The Dentist 2 (1998) User Reviews

The Dentist 2: Marginal improvement

[Platypuschow · 4/10 · 27 November 2017]

In 1996 we were introduced to our psychotic dentist played by Corbin Bernsen, a man drove insane by the stresses of his job and catching his wife blowing the pool boy.

Two years later he breaks free from the asylum, switches state, changes his name and starts all over again.

But before you know it his inner darkside is unleashed and he torments his victims in the way that only he can.

This is a slight improvement on the first but still not exactly impressive stuff. The one standout thing that it does have is just how grisly and hard to watch the death scenes are. I mean seriously, it's pretty bad.

Harmless enough watch for fans of the original but as a franchise its hardly worth the effort especially as part 3 was cancelled.

The Good:

Direct sequel

The Bad:

Not the easiest of viewing

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I may never go to the dentist again

Not a patch on the original.

[Snake-666 · 4/10 · 27 October 2003]

In this sequel to the surprisingly enjoyable 1996 original, Dr. Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen) escapes from a mental institution and heads to small town named Paradise. Continuing the IRS sub-plot from the first movie, Feinstone assumes the identity of Dr. Lawrence Caine - an identity concocted by Feinstone so that he could secretly stash away his assets without fear of the tax man getting to them. Caine (as he is now) pretends to have retired from big-city dentistry but is soon asked to become the town's dentist after the previous one is killed in an apparent accident. Caine reluctantly accepts the job, but soon falls to his psychotic urges and another brutal bloodbath begins.

This sequel unfortunately removes much of the fun elements that were so apparent in the original. Instead, 'The Dentist 2' seems to be more of an attempt at portraying Feinstone/Caine's activities from a more psychological standpoint. While the lack of background somewhat harmed the original, the over-emphasis on Caine's madness is what makes this movie rather tedious. As in the original, there are some shocking, gory and repulsive scenes of dental torture that should please gore fans but, alas, the movie's pacing is so slow that it becomes a chore to watch. The movie also suffers from multiple moments of implausibility, particularly at the very end where the film becomes so abstract and bizarre that one is left to question what was originally established; this is not a good thing. For all the storytelling and plot-flaws, Yuzna's direction is on-par once again and in the few moments where 'The Dentist 2' picks-up, the movie does become exciting and intriguing. Unfortunately these moments are spaced far too far apart from each other.

Corbin Bernsen is excellent once again as the sadistic, and seriously disturbed, dentist. Without Bernsen's exceptional ability at bringing to life the character of Dr. Feinstone/Caine I'd have to believe that this movie would come off as far worse than it is. Once again Bernsen credibly and convincingly portrays the almost demonic dentist and relies very little on the supporting cast. Linda Hoffman also returns as the unfaithful wife, but the story which brings her into the film seems completely tacked on just to give her a role. Jillian McWhirter was surprisingly good as the sexy love interest for Bernsen and is the only character the audience can really feel any sympathy for. The rest of the cast were very poor in their roles, though one may question if that had much to do with the script. It was virtually impossible to empathise with any of the characters unlike the original. At some points it was almost painful to watch and one wished that Feinstone dispatched his victims much quicker than he actually did.

Despite a far more sadistic Feinstone character and some good effects and death scenes, 'The Dentist 2' was relatively dull and retained little of the charm that the original possessed. For fans of 'The Dentist' (1996) this film is worth watching once, though I think that many will be disappointed. Bernsen's performance is the main highlight and although it is easy to find the over-emphasis on Feinstone's mental problems an annoyance, Bernsen's performance makes it somewhat tolerable. 'The Dentist 2' is a slow paced yet occasionally interesting and generally well directed movie. My rating for 'The Dentist 2: Brace Yourself' – 4/10.

There HAD to be a sequel!

[ray-280 · 6/10 · 5 March 2007]

Corbin Bernsen returns as the dentist who snapped when his wife had an affair and killed a bunch of people in gruesome fashion. Our "hero" manages to escape prison and resume life as a dentist in a quiet, unsuspecting suburban town with a police force that makes a soap opera cop look smart.

