SINGAPORE - The creepiest Japanese girl Sadako is back, and this time, she’s determined to be reborn into our world come Halloween. Although you would expect the famous (or infamous) long-haired horror character to scare the hell out of us like she did in The Ring, sadly, Sadako 2 isn’t up to the task.

Its scare factor can’t even be compared to other recent horror films like The Conjuring (which still manages to freak me out if any one so much as talks about it).

While Sadako 2 may be filled with a truckload of jump scares in addition to an overall spine-chilling atmosphere, somehow, the movie doesn’t quite cut it - even with an addition of a child. And you know that having a creepy child always does the trick. But while actress Kokoro Hirasawa, who plays the little girl Nagi, gave us some chilling scenes by just standing there and observing the gruesome deaths - yes, plural - of Sadako throughout the show, her plain, cute expression sometimes got in the way of giving us a truly terrifying experience.

In fact, I was more terrified of actor Yusuke Yamamoto, who plays the serial killer the protagonist would seek help from halfway through the movie. Even though his total screen time is just a mere 10 minutes, his creepy expression alone managed to scare the hell out of me.

However, even though the movie won’t manage to give audiences a huge scare this Halloween, Sadako 2 did manage to pull at some heartstrings towards the end - in a melodramatic fashion, of course - leaving audiences with, at the very least, a satisfying end to the second instalment of Sadako.

And yes, the movie hints to yet another sequel to the story of the long-haired ghost; but let’s hope they bring us an experience of truly Halloween-esque proportions the next time round.

(98 min, PG13)