THE DENTIST 2 (1998) Review

So, everything I wrote in my review of Brian Yuzna’s original 1996 slasher, The Dentist, still stands, and for the most part, his 1998 follow-up, The Dentist 2, just confirms what we already knew; Yuzna is a solid filmmaker more than capable of crafting scuzzy, uncomfortable, weird, nightmarish worlds, and has an undeniable knack for capturing some genuinely unsettling imagery and frightening ideas. Moreover, his films are often far smarter and deeper than the surface may have you believe, and while they may not be especially subtle in their approach — and The Dentist 2 sure as shit ain’t subtle — there’s something to be said about how skilled the filmmaker must be to balance some of these heavier ideas without ever losing sight of exactly what kinda movie he’s been tasked with making. In simple terms; Yuzna understands the assignment. The director continues to deliver consistently trashy, sleazy, grisly, and grotesque low-budget B-Movie schlock, but almost always manages to ensure that pretty much everything he does has an edge that makes it somehow stand-out without ever deviating from the brief. That’s skill, and as The Dentist 2 proves, he’s capable of doing so even when he’s essentially just repeating himself.

The repetition, however, is perhaps the flick’s biggest issue. While 1996’s original was hardly a beacon of inventiveness, it was at least a new story with new characters. The sequel, however, is on many levels just more of the same, and while I can’t honestly say I wasn’t happy to spend more time in Yuzna’s twisted little world, I’ll concede that I was somewhat disappointed to find it lacked the expansion or escalation of the concept like, say, his own 1990 cult sequel, Bride of Re-Animator. Once again, we’re following Corbin Bernsen’s Alan Feinstone, the psychotic titular orthodontist who, last time around, went absolutely gaga when he caught his wife cheating with the pool-boy. Having escaped from the maximum security hospital he was imprisoned in following the events of the first film, The Dentist 2 sees Bernsen’s murderous doc once again spiral into madness, this time while struggling to keep his true identity under wraps when he finds himself taking over a small town dental practice, having, er… ‘accidentally’ offed the town’s incompetent previous practitioner. While major elements of the plot feel like retreads, there’s enough here to prevent it from feeling entirely pointless, most notable being some of the more surreal and nightmarish imagery, especially in the moments when our lead finds himself losing his grip on reality, which gives Yuzna license to go a little more body-horror weird on everyone’s ass. And that is, well… that’s always gonna be fun!

Without a Ken Foree type to keep the subplots interesting, this one becomes entirely Bernsen’s show, and he’s more than up to the challenge. In fact, the actor appears to be relishing the chance to go full-tilt maniac once more, and this being a sequel, he’s allowed to lean into those aspects a lot sooner than he was in the original, which I can’t say I minded. Still, there’s an emptiness to a lot of this, and that ultimately comes from the film’s lack of new ideas. Despite it never becoming dull or tired, it doesn’t ever give us much beyond what the first movie already did, and that kinda sucks. A good sequel will always expand on the ideas in interesting ways, The Dentist 2 merely delivers more of the same, and while that’s fine if all you’re after is some more gloopy, slasher-esque fun, it does wind up feeling a bit redundant. This would probably work better viewed as a standalone, to be honest with you, and it isn’t hard to see why the proposed threequel never really got off the ground. As much as I love a decent, trashy franchise, sometimes you gotta just admit when an idea works best in a single serving, and I think that’s probably the case here (although I’m glad the world got to enjoy this movie’s various alternate titles, which include such hilariously silly offerings as The Dentist 2: Brace Yourself and The Dentist 2: You Know the Drill).

Is it essential viewing? No, not by a long shot. This is a movie for completists only. But, although it doesn’t offer us anything new, I can’t rightly say it’s a step-down either. At the very least, The Dentist 2 is consistent with the first, and if you found enjoyment in all the twisted horrors Yuzna gleefully offered up in 1996, then you’re probably going to find this fairly entertaining as well. The Ice Cream Man himself, Clint Howard, shows up at one point too, and that’s good fun, so the movie has that going for it! In the end, how much time you have for this depends, much like its predecessor, on how much time you have for Yuzna. Personally, I have a lot of time for the producer come director, and so I’m willing to overlook the fact that we’re very much trapped in familiar territory here, simply because as far as I’m concerned any Yuzna is better than no Yuzna. The performances keep this ticking along while the director imbues the whole thing with his trademark style, ensuring it never stops being uncomfortable, weird, and macabre. It’s not some lost classic or underappreciated second installment, but it is yet another entry into a filmography that overall deserves way more love than it currently seems to get, and I’ll take that. 3/5.