Ring 2 takes place four weeks after the first film, directly continuing the story which of course features most of the cast from Ringu reprising their roles.

The remains are returned to Takashi, who gives them a burial at sea, hoping to be free from the guilt he has carried since her mother, Shizuko, committed suicide because of his actions.

Following the sudden deaths of Reiko Asakawa's ex-husband Ryuji Takayama and her father Koichi, the police look for her and her son Yoichi.

Investigating the urban legend of the cursed videotape, Okazaki meets a high school student, Kanae Sawaguchi.

Mai steps out for some air, encountering Masami, whose presence causes Sadako to materialize on television and terrify the patients.

Mai, Okazaki, and Detective Omuta observe Kawajiri's experiment to exorcise the psychic energy from Masami by projecting her mental imagery onto a blank tape.

Dr. Kawajiri arrives in the night, offering to exorcise Yoichi as he tried with Masami, with Mai volunteering to act as a conduit to expel Sadako's hatred into a swimming pool, water being able to neutralize the energy.

Takashi jumps in demanding to be taken by Sadako, while Kawajiri dives into the pool carrying electrical equipment, killing themselves alongside their assistant.

Ryuji's ghost appears, absorbing Yoichi's fear, and summons a rope that will guide Mai to safety as long as she doesn't look down.

As she leaves the room she notices something in the photo, seemingly shocked; behind Okazaki is Kanae's laughing spirit looking for revenge.

[1] It was the second highest-grossing Japanese film of 1999 (after Pokémon: The Movie 2000), earning a distribution income (rentals) of ¥2.1 billion upon its theatrical release.

[10] The review stated that the film "notably fails to build on the first movie's wonderfully nasty final scene" and is "progressively more conventional with no special visual style or under-the-skins frissons".