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.

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.

I still love the effects and the basic plot of this like I did the first The 3rd Eye but I'm realising maybe a bit too late that Rocky Soraya seems to do the same thing across all his films. I watched this series because I adored the three part The Doll series he did but looking back at them, The 3rd Eye and now The 3rd Eye 2, it's pretty much the same plot across all five films.

The only differences really are the characters, the objects of curse and the underworlds. Whilst I have nothing against the same cast being in all the films, having majority the same cast you constantly pick from doesn't help this at the same time and I'm left pretty disappointed after enjoying the first one so much.

This would have been so well if he had changed it around just a little bit, but even the way one of the characters says 'astral projection' is the exact same as the first film in this series. I notice that Soraya did his previous series like this in a set of three and I just truly hope if he does a third one in this series, it's not the same. Sabrina in The Doll series was unique enough in it's ending to hold out, so I just hope that the same happens here if he's going down this route. The ending is open enough to suggest a third film which does look like it will be different, but I'm not holding up any hopes at the moment for this series.

It's a good film, some of the effects are a bit wonky, but other than that, it's good - except that I feel like I just watched the same film twice. For 222 minutes / 3 hours and 42 minutes of content, I feel pretty deflated. It's a shame because I really do enjoy Soraya's films but I feel like a veil just lifted from my eyes and I'm not looking forward to the other four films of his I have left to watch.

I kind of regret starting a personal challenge to start finishing all the work of directors I've watched. Here's hoping that since the last four are varied in tone and/or genre that they're different enough from each other to be a much better watch.

The ending saved this from a 4 out of 10, but not by much.

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.

Some moral messages that I get from this film :

1. Don't be sad for the calamity that befalls you for too long, wake up and start a new, better life.

2. Take advantage of your strengths or abilities to help others.

3. Don't be afraid if you do the right thing.

4. Get rid of fear, face the real reality, and be brave.

5. Every crime, whether real or hidden, will surely be revealed in its time.

6. Get rid of vengeance and cultivate forgiveness.

7. Don't be easily fooled by whispers that tell us to do bad.

8. Every human being depends on his actions in this world, if he is good then in the hereafter he will be placed in Heaven, but if he is evil he will be placed in Hell.

9. True happiness is when you can make other people happy.

May be useful =)