The cast has few notables beyond Bernsen, but his over-the-top performance takes this film to the mediocre yet very bloody and gory heights it aimed at. We don't get a movie that tries to be great, or even acutes who take the plot that seriously. What we get is what we expect: to be thrilled, chilled, repulsed, and petrified by the mixture of murder, mayhem, and dental equipment.

That we laugh and cheer when the hapless innocents are so deliciously dispatched in films like this is something for the psychs to wonder about, but until they figure it out, I'll be hooting and hollering right along with them.

If it didn't have tons of killing and gallons of blood, it would be good clean fun, but instead this movie is just good fun. Good, gory fun.

Enjoy when you have nothing better to do and want to see some torture and killing on screen.

Smile.....

[LCParkes · 3 October 2001]

Brian Yuzna is cast as a saviour by genre fans, and "The Dentist 2", along with the cherished "Society" might give you some idea why. Although the film offers little that could not be found in its prequel, it is somewhat better made, efficently exploiting dentophobia and riffing on the trust involved in a doctor-patient relationship. For the gorehounds, suffice to say three of the four people I watched this with walked out in disgust: taking the place of traditional death sequences are gleeful bouts of unanaesthetised dental destruction, performed with the aid of convincing models in unflinching close up. By this second outing Corbin Bernstein is really inhabiting the role of Dr. Feinstone, and his affectionately campy turn provides the film with much of its drive and humour. in one hilarious sequence he desperately admonishes himself in the shower: "nutCASE, nutBALL, wacko, loony..."

Though self evidently not to all tastes, this film certainly hits a nerve (sorry, that was accidental) and is made with some intelligence and respect for its intended audience. check.

Why couldn't he just die?

[craftycrumb · 1/10 · 26 November 2005]

Now seriously, I'm not the type of guy who complains every time a villain doesn't make it through a movie with his life. There have been plenty of great movies with excellent antagonists who I am am glad survived their roles. Dr. Alan Feinstone is definitely not among them. As anal and irritating a character as he was in the first movie, (though I don't blame Corben Bernsen for that. He did the best he could with the script he was given.) the mad dentist goes about pretty much the exact same path of seemingly pointless destruction as he did in the first, and for pretty much the same reason. This banal rehash of the original film brings pretty much nothing new to the equation, and the lack of bitter, demanding, dentist cadaver at the end of the blood bath just makes the entire piece a complete wash. Afterall, the least they could do for making us sit through the same mind numbing gratuitous dental shock fest twice is give us a mutilated maimed and dismembered title character at the end and deliver the sanctity of knowing for certain that there will never be another. Overall, it was awful, and even if the last fifteen minutes were a brutal ongoing death scene for Dr. Feinstone (which would have made the piece at least palatable, I'll admit.) this movie still couldn't hope to get more than a three and a half.

Same ol' game...

[very_doubtful · 4/10 · 6 July 2000]

...but not worse than the first Dentist. Actually, I think this sequel is even slightly better than the original (a rare thing to happen in the horror genre). Sure, there's nothing new about this film, but as I already told you: it's not worse than the first.

Dr. Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen) has escaped a mental hospital and continues his work in a small town called 'Paradise' after getting rid of the local dentist. But soon his itchy drill finger starts to mutilate his patients in another series of disgustingly elaborate drill & kill scenes.

Again, Corbin Bernsen does an excellent job as the psycho-dentist. And again, this film delivers very weird entertainment and gore galore. The ending leaves the possibility of another sequel.

If you have a slightly sick sense of humor you might like it, especially if you liked the first Dentist.

My rating: 4/10

More of the same, only worse.

[capkronos · 3/10 · 20 May 2003]

After escaping from a mental institution, Dr. Allen Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen) moves on to the small Midwestern town of Paradise and becomes Dr. Lawrence Caine. Unsuccessfully trying to fight off personal demons and homicidal thoughts, the deranged doctor finally snaps, kills the town's only dentist and takes over his business, which results in several gory murders. Meanwhile his ex-wife Brooke (Linda Hoffman, returning from the original) is out for revenge.

