Mata Batin 2

I stumbled upon the 2019 Indonesian horror movie by sheer luck. Seeing that it was an Asian horror movie, I was sold immediately and had to sit down and watch it.

I will say that the first half of the movie was phenomenal, and it was very much reminiscent of the 1982 "Poltergeist" classic, except set in an Indonesian setting, but having all the intensity and creepy atmosphere to it as seen in "Poltergeist". Yeah, the movie was on a very good track here, and director Rocky Soraya was definitely making things right.

But then the movie introduced possession, and it all went south. Fast. It was abysmal. The movie took a turn from where it would have otherwise received a 7 out of 10 star rating from me, and it spiraled into a laughable storyline where everything previously established just came apart.

So the first half of the movie was great, the last half was abysmal. Yup, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.

The acting in the movie was good. And as always, I thoroughly enjoy watching the faces and talents of unfamiliar actors and actresses on the screen. And I wasn't familiar with a single face in this movie. So that was bliss. And I will say that they had some nice actresses and actors on the cast list to perform the various roles and characters. Just a shame that the last half of the movie totally derailed and offered the actors and actresses nothing to work with.

As for the special effects. Well, they were there and they worked well enough in favor for the movie and definitely added to the atmosphere. Just keep in mind that you will not be blown away or bedazzled in any manner.

"Mata Batin 2" (aka "The Third Eye 2") had such great potential to be a really genuinely creepy and disturbing horror movie, but it all went down the drain and the movie became less than mediocre, given the horrible last half of the movie.

I found the sequel to be pretty weak for the most part. The beginning of the movie kills off the character Abel from the first movie for a current reason. It could have been an effective moment, but it happened pretty quickly and not that much emotion towards it. The actual plot is with Alia decided to volunteer at an orphanage to help out and meet with a girl who also has a 3rd eye. Unfortunately, the sequel feels like a rehash of the first movie with the possession, finding out a truth, and going into another dimensional later on in the movie. There's a couple of reveals that aren't anything too interesting and feel somewhat similar to the previous movies. Also, the movie lacks any atmosphere because it is mostly cheap jump scares, and the ghost appears too much to be that creepy. The climax itself feels like it's dragging on a little bit too long and has an exposition dialogue in it. And I didn't like how the movie ended.

After having her third eye opened, enabling her to see the dead, Alia (Jessica Mila) begins work at an orphanage. And whaddya know... it's haunted!

Director Rocky Soraya is clearly a believer in the old adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', because this sequel is almost identical to his 2017 movie, a mix of spooky elements borrowed from a whole host of other ghostly horror movies. The structure is exactly the same as before: supernatural occurrences, a mystery involving an unsolved murder, possession, and a trip to the other side via astral projection. If, like me, you watch the two films back to back, the sequel does become rather tedious.

At almost two hours long, the creepiness leads to boredom, although it's worth hanging in there for the final act (or skipping forwards), Soraya delivering a real doozy of a decapitation via rotary saw.

As with the first film, this one ends in a manner that lets us know that another sequel is a definite possibility: I just hope that the formula isn't the same next time around and that the runtime is a little shorter.

After her sister's death, a woman goes to work at a friends' orphanage where she meets another teen with her abilities at seeing ghosts and spirits, which they are forced to put to use when it becomes apparent a malicious spirit is haunting the area seeking revenge and must put a stop to it.

For the most part, this was quite an entertaining sequel. A lot of what works best for the film is the reliance and focus on some rather chilling and dark shock scenes that build quite a creepy atmosphere. A fine encounter between the two in their home at the beginning gives this a jolting start alongside the idea of what happens here killing off one of the major characters, while the confrontations around the orphanage are far more chilling. The investigation into the strange note she drew in her notebook sends them on a chase through the darkened library looking for clues to its meaning, while an outright chilling double-encounter where she and another child come face-to-face with different ghosts in separate rooms features fine suspense and great shocks. Likewise, a rather chilling action scene featuring the ghost tormenting the owners of the orphanage and eventually turning its wrath on the building itself throwing furniture around, knocking pictures off the wall, or threatening to bring the entire structure down all in front of children for a big, extended sequence. This allows for a rather strong pacing keeping things interesting as the abundance of creepy ghost encounters keeps the film going. Also rather fun is the return of the supernatural elements that were present in the first entry. Introducing a new character with the same powers as her sister allows this one to keep up the idea of being able to see ghosts and spirits around them using their Third Eye powers in a new setting while still offering the chance to keep up with the familiar elements in the storyline. Returning to the themes of retribution and revenge on the family member responsible for their death by haunting their place of death much as the original did, the slowly-unraveled mystery of the haunting allows for the two to utilize their powers of foresight to see what really happened to the characters to help speed the process along. As well, the return of the psychic from the first film to assist in astral projection and return to the spirit world full of bright colors and ravenous ghosts makes for a great continuation and cohesion into the universe which is greatly appreciated. All told, these here hold the film up as being enjoyable. However, there are several major flaws in the film. The first issue is that much like the first entry, there's far too much emphasis on utilizing cliched jump-scares that are far too obvious in their setup. The first film featured way too many scenes of ghostly figures walking by quickly in the background or popping up unexpectedly and charging at a character, a trend that is repeated continuously throughout here. As well, another in the film is an annoying habit of having hands reach out from underneath beds or dressers pulling objects underneath only to disappear upon investigating the incident, which happens several times throughout the film and really wears out its welcome the more it's used. However, none of these hurt the film as much as the overlong and dragged out finale that feels like a repeat of the first one offering the return to the spirit world, overdrawn special effects work, and a last-second twist that sets up a potential third film which is unnecessary and feels like overkill by dragging out the running time ten to fifteen minutes too long by including this retreaded material. It's enough to lower the rating enough from the good elements presented beforehand.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Language and children-in-jeopardy.

But also as the first one a lot of fake scares. Boo I'm here to scare you ... now run away, because I won't hurt you (yet). If it sounds like I'm not entirely convinced with the movie, you might be onto something. But I have seen way worse horror movies and I wouldn't go nearly as far as to call this a "bad" movie (no matter the genre).

Now we get a continuation from the first 3rd eye movie, though as you can guess you can watch this without prior knowledge of the other film. Of course if you do, you will have a couple of insights and "know" the characters (it's a nice touch, but let's keep it real, paper thin). If you are into this sort of stuff, sound design and so forth - well done.