The Ring Two. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

The Ring Two. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Hans Zimmer, Henning Lohner, and Martin Tillman. Decca B0004405-02.

The Ring was a nifty little horror movie from 2002, but by all accounts its sequel, 2005's The Ring Two, didn't measure up. Be that as it may, some of the music at least is up to speed, meaning it sounds pretty much like everything in the original.

Hans Zimmer, Henning Lohner, and Martin Tillman share the composing honors, and while much of it is repetitive, there are a few good new moments. The disc also gives you your money's worth, unlike so many soundtrack albums that contain maybe thirty or forty minutes tops. This one provides over an hour of music from the film, presumably most of what was there.

Things begin with a lengthy, eleven-minute intro called "The Well." Viewers who saw either Ring movie will remember that it is a young girl who was dropped down a well to die who comes back to haunt and kill people via a videotape. "The Well" sets a nice, creepy, quiet tone for what is to follow, although it goes on much too long for sustained listening. Next, we get more of the same--quiet atmospherics--in "Before You Die." Things pick up with "This Is Going To Hurt," which comes off like typical haunted-house material. Then we slip back into more of the same silently edgy music with "Burning Tree," followed by an interlude that appears to be merely a continuation of it, "Not Your Mommy," which becomes more mildly evocative toward the end. "Shelter Mountain" is ominous, if not frightening, builds in intensity, and ends in somewhat unsatisfying frustration.

"The Ferry" is possibly the most boring item on the menu, becoming active only at the end. Most of these segments begin softly and build slowly into something weirder. So it is with "I'll Follow Your Voice," except that it contains more bizarre sonic effects than the other selections and, thus, is a bit more fun. "She Never Sleeps," referring to the demon ghost-child, is the movie's ode to "Dark Side of the Moon," but it get monotonous fast. The title of next track, "Let the Dead Get In," is more promising than it sounds. Finally, we get to the film's climax with "Seven Days," and here the music is more menacing, though again in its usual quiet way. Things wind down with "Television," another piece in the Pink Floyd vein.

The music from The Ring Two is fairly well recorded, with good separation and definition but little orchestral depth, as might be expected from something recorded with a motion picture in mind. The whole affair may be gimmicky and many of its parts redundant, but the listener is bound to find one or two cuts enjoyable enough for repeat listening.