The Doll 2

In my opinion the movie was terrifying at the end! I'm gonna get nightmares tonight ngl... however the noises were a bit too much...

They recycled a lot of things from the first movie, as all sequels do. But the history here is more cohesive, although still there's a lot of scenes just to pad out and make the film longer. All in all, I found it better than the original and a good option to whom wants some chills and scares.

Negative: Awful movie, don't know whats inside the director mind. Out of the bat tons of exposition dialog shove into viewer throat. Poor dialog delivery by most actor & actress. The writers don't know how logic and simple physic works especially how doors works. Cheap jump scares without build-up and suspense. Very dumb, idiotic and take them-self too seriously.

Positive: Luna Maya acting was good. Most of the camera works when they a serve purpose with intention is good.

I recently watched the Indonesian film 🇮🇩 Doll 2 (2017) on Netflix. The plot revolves around a family coping with the tragic death of their daughter in a car accident, where she had a peculiar doll with her. As the family tries to move on, the doll seems to have other plans.

Directed by Rocky Soraya (Sabrina), the film stars Herjunot Ali (Supernova), Sara Wijayanto (The Doll), Shandy Aulia (Tarot), and Luna Maya (Suzanne: Buried Alive).

While these movies have potential, they often seem to lack a crucial ingredient. The acting is satisfactory, and the creepy doll, especially in scenes featuring its eyes, is well-captured. The soul scenes in both films are remarkable. However, the oddness of the doll raises questions about who would buy such a peculiar-looking toy. The kills are average until the last 30 minutes when the film picks up with solid gore and possession sequences, accompanied by effective jump scares.

In conclusion, Doll 2 has redeeming elements for horror enthusiasts but falls short of being a good movie overall. I would give it a 5/10 and recommend watching it once.

I set out to watch The Doll 2 with certain worries, mainly that it would follow the unfortunate and all too familiar tradition of Horror sequels that (a) are barely remotely connected to the first title and (b) are nothing but a greedy attempt to capitalize on its success. My, was I blissfully wrong! The Doll 2 does follow in the footsteps of other sequels, but not of the Hollywood persuasion, but of Asian Horror (meaning the sequel is just as great as the first if not better). First review I've seen here offered what was in my opinion very unfair criticism, lamenting how The Doll 2 was simply "more of the same". Indeed, it follows the general rules set by the first film, as a sequel ought to. That's not criticism, that's praise.

Much like the classic sequels of old (the Friday the 13th anthology comes to mind) The Doll 2 picks up right about where the first film ended. None of that "different story, different characters, different everything possible, same antagonist" equation defining most of today's Horror sequels - but an actual sequel the way it should be. The relevant characters (and cast!) of the first film appear in this one and play a significant role, but without overshadowing the new and more central protagonists. The story, plot and especially pace are also much like in the first film. Very little room to breathe as one occasion is rapidly followed by another, without wasting any screen time and without a single dull moment. In fact, I actually believe a little more build-up could have served the plot well, but the story and pace are great nonetheless. Seeing an almost two hour film and thinking "it could have been longer and still excellent" is in my opinion quite a complement.

And of course, the plot twist. I'm a sucker for plot twists, I believe they are the one thing that makes good Horror films great. But they have to be smart, surprising yet authentic and not forced and of course they have to make sense. Just like in the first film - the plot twist in this one meets all the criteria. While not as shocking and mind-blowing as in the first - it catches the audience (at least most of it) completely off guard and takes the plot to a whole new level. Well done!

Finally, the last nail in the coffin of the "more of the same" criticism - the last third of the film completely changes the rules of endeavor. The film is an emotional rollercoaster of empathy and contempt, fear and relieve, love and hate and discomfort and catharsis. While the first film was indeed great - it didn't offer these features and in such a professional and intelligent manner. Undoubtedly the one reason to prefer the sequel.

Now, to be fair, the less impressive parts. First of all, while the doll itself is quite disturbing, I still haven't decided if it's as creepy as the one in the first film. I'm actually not sure if I like it more, less or the same. To each their own, I suppose. Second, and indeed "more of the same" - an exaggerated use of blood and completely, utterly and to me annoyingly unnecessary gore scenes. I know the axiom is that Horror needs some gore, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Third, I found certain scenes to be, well, not in line with the film's general mood and simply too banal (although just one or two while the rest are right on the spot).

And finally, the bane of the first film - the blunt and ridiculous lack of basic logic just for the sake of serving the plot. People suffering deadly injuries only to shake them off and carry on as if they've received a mere papercut. I of course realize the problem with such criticism in a Supernatural Horror film - but these films too follow a set of rules which each film sets from the start. The supernatural aspects revolve around the doll and the haunting, not the characters' constitution. I realize the necessity of showing the characters getting physically hurt, but some balance was in order and things should have been made to make more sense. When you see some of the injuries you'll realize that no broken bones and not even the slightest effect of such amounts of blood loss are simply too fat fetched. Additionally, a person naturally sleeping through loud noises in their room but being awoken by screams from next door is simply preposterous. All this wasn't in any way nearly enough to spoil the film for me, it just felt silly, I can't understand why such foolishness found its way into such a great film...

All in all, I personally enjoyed and even loved 99% of what The Doll 2 has shown me on screen and taken me through, despite the aformentioned criticism. The first film was great and this one is even better. I of course describe my personal experience alone and can in no way know what other viewers' personal preferences are - you might just hate this film and curse me for encouraging you to watch it. But I do so nonetheless. It's an amazing piece of Indonesian Horror and one of the finest Horror films of this decade. Watch the first, then watch this one and join me in hoping that the third is just as good!