The original Smile was a major box office surprise in 2022. What looked like a generic, flavor-of-the-month horror film “about trauma” turned out to be a visceral, psychologically unsettling carnival of terror, not to mention one of the meanest big studio horror releases of this decade. Writer-director Parker Finn is full of surprises, it seems. His follow-up, Smile 2, is the ideal horror sequel. Expanding on and refining everything that worked in the first film, introducing a fresh perspective, and never letting its foot off the gas, Smile 2 is the rare studio horror movie that stares directly at its audience, smiling, before hollowing them out and leaving them begging for more.
Picking up a mere six days after the first movie, Smile 2 shifts the perspective away from the civilian, à la the previous protagonist Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), to the world of celebrity fame. Global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) once had it all, until a battle with substance abuse and a tragic car accident took her out of the limelight. Now, priming herself for a comeback tour, the course of Skye’s life is changed forever when she incautiously decides to visit her former drug dealer and friend Lewis (Lukas Gage), only for him to take his own life right in front of her, smiling before he does it.
Slowly but surely, Skye’s grip on reality begins to weaken. She soon discovers the source of her torment: a metaphysical entity that will torture her mentally until it forces her to kill herself in front of someone else, passing it along to a new host like a parasite. From the outset, filmmaker Parker Finn nurtures an oppressive atmosphere. The sequel opens with an outstanding 10-minute sequence, ostensibly all done in one take, that puts us just six days after the first Smile. While it’s best not to ruin the surprise, Smile 2‘s introduction is a propulsive set piece that immediately lets the audience know that this will by no means be a re-hash or a low-effort sequel.
The characterization of Skye Riley proves the ambition of Smile 2 all by itself. Following up on Sosie Bacon’s earth-shaking work in the first film is no small order, but Naomi Scott (2019’s Aladdin, Power Rangers) is more than her equal. Before the inciting incident that causes the entity to become attached to her, Scott makes the intense strain that Skye is under crystal clear to the viewer. There’s a genuine pain behind her downward spiral, as she has to accommodate everyone and everything around her. If Skye cannot be the perfect pop star that her fans dream of, she risks letting down those who are financially tied to her, like her controlling, passive-aggressive mother (Rosemarie DeWitt).
Once the incident does happen, though, Naomi Scott really starts cooking up something special. To have to be poised despite personal troubles is one thing, however, Scott communicates a woman who is completely falling apart. Not only does she have to fight her own personal demons, but she also has to keep all those around her convinced that she’s not insane. Skye is trapped between three hells: her past trauma, navigating the music industry by playing nice with notable male figures (one played with lovely subtlety by Raúl Castillo), and trying to avoid her imminent demise.
What made the first Smile so haunting was how Parker Finn painted its protagonist into a corner where she looked crazy to everyone she knew, with no “logical” defense to come to her aid. A criticism of 2022’s Smile was how cruel it was to its protagonist. While it would be a huge stretch to say Smile 2 is “nicer” to Skye, there are efforts made to not at least resort to shock value — the clear example in the first movie being the murder of a cat being pinned on Dr. Cotter.
Another aspect that Smile (2022) was criticized for is portraying mental illness as something horrific that cannot be overcome. Smile 2 doesn’t exactly ease up on this aspect, but it does clarify that Skye’s position as a public figure is what’s keeping her trapped in this vicious cycle. She’s already in hot water after the death of her boyfriend (Ray Nicholson) in a substance-related car accident. Her relationship with her best friend (Dylan Gelula) has fallen apart. The world is already waiting for her to slip up, to be the villain everyone can point at.
Besides the grueling story and Naomi Scott’s performance, what makes Smile 2 so scary? Parker Finn and his crew have an iron grip on the atmosphere. The film, as shot by cinematographer Charlie Sarroff (Night Swim, Relic), looks uncannily sharp, sterile even, as though we’re trapped in a sickeningly clean psych ward. The visuals of Smile 2 put the audience into a dream-like state, where reality can be easily broken by a garish vision, turning that dreamy fog into a vivid nightmare.
Parker Finn also pulls out all the stops for the actual scares. The smile entity taking the form of a stalker (Iván Carlo), loved ones dead or alive, and even, at one point, an entire room of crazed fans makes it feel like there is nowhere to run. Pile on a series of very effective jump scares, and Smile 2 feels downright unsafe. Moreover, the sequel blurs the line between reality and the entity’s mind games to a harsh degree. We can go through long stretches of the plot only to find out it was all a mental trick of the entity. Instead of feeling like a cop-out, it further instills the overwhelming horror that there is nowhere to hide.
Smile 2 slipping in and out of reality calls back to how the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise effectively blurs dreams with the real world. Often, what snaps Naomi Scott’s protagonist back into reality is a discordant musical sting by composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer (The White Lotus), whose off-kilter score is the final piece of the puzzle. Additionally, Parker Finn’s script lays some admirable groundwork for the future. Of course, there’s the return of fan-favorite character Joel (Kyle Gallner), whose role is small but pivotal. Most importantly, the rules of the smile entity and its growing magnitude are communicated by Morris (Peter Jacobson), a character who introduces some fascinating concepts and could very well stick around.
But is there even a need for a Smile 3? Parker Finn’s sequel ends on such a wild note that it may be just best to let the rest take place in our imagination. After all, Smile 2 is a triumph. Not just a good horror sequel, but a superior one. Smile 2 is a dual showcase for Parker Finn’s writer-directorial talents and Naomi Scott’s acting abilities that tops the original, keeps the commentary strong, and burns with an intensity that won’t subside until it’s torched everything in sight. All you can do is smile out of fear.
Smile 2 hits theaters on October 18!
Release Date: October 18, 2024.
Directed by Parker Finn.
Written by Parker Finn.
Based on characters by Parker Finn.
Produced by Parker Finn, Isaac Klausner, Marty Bowen, Robert Salerno, & Wyck Godfrey.
Main Cast: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, & Ray Nicholson.
Cinematographer: Charlie Sarroff.
Composer: Cristobal Tapia de Veer.
Production Company: Temple Hill Entertainment.
Distributor: Paramount Pictures.
Runtime: 127 minutes.
Rated R.
