Released to theaters on Oct. 18, “Smile 2” was ready to shock audiences. The horror film directed by Parker Finn is the sequel to “Smile,” which was released in 2022, and though generally I like original movies better, “Smile 2” is an exception. The film had a considerably higher budget, and while that showed through, I was also more impressed with the storytelling and plot of the sequel.
There was barely an overlap of characters between the two films, but that being said, I would definitely recommend watching “Smile” before watching “Smile 2,” as the film wouldn’t make much sense without the former. The main plot is that there is an entity that possesses people and passes along through hosts by causing the current host to commit suicide in front of another person. The new person becomes possessed, goes insane and eventually completes the cycle. The entity often found its easiest targets in people who had a lot of trauma. “Smile 2” starts out with a quick prologue to give context and remind the audience of what happened in the first movie.
The prologue is followed by the highly emotional, stressful and psychological journey of pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott). We learn early on that she suffered extensive injuries from a horrible accident, in which the actor she was with died instantly. She constantly relives the horrendous night, and it is something that haunts her throughout the movie. We find out more about the accident as the film progresses. We also learn that prior to the accident she was struggling with heavy drug abuse, another thing she desperately wants to erase about her past, while balancing pressures of her looming tour.
Although Skye still has her own personal demons, her life seems to be taking the right turn. However, that all changes after she witnesses a horrifying event which once again restarts the cycle of the entity from the first film. After becoming infected with the entity, she finds herself struggling to distinguish reality, while also being crushed by her PTSD, stress for the tour and many other imperfect aspects of her life.
“Smile 2” is one of those types of psychological thrillers that makes the audience feel like they are going insane with the character. Like Skye, we don’t know what is real and what is not, something that can be a bit hard to follow if you are not paying attention. However, I liked that, and I thought it really added to the intended effect of the film. There were many plot twists; some I saw coming while others were unexpected.
As for the actual horror part of the film, I would say “Smile 2” was pretty scary, but not unmanageable. That being said, I do like horror movies and would say I have seen both scarier and less scary ones. There was quite a bit of gore, and I even found myself looking away at a couple points. Still, it wasn’t quite the level of gore that a slasher film would have, but it was a bit more realistic and made me a little squeamish. There was also a considerable amount of jumpscares; elevated by the chilling score and sound effects. The suspense and psychological fear was pretty intense for most of the film. I also watched it at night, so I was probably more tense than I would have been if I’d seen it during the day. Overall, I would say it was a good horror movie, but if you scare easily, you should know what you are getting into.
The acting was outstanding, with Naomi Scott standing out to me in particular. I had only ever seen her in “Aladdin,” but I couldn’t find any similarities between her Disney princess character and Skye Riley. Scott realistically portrayed the complex internal and external struggles of Skye, something that many other actors could have easily overdone. I was very impressed as she unraveled her character and showcased her incredible talent while Skye continuously lost touch with reality.
Since Skye Riley is a pop star, she had her fair share of songs which were also sung by Scott. I was surprised to find out that Scott even went as far as co-writing a couple of songs featured in the track. While I also liked the costumes and set, a creative element that really stood out to me was the cinematography. The camera turned upside down a few times, giving the audience an uneasy feeling as we see the scenes progress. One other little detail that I noticed was the constant presence of smiles hidden throughout the film.
Overall, “Smile 2” was a well-done, thrilling horror movie that captured the attention of the audience. I never once found myself bored; instead anxious to know what would happen next. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but while there was something a little weird in the ending, I liked the conclusion of “Smile 2” much more than the ending of the first one. Scott carried the cast and provided the audience with an incredibly complicated character that we learned more and more about each scene. The film is rated R for language, gore, violence and fear, so keep that in mind before watching. I would recommend the film to anyone looking for an exciting, twisted horror movie.
“Smile 2:” ★★★★★