This direct-to-video sequel manages to out repulse the previous entry with lots of gory close-ups of teeth being yanked out or chewed up with a drill, needles going into skin, cut out tongues and more. Most of the supporting cast are as grating as the non-stop dental tool background soundtrack. If you want gore and no more, you got it here.

Not bad!

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 7/10 · 10 July 2002]

"The Dentist 2" is almost as good as its predecessor.It is slickly made and features some truly grotesque scenes of dental torture.I agree that the scene when Corbin Bernsen tortures a woman is pretty vicious,but I wasn't offended or shocked.Even "Marathon Man" has more powerful torture scenes.Anyway I found this film entertaining and enjoyable,so it's a worthy addition to your horror collection.Recommended,if you like Brian Yuzna's stuff!

Perfect example of a sequel that shouldn't have been made...

[Coventry · 2/10 · 13 August 2003]

We've could have guessed it... The Dentist was brought out in 1996 and gained rather much success. That was quite normal because it was a relief in the disappointing decade of the 90's (disappointing for the genre of horror, that is) This film was original, funny in a black kind of way and very disturbing (because...it could happen, you know !!) So, it became a small success, especially in the rental market. You know what that means in Hollywood...sequel !!! the sooner the better !! This film really should be skipped, I think. It's exactly the same story, only a different setting. Dr Feinstone changes his name, travels to a small village (called Paradise...hmmm) falls in love with local blond babe, takes over the practice of the old dentist (this person died in a horrible "accident")and then he snaps again. That's it. More from the same, except a whole lot worse. Corbin Bensen returns as the freaky dentist and also his wife from the first film still has her part. She still wants revenge for what he has done to her and sends a private detective after him. All the fun has gone. The only interesting scene in the Dentist 2 is the small part of Clint Howard. In the first film, you actually felt sorry for his victims. Not in this one...You want everybody to die as soon as possible. Including the dentist himself. But he doesn't of course. Very stupid ending, by the way... I can't believe Brian Yuzna did this. I really respect him as a director but this is low. I guess he couldn't resist the big bucks. Oh well, who could blame him, everybody there does it. NEXT !!!

I enjoyed

[willandcharlenebrown · 6/10 · 29 April 2021]

I watch a crap Ton of horror movies and this is a decent sequel to the first Dentist. Really not much difference other than the cheesy ending. Still, to have such a good actor like Corb is such a win for even a flawed script.

kenny G

[agamemnon3 · 5/10 · 21 August 2006]

I don't like going to the dentist. Every time I sit in that chair with my head cocked back at a weird angle and those people with their paper masks come in and start scraping and spraying and rinsing and talking about their kids, I just get wigged out. This one dentist I used to go to, he thought it would be a good idea to put video games in his lobby, like that's gonna make everything better or change the fact that some guy is gonna be sticking a drill into my jaw in ten minutes. And the magazines are always crap, like Golf Digest and Prevention.

That being said, Dentist 2 is pretty good. In fact, I'd say it's just as good as the original. A third wouldn't be bad. It takes that squeaky clean/award-winning smile/elevator music voice kind of a facade your dentist has and twists it up, preying on everyone's deepest secret fear, the dentist. I like the last scene where he walks in on the party and everyone there is freaked when he strolls by with a load of nails in his head. I liked that ending, death by nail gun (well maybe she thought it would kill him). The torture scenes aren't too graphic. It's overall worth your time if you like the horror genre.

Watching The Dentist on the screen surely beats the real thing.

Dynamite Movie!

[aphex-7 · 10/10 · 23 May 1999]

I loved this movie. I did not like it as much as the first one, but it is still a good movie. Most sequels are horrible, but this one is almost as good as the first one. I liked how the director filmed Dr. Caine doing dental work in Jamie Devers mouth. It's incredible how they do these camera angles!

Open wide... again!

