Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The 3rd Eye 2’ on Netflix, a Stylish and Silly Indonesian Haunted-House Sequel

The 3rd Eye 2 is the latest release by Indonesian director Rocky Soraya, whose Netflix filmography is almost as long as Adam Sandler’s. Just since 2016, he helmed three movies in the The Doll franchise, Suzzanna: Buried Alive and The 3rd Eye, the predecessor to this film. The sequel picks up precisely where the first 3rd left off, in case you’re wondering what happens next to the two sisters who have experienced the frightful spiritual plane intimately.

THE 3RD EYE 2: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Just when you think Alia (Jessica Mila) and her younger sister Abel (Bianca Hello) have warded off their final troubled spirit — well, nobody thought that, because they’ve had their third eyes opened, and closing them doesn’t seem to be an option. They can see spirits ‘n’ stuff that others can’t, which can be quite a burden. Case in point, one named Mirah materializes in the opening scenes and kills the hell out of Abel.

The grieving Alia decides to sell the house left to them by their late parents, and work and live at an orphanage they supported financially. It’s run by Laksmi (Sophia Latjuba) and her husband Fadli (Jeremy Thomas), and couldn’t possibly be haunted, right? Wrong! Alia barely sets foot in the stylish mansion-turned-orphanage, and the temperature plummets, picture frames tilt on their own accord and lights flicker on and off suspiciously. “That happens a lot,” Laksmi says, cheerfully. Should they call an electrician or a psychometrist? You know the answer to that question, especially if you know that a psychometrist can touch objects and learn things about it and the people that possess them.

One of the teenage residents, Nadia (Nabilah Ratna Ayu Azalia), also had her third eye opened, which must be about as common as LASIK surgery, although you have to make an appointment with someone in a cloak to get it done. Anyway, Alia and Nadia learn there’s a spirit named Dalmah on the grounds; she’s trapped behind a locked door, except when she’s throwing Nadia’s bed around or using her seriously fungally compromised scuttly claw-hands to steal Alia’s sandals. So is she trapped or not? I can’t answer that. Suffice to say, the situation doesn’t improve when they unlock the door, because a fair amount of heck breaks loose — heck that, persaps coincidentally, may just be tied to the death of Alia’s sister.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Soraya finds a nugget of story inspiration from The Sixth Sense (you’re mouthing the catchphrase right now, aren’t you?), and draws stylistic influence from J-horror (Ringu, Ju-on) and its American ripoffs, from Insidious to The Conjuring. Oh, and Alia’s spiritual advisor, Windu (Citra Prima), has a little bit of Tangina from Poltergeist in her.

Performance Worth Watching: The orphanage’s production design is so exquisite, it’s essentially a major character. It kind of outshines the actual humans in the movie.

Memorable Dialogue: “I believe that the power I behold is within me!” is a phrase that, when shouted, seems to immediately calm down any serious ghost shenanigans. First, doesn’t the beholding of power already imply that said power is within the person? Is something lost in translation from Indonesian to English? And if that’s all it takes to put a damper on ghostly mischief, why don’t the characters shout it before any serious property damage or loss of life occurs — or walk around shouting it all the time, for that matter? So. Many. Questions.

Single Best Shot: You can’t say this spirit doesn’t make a dramatic entrance.

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: This is a terrific film from a technical standpoint – Soraya captures and explores exquisitely designed sets and locations with a dynamic eye, and oversees the creation of some fiendish-looking ghouls. But his dependence on typical jump-scares starts to get wearisome. And then the plot gets more convoluted, preposterous and nonsensical. And more “rules” of this reality are tossed in as plot conveniences. And we check our watches and realize there’s still an hour to go in this two-hour movie. And we sigh, our interest waning.

It’s easy to overlook plot holes and contrivances when you’re immersed in a scary movie’s atmosphere, and are sensing the dread suspense coursing through its veins. But when you begin noticing such flaws, you’re brought out of the immersive experience, and the film begins to fall apart. Soraya starts well, but can’t sustain our enthusiasm, and the third act is a histrionic mess.

Our Call: SKIP IT, unless you’re a diehard horror maven who consumes every scary movie out there like Cookie Monster to a plateful of Mrs. Field’s, and therefore saw the first one, and can’t resist devouring a sequel no matter how crummy it might be.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream The 3rd Eye 2 on Netflix