Every once in a while in a horror franchise, a sequel comes along which arguably surpasses the original, as with Frankenstein/Bride of Frankenstein and Hellraiser I/II. There isn't much room for argument here- Ring 2 is simply outstanding and outshines the original by a mile.<br /><br />The best element here is the fact that we now have character driven rather than situation driven horror. Takano Mai is a much better heroine than Reiko ever was (the latter often giving off a distinct "Shelley Duvall in The Shining" vibe). Mai's actions come about in this film out of an overwhelming sadness at Ryuji's death; accordingly, she often acts erratically, irrationally, and emotionally to things she hasn't the will or time to comprehend. The other characters are similarly situated and nicely contribute to the flow of the story (the subplot with Okazaki and Kanae is particularly ingenious.)<br /><br />The psychic elements of the film are more consistent and less jarring in this film than in the first. It is to the film's credit that for the first time *ever* I was finally able to understand the "virus" analogy in terms of emotion and psychic phenomena. Bravo.<br /><br />Incidentally, this film *will* scare the hell out of you a few times. There's one scene in particular with Sadako climbing up the side of the well. . . brr.<br /><br />See it however you can.