[punishmentpark · 6/10 · 4 June 2013]

'The Dentist' was pretty much a series of (okay and better) bloody scenes, but in this one Yuzna tries to build things up more, more like a thriller (although it starts out with a pretty nasty drill scene!). Here, Dr. Feinstone escapes and goes native. Unfortunately, the build-up isn't all that exciting.

But after that long while it turns out that Bernsen worked on his delivery and Yuzna on the funny-sadistic lines of Feinstone. So, more humor enters, but also the gore is turned up quite a bit - just in time. Just don't try to look for too much logic in there, and it'll be fine.

Fairly boring parts ánd exciting horror stuff considered, I can appreciate this one as much as I did the first.

Terrible film

[ocundale · 4/10 · 6 January 2003]

I found this film plot-less and plain boring. There was no storyline whatsoever and the only good thing about this film is the humour, which wasn't very frequent. The film is meant to be a horror and Teletubbies would be more frightening than this!

Not better than the first, but a worthy sequel

[Adam E · 13 December 1998]

Debuting on HBO like the first surprise, this is a pretty good sequel that brings that lunatic dentist (Corbin Bernsen) back in business after escaping a mental hospital and hiding in a quiet town, where he murders the dentist around the town because the guy did a poor job at filling one of his teeth in. He impresses the people in town and woos a lady he's madly in love with, but then goes psycho and takes his madness out on his patients when he finds the girl he loves kissing a guy. There are scenes that make you laugh and dentist torture scenes that will make you cringe. Corbin Bernsen is great as the dentist and delivers a lot of good lines. Between the first and second half, the pace moved a bit slow, but if you liked the first one and can take watching close-ups of teeth being either drilled or yanked out, you should enjoy this strange, campy film.

Like Having Your Teeth Pulled

[utgard14 · 3/10 · 30 April 2014]

Corbin Bernsen's psycho dentist escapes from the mental hospital and hides out in a small town where he soon picks back up where he left off, namely torturing and killing people. Gross sequel is not surprisingly a poor follow-up to the original, which wasn't exactly Nightmare on Elm Street to begin with. The biggest flaw with this one is that it's not much fun. It's also pretty dull and offered nothing new, just more gore and more gruesome deaths. I'm not naive enough to think that wasn't the target audience they were going for with this. Obviously people who watch for that stuff first and foremost will probably like it more than I did. I don't mind some gore, certainly not when done creatively and not like it came from the mind of a fifteen year-old boy. But when that's all a movie has or even tries to have...well, that bores me. See it if you really loved the first one. But if, like me, you only thought the first one was passable then don't bother with this mediocre sequel.

The Dentist 2

[jboothmillard · 3/10 · 14 May 2009]

"You know the drill" may be a good tagline for the sequel, but whoever said that this was better than the first is wrong. Basically Dr. Alan Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen), the dentist gone over the edge from the previous film, has escaped from the mental hospital, and under the name Dr. Lawrence Caine he has gone to the quiet Midwestern town, Paradise, Missouri. He is hoping to resume a normal life, and after killing the town's only dentist he has no choice but to take over. He soon settles back in without finding the urge to kill, that is until he sees the woman he has a thing for bonking another bloke. Obviously this sets him off again, orally torturing his patients, if only you saw it happen more than once! Meanwhile, a private eye hired by Feinstone's toothless and tongueless ex-wife Brooke Sullivan (Linda Hoffman) and a couple of other nosey parkers are on the lookout for him. Also starring Jillian McWhirter as Jamie Devers, Susanne Wright as Bev Trotter, Wendy Robie as Bernice and Clint Howard (Ron's brother) as Mr. Toothache. The dialogue is even cheesier than the first film, and there is nowhere near enough horrific and slightly funny torture sequences, and not even Bernsen can save it from being nearly completely boring. Adequate!

