way to stop her. Naomi Watts returns and is joined by Simon Baker, Sissy Spacek, and Emily VanCamp. But once again the weak link is the child actor playing Watt’s son, only the problem is worsened by the increased focus on his character. And the writing is especially poor, playing on a lot of stereotypes and clichés, and not really explaining why things happen. However, the director does a good job at creating haunting imagery and at drawing out suspense. Unfortunately, The Ring Two is a rote and uninspired film that fails to recapture the terror of the original.