The last time we saw Sarah Michelle Gellar's Karen Davis, the spooked American exchange student was being hospitalized after trying to burn down the Tokyo house believed to be the source of a horrible curse. While Gellar's character returns for just a brief portion of the ride, even less of the original's creepy atmosphere makes the trip intact, leaving at lot of boring exposition and empty suspense in its wake. The latest batch of victims who find themselves in the vengeful grip of the ghostly, wide-eyed Kayako (Takako Fuji) include Karen's sister Aubrey ("Joan of Arcadia's" Amber Tamblyn), who, at the urging of her sickly mother (Joanna Cassidy), travels to Japan with the intention of bringing Karen back to their Pasadena home.

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