Rasen (1998)

aka: Spiral

One of two different sequels to Ringu (1998). The other is HERE. It goes in a different direction than the other, being more faithful to Koji Suzuki's novel. It follows pathologist Mitsuo Andou as he tries to unravel the mystery surrounding his friend’s death; his friend being someone from the first film.
The videotape resurfaces and the creepy girl unsurprisingly makes an appearance, but overall it’s devoid of scares. The plot descends into WTF? territory, which ruins any sense of believability set up in the first half.
Fans of the cycle will want to see it, but Hideo Nakata did a better job with his alternate version filmed a year later. If you only watch one, I'd recommend Nakata's over Rasen.

2 missing body parts out of 5

Ringu 2 (1999)

One of two different sequels to Ringu (1998). The other is HERE. Ringu 2 continues the story one week from where the first film left off.

It drifts further away from the source material and yet somehow manages to remain faithful to Koji Suzuki's original idea, so say hello once again to the seminal, creepy, long-haired, malevolent Japanese spirit girl.

Sadako’s origins are more deeply explored and the terrors related to the cursed video ripple further than they did before, but it'll make very little sense on its own, so make sure you've watched the previous film first.

3½ frolics in brine... out of 5