This Dentist 2 is a lot like the film that spawned it

[The_Void · 5/10 · 26 February 2006]

Even though Brian Yuzna's 1996 (almost) hit, The Dentist was a pretty good psychopath flick that excellently capitalised on the fact that dentistry is a much feared profession; what we really didn't need was a sequel. It's safe to say that this film is pretty pointless; but to its credit, it's not real bad. Perhaps not even as bad as you might think it will be. This sequel reunites original star Corbin Bernsen with director Brian Yuzna. Sequels are always better when the people involved in the original return; but unfortunately, people from the original aren't the only things making themselves at home in the sequel, as the first film's plot has been re-recruited as well. Just like the first time, we get to witness everyone's favourite dentist degenerate from slightly odd perfectionist to out and out nutcase. Like the first film; his psychosis is triggered off by infidelity, and the only real thing that's different is the dentist's surgery. The fact that he's just escaped from a mental hospital doesn't figure in the plot, as it's not long before Dr Feinstone is dishing out his own form of dental hygiene to the local population of a town called 'Paradise'.

Corbin Bernsen was the main reason why Yuzna's original was any kind of success. His sinister performance fits the character perfectly, and it's hard to imagine anyone else playing this role. His performance here is just about as good as it was in the first film; although it loses plaudits due to the fact that it's basically just a re-run. The scenes of gore are disgusting in that they mostly take place in the mouth, but the way that the film sets up these scenes doesn't work as well as it did in the original, as it's clear that the plot is only moving along so that the doctor can mess someone's mouth up. Yuzna has implemented a sub-plot, which harks back to the original and sees the dentist's long suffering, tongue-less wife hire a private detective to find him. Even this feels like it's just been thrown in to remind the audience of the better original, and although I found this film somewhat fun to watch on the whole; the fact that it's too much like the original never fails to bring it down. I can't really find a good reason to recommend this flick, as even if you really liked the original, it still isn't really worth seeing.

Don't Forget To Floss...Or Else!

[Lebowskidoo · 7/10 · 2 July 2020]

"You just couldn't have your tooth ache somewhere else, could ya?"

The mad dentist escapes, and for awhile, seems relatively sane again, living under an assumed name in small town Missouri. Then something gets under his teeth and it all goes horribly wrong...again. This sequel is pretty much on par with the first, except the running time seems excessively long, they could have extracted a few scenes to trim it up.

Even worse than the first...

[Joanna-6 · 1/10 · 28 February 1999]

OH MY GOD!! I can't believe any movie could be worse than the previous Dentist. CRAAAAAAAAP!!

This one gets a -1000 out of 10 from me.

Brace yourself

[hellholehorror · 6/10 · 1 October 2017]

I was very much reminded of Stepfather II (1989) when watching this dull sequel. A lot of the interesting story and psychosis of the dentist was lost in favour of a boring serial killer story and predictable insanity. This was just not as gross as the original and not as interesting to watch. If there was a lot more killing then this would have been a fantastic sequel. Brace yourself as this is not really worth watching even if you've seen the first one.

Sickening!

[jmillerdp · 1/10 · 24 February 2001]

Here is my basic comment on this AWFUL, SADISTIC movie. I believe that anyone who made this movie or who likes it must also like torture. Either that, or they are not horrified at the concept or depiction of torture. The Dentist II revels in showing torture, with one victim screaming and crying as she's slowly tortured by Corbin Bernsen's character. Anyone who enjoys seeing this kind of thing must certainly lack humanity and is in probable need of psychoanalysis.

HBO spends most of its airtime throwing on awful movies, and The Dentist II is yet another. HBO's parents of AOL, Time, Warner and Turner show what total disregard they have for their customers by showing this garbage.

Corbin Bernsen must be either desperate or just plain sick himself for making this kind of filth. All of the people (I use this term loosely), who made this movie must share the same depraved character.

This grisly piece of filmmaking is the kind of crap that shows in which direction our species is heading.

