Year: 1999
Runtime: 95 mins
Language: Japanese
Director: Hideo Nakata
While probing the gruesome death of her boyfriend, Mai Takano discovers a cursed videotape containing the vengeful spirit of Sadako, a girl who kills anyone who watches it exactly one week later. As her boyfriend’s son Yoichi begins to manifest Sadako’s psychic powers, Mai races to protect both him and herself from becoming the next victims.
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Sadako Yamamura’s body is pulled from the old well, and the authorities enlist her uncle Takashi Yamamura to confirm the corpse’s identity. Detective Omuta delivers the sobering news: forensics suggest Sadako survived in that well for thirty years, a revelation that compounds the guilt Takashi Yamamura has carried since Sadako’s mother, Shizuko Yamamura, took her own life amid a cascade of past actions. The remains are eventually entrusted to the uncle, who chooses to lay them to rest at sea in a bid to absolve himself of the heavy burden he bears.
In the wake of tragedy, Reiko Asakawa’s world unravels as she learns of the sudden deaths of her ex-husband, Ryuji Takayama, and her father, Kôichi Asakawa. The police close in on Reiko and her young son, Yoichi Asakawa, as investigators assemble a timeline that begins with a burned videotape found in Reiko’s apartment. Mai Takano, a former colleague of Reiko, teams up with Okazaki to chase leads that might explain the eerie connection between the deaths and the tainted media.
Their search leads them to the urban legend of the cursed videotape, drawing them into a chain of encounters that include Kanae Sawaguchi, a high school student who witnesses the tape’s power and reluctantly hands a copy to Okazaki. Kanae begs him to watch it before the week is up, a plea that sets off a dangerous countdown. Meanwhile, Masami Kurahashi, once a friend of Reiko’s niece Tomoko, has become mute and frightened of televisions, a consequence of witnessing the film’s ripple effects. Her physician, Dr. Kawajiri, a paranormal researcher, attempts to purge the psychic energy that clings to Masami through experimental means, hoping to sever the haunted tether between the living and the dead.
Mai, drawn deeper into the mystery, confronts Masami and experiences Sadako’s presence on a television screen that terrifies the hospital’s inhabitants. Masami’s fear appears to funnel psychic energy toward Mai, hinting that Yoichi’s own latent abilities may be intensifying. As Mai and Yoichi reconcile with the increasingly dangerous reality, they realize Kawajiri’s work has consequences: when Kawajiri applies a method to exorcise the energy, the cursed imagery leaks onto a blank tape, resurrecting Sadako’s haunting visuals in the process. In a tense turn, Mai destroys the recording, yet the danger remains. Omuta’s interrogation intensifies, and Mai is coerced into revealing Reiko and Yoichi’s whereabouts, forcing her to witness Kanae’s terrified corpse in a harrowing moment of guilt.
With danger closing in, Mai telepathically urges Yoichi to flee the police station. The pair escape as Yoichi unleashes his burgeoning powers in a defensive psychic assault on the officers. Back on their trail, Okazaki attempts to erase an interview with Kanae, but Kanae’s ghost materializes, leaving an unmistakable and chilling trace of revenge.
Mai and Yoichi retreat to Oshima Island, seeking shelter at the Yamamura Inn. A nightmare thrusts Shizuko’s specter and a young Sadako into the night, and Mai seeks Kawajiri’s help once more. She volunteers to act as a conduit, directing Sadako’s hatred into a swimming pool, where water is believed to neutralize the malevolent energy. The ritual turns catastrophic when Sadako’s coffin rises from the pool, and Takashi Yamamura dives in, intent on being claimed by Sadako himself, while Kawajiri follows with improvised electrical gear, both men losing their lives along with their assistant.
The spellbinding peril continues as Mai and Yoichi fall into the pool and surface inside the well. Ryuji Takayama ghosts lunge to absorb Yoichi’s fear and conjure a rope that might guide Mai to safety—provided she can resist looking down. The well reveals Sadako’s cryptic query, “Why is it only you were saved?”, as the two manage to crawl ashore and emerge, gradually freed from their fear. In the aftermath, Okazaki ends up institutionalized, while a nurse glimpses something unsettling in a developing photo: behind Okazaki, Kanae’s laughing spirit lingers, utterly bent on revenge.
Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 12:34
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Stories where characters race against an inescapable supernatural deadline.If you enjoyed the high-tension race against the cursed videotape in Ring 2, explore more movies like it. These films feature characters facing an inescapable supernatural deadline, creating a similar feeling of dread-filled suspense and desperate survival in horror stories.
The narrative follows a clear, urgent structure: a supernatural rule is established, a timer starts, and characters must frantically search for a loophole or solution before time runs out. The plot is a linear progression of investigation and mounting dread, with each failed attempt raising the stakes.
These movies are grouped by their shared core mechanic—a deadly countdown—which creates a specific, intense viewing experience focused on suspense, investigation, and the fight for survival against an unstoppable paranormal force.
Uncovering a dark history to stop a vengeful ghost in the present.For viewers who liked the investigative unraveling of Sadako's story in Ring 2, this section highlights similar movies like it. These films follow characters delving into a haunted past to solve a supernatural mystery, blending detective work with intense horror and emotional weight.
The narrative is a procedural unraveling of a mystery. Characters follow clues, interview witnesses, and visit locations to reconstruct the events that created the malevolent entity. The horror escalates as they get closer to the truth, often revealing a deeply tragic backstory that adds emotional depth to the scares.
These films are connected by their blend of mystery and horror. The central pleasure comes from the detective-like process of uncovering a ghost's origins, which creates a compelling narrative drive and layers the scares with a sense of tragedy and inevitability.
Don't stop at just watching — explore Ring 2 in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Ring 2 is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.
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