Some nightmares don't fade with the light of day. They fester, mutate, and sometimes, they escape. Dr. Alan Feinstone, the meticulously manicured monster of oral hygiene horror, wasn't content with just one spree. He crawled back out of the cinematic asylum for The Dentist 2 (1998), proving that some cavities are too deep to ever truly fill. The sterile white office, the whine of the drill, the vulnerability of that chair… it’s primal fear territory, and this sequel drills right back into it, perhaps with less precision, but arguably more brute force.
Paradise Lost
Picking up not long after the bloody climax of the first film, we find Dr. Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen, embracing the madness with chilling gusto) escaping the maximum-security mental hospital where he was confined. It's a classic horror trope, the supposedly contained evil unleashed once more, but Bernsen sells Feinstone's simmering rage and fractured psyche beneath a veneer of desperate normalcy. He flees to the sleepy, ironically named town of Paradise, Missouri, assuming a new identity and hoping, perhaps even fooling himself, that he can leave the obsessive perfectionism and homicidal urges behind. It's a fragile hope, naturally, built on foundations as unstable as a poorly-fitted crown. Brian Yuzna, returning to direct after helming the first instalment (and known for his particular brand of visceral horror seen in films like Society (1989) and Bride of Re-Animator (1990)), wastes little time establishing the precariousness of Feinstone’s new life. The slightest imperfection – a perceived slight, a flawed filling, his own paranoid delusions – threatens to shatter the facade.
The Yuzna Touch: More Gore, Less Polish
Where the original Dentist managed a grimy, unsettling tension rooted in psychological decay alongside its gore, the sequel leans much harder into the splatter. Yuzna, a producer who helped bring Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator (1985) to gruesome life, seems more liberated here, pushing the practical effects into overdrive. The budget was reportedly tight, as is often the case with direct-to-video sequels of this era, but the effects team clearly prioritized the dental demolition. Tongues are split, jaws are mangled, and teeth are subjected to abuses that make you instinctively cover your mouth. It lacks some of the unsettling build-up of its predecessor, opting instead for a more relentless parade of grotesquerie. It's less psychological thriller, more backwoods slasher with a dental degree. Reportedly, Bernsen himself was often disturbed by the graphic nature of the effects he was simulating, adding a layer of grim authenticity to his character’s twisted enjoyment.
Bernsen's Relapse
The real anchor, once again, is Corbin Bernsen. Known to audiences primarily for his smoother roles, like Arnie Becker on L.A. Law, his transformation into Feinstone is remarkable. In the sequel, he finds new triggers for his rage, particularly in his burgeoning relationship with Jamie Devers (Jillian McWhirter, who thankfully survives the first film's ordeal only to find herself drawn back into Feinstone's orbit). His paranoia latches onto her perceived imperfections and potential betrayals, twisting affection into obsessive control. Bernsen doesn't just play crazy; he plays a man fighting his craziness and losing spectacularly, his moments of forced calm somehow more unnerving than the outright violence. It's a performance that elevates the material, making Feinstone more than just a generic slasher villain. He’s a tragic figure warped into a monster by his own impossible standards. Doesn't that internal struggle, however twisted, make his eventual snapping all the more impactful?
Straight-to-Video Nasty
The Dentist 2 (sometimes known as The Dentist 2: Brace Yourself) bypassed theaters and went straight to the welcoming shelves of video rental stores, becoming a minor cult favorite among gorehounds. It’s the kind of tape you’d rent with friends on a Friday night, maybe hidden under a more respectable blockbuster, ready for some gleeful shlock. The script, credited to Dennis Paoli, Charles Finch, Stuart Gordon, and Richard Dana Smith (some returning from the first film), hits familiar beats but delivers enough inventive nastiness to satisfy fans of the original. The small-town setting feels appropriately isolated, amplifying the sense that help isn't coming, and the supporting characters, while often sketched thinly, serve their purpose primarily as fodder for Feinstone’s implements. Watching it now, the practical effects retain a certain squirm-inducing charm that CGI often lacks. You can almost feel the latex stretching and the corn syrup blood splattering. It reminds you of a time when horror felt more tactile, more disturbingly physical.
Final Diagnosis
The Dentist 2 isn't high art, nor does it pretend to be. It lacks the tighter pacing and psychological undercurrents of the original, leaning heavily into its B-movie sequel status with amplified gore and a slightly more outrageous tone. Yet, anchored by another committed and genuinely unsettling performance from Corbin Bernsen and directed with Brian Yuzna’s trademark relish for the grotesque, it delivers exactly what it promises: 90 minutes of wince-inducing dental dread and over-the-top horror. It knows its audience – those of us who grew up browsing the horror aisles, looking for that next nasty thrill.
Rating: 6/10
This score reflects its status as a solid, if slightly less refined, sequel. It delivers on the gore and Bernsen is fantastic, capturing that specific late-90s direct-to-video horror vibe effectively. It loses points for predictability and a less compelling narrative arc than the first film, but gains them back for sheer audacity and commitment to its gruesome premise.
For fans of practical effects, unhinged performances, and that specific brand of late-night VHS horror that leaves you feeling vaguely unclean, The Dentist 2 is a check-up worth scheduling. Just maybe floss beforehand.