After watching the very good original on TV a couple months ago and seeing that sequel was on TV last weekend I thought it might be like most sequels and wouldn't live up to the original, but I was wrong. <br /><br />Hideo Nakata's sequel Ringu 2 is a stylish film with an excellent blend of thrills and chills, without rehashing any ideas that were in the first film. It's filled with superb imagery, good special effects, effective make-up and lots of atmosphere that is impressively imposing. <br /><br />It lacks the pace of the original (in the case of the 7 days before you die) but for me I found the story more intriguing, gripping and unpredictable. This time around the haunting idea of the cursed videotape/Sakado is investigated in far more detail and it heads into different territory. I thought it was much more darker, especially the ending. With the feel of hope at the end of the first one fading away in the second film. <br /><br />It's definitely one of the best recent horror sequels I've seen, but then again it doesn't feel like a sequel as it seems to fit in like it was the second half of the original's story. <br /><br />I enjoyed this movie more than that of the original, but definitely hire them both out and watch them together.<br /><br />4/5