A great sequel to a great original

[vivalaricicles · 9/10 · 19 February 2005]

Already I'm quite biased to this film as it is one of my all time faveourite horrors (and Brian Yuzna rules). However, this film still provides 90 odd minutes of mouth-bleeding madness for those who just want a bit of horror entertainment. If you enjoyed the first Dentist, this is well worth checking out as it eclipses the original movie by far, upping the ante in terms of gore, madness and bonkers direction courtesy of splatter master Brian Yuzna. However, if the you thought the first Dentist was awful or (if you're squeamish) a bit too gory, stay well away! This is definitely not for the faint hearted. All in all, a superb sequel to an ace original and well worth checking out if you're a horror fan (even if you're not I recommend it though).

My fan-boy rating- 10/10

"You just couldn't have your tooth ache somewhere else could ya." Similar to the first, but still very good.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 30 December 2005]

The Dentist 2 starts in the Los Angeles mental institution that the crazy dentist Dr. Alan Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen, returning from The Dentist (1996) to reprise his role) is currently locked up inside. As he discusses his mental state with Dr. Cussler (Rende Rae Norman) he pulls a weapon out of a wound on his leg, holds it to her throat & makes his escape... Feinstone heads for a small rural town in Missouri called Paradise where he has stashed a load of cash under the name Dr. Lawrence Caine in one of the banks safety deposit boxes. He claims the money & is introduced by the bank manager Jeremy Wilkes (Jeff Doucette) to his attractive niece Jamie Devers (Jillian McWhirter) who offers him the opportunity to rent a small cottage she owns, Feinstone accepts. Shortly after one of Feinstone's caps in his teeth falls out & has to visit the local dentist Dr. Burns (Jim Antonio) who does a less than satisfactory job, in a fit of rage Feinstone kills Burns & makes it look like an accident. Feinstone is offered the opportunity of becoming Paradise's new dentist, he accepts. However he starts to lose his mind again in fits of jealousy over Jamie whom he has fallen in love with, one of the banks employees Bev (Susanne Wright) becomes suspicious & a private eye (Ralph Martin) hired by his tongueless vengeful wife Brooke (Linda Hoffman) discovers his whereabouts as his cosy new existence is threatened & begins to fall apart...

Directed by Brian Yuzna The Dentist 2 plays a lot like the original. The script by Richard Dana Smith once again contains infidelity, moral decay, low dental hygiene standards & Feinstone taking his frustrations out on his unlucky patients as he slowly starts to lose his marbles, again. The main difference is that the film takes place in a rural setting rather than a big city, maybe The Dentist 2 is trying to say that decay eventually spreads everywhere? It moves along at a fair pace although the varying story threads do take a while to come together & it doesn't really kick into gear until about the hour mark. Again like the original anyone who is afraid of going to the dentist may want to give this film a miss as it features some cool, but maybe disturbing to some, dental torture scenes as Dr. Feinstone is a man who enjoys his job... The Dentist 2 is more of a character study of the mental breakdown of a man rather than a teenage slasher film that have proved so popular, it's as much a psycho thriller as a horror. The character's are well developed & fleshed out which is unusual in a low budget horror such as this & I have to give it credit for being different & making an effort.

Director Yuzna again delights in forcing the viewer to witness all sorts of dental torture & it's pretty strong stuff, scenes of plaque removers sticking into people's gums, dentist's drills destroying teeth & gums, exposed nerves, cut off tongues, a dream sequence which features a mouth full of crawling cockroaches, teeth mercilessly being pulled out, a hammer in someone's head, a needle stuck in someone's ear & a nasty torture scene when Bev really gets it...

With a budget of about $1,800,000 The Dentist 2 is a very well made film throughout. The special effects are good & the acting is too with Bernsen really getting into the spirit of things, the now silent Linda Hoffman returns & she's still a bit of a babe.

The Dentist 2 is a worthy sequel & a good film although I couldn't help but think it was very similar to the original, which in itself isn't a particularly bad thing. Well worth watching especially if you have a phobia about the dentist, it'll leave mental scars...

Smile.....

[alexpeychev · 2/10 · 20 January 2021]

Although the film offers little that could not be found in its prequel, it is somewhat better made, efficently exploiting dentophobia and riffing on the trust involved in a doctor-patient relationship.