written by: Parker Finn
produced by: Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, Parker Finn & Robert Salerno
directed by: Parker Finn
rated: R (for strong bloody violent content, grisly images, language throughout and drug use)
runtime: 127 min.
U.S. release date: October 18, 2024
“Smile 2” is one of those sequels in which the viewer would benefit from seeing the first movie. That is if you’re into intense frights. One could still find entertainment from this first follow-up to 2022’s “Smile,” a horror flick from writer/director Parker Finn which went on to become the third highest-grossing film that year (impressive, considering it was originally going to be relegated to streaming land), but this is an instance in which having familiarity will offer up some satisfying dividends. Finn returns with the same crew to continue this terrifying tale, once again revolving around a young woman trying to make sense of her increasing madness while gradually expanding his world-building.
The story is set in New York City, where we find Grammy-winning pop star Skye Riley (an impressive Naomi Scott of “Alladin” and “Charlie’s Angels”), who’s still dealing with a public substance abuse battle that resulted in a car crash that killed her boyfriend, Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson, manifesting his father Jack’s iconic mannerisms), a year ago. That event still haunts Skye, and she has to manage the physical pain with the emotional trauma, on top of an existing diagnosis of trichotillomania and a coping mechanism that finds her gulping bottles of water in one sitting. As stress mounts from her world tour preparation, overseen by her overbearing manager/mother, Elizabeth Riley (Rosemary DeWitt), Skye is reaching an emotional and mental breakdown. Defaulting to her former vices, Skye visits drug dealer and former classmate Lewis Fregoli (Lukas Gage) solely for pain meds. Still, the evening takes a horrific turn when the panicked young man freaks out and commits suicide in front of her, all while wearing a disturbing smile on his face.
As if that’s not disturbing enough, Skye gradually learns she was cursed on that night. She is now plagued by unsettling visions of “smiling” strangers, one of them her late boyfriend, all of whom understandably disturb the young singer. That’s not even the half of it. Whatever past traumas Skye has experienced seem to be replaying before, unnerving images that only she can see. She’s not just seeing disturbing smiles, though. There are also images of people she trusts, confusing Skye’s overall sense of reality when they start acting unlike themselves. The scariest part of all of this is how reality has blurred for Skye, preventing her from trusting her senses.
“Smile 2” opens six days after the end of the last movie. We catch up with Joel (Kyle Gallner), the police officer from that introduction to the world of nefarious smiles. He’s panicked and determined to unload the curse on someone else, picking a vicious drug lord as the next victim. His plan is botched when the drug lord dies before a transfer can occur, and the whole debacle is a great way to kick things off, thanks to the work of cinematographer Charlie Sarroff and editor Elliot Greenberg. It all leads to an attention-grabbing violent act that spells out the movie’s title in a subtle albeit gruesome manner.
Considering all the gimmicks used in the horror genre, which has become one of the most popular and lucrative genres in recent years, this idea of something horrific that only you (the protagonist) experience messing with your sense of reality is quite harrowing. The details of the movie’s antagonist take a back seat when applying the whole “What would I do?” question that horror movies often have us ask ourselves while watching. Because of the extreme horror and mental/emotional trauma the characters undergo in just two movies (so far, the jaw-dropping ending here ensures a second sequel), what we see is play out is quite convincing. Sure, the same nightmare happens, but each movie has different victims. It’s one of those situations where the audience knows more than the characters. Still, the lead actors (Sosie Bacon in the last movie and Scott here) are quite compelling and pull us in, and there’s a particular curiosity that comes with seeing what length characters will go to rid themselves of this nightmare.
At one point in “Smile 2,” Scott’s Skye Riley is so desperate to rid herself of this creature/demon that she agrees to die. This option comes to her in the form of an ER nurse named Morris (Peter Jacobson), whose brother died from the grip of this entity. He first gets in touch with Skye via anonymous texts that indicate someone knows what she witnessed at Lewis’s apartment that night. His plan brings an interesting moral quandary to the dilemma and something Skye would only agree to as a last resort.
Finn works closely with Scott to portray all the details that go into Skye Riley’s comeback. From choreography rehearsals to costume decisions to the obligations scheduled for Skye (Drew Barrymore shows up during Skye’s many scheduled media promotions when she appears on Barrymore’s daytime talk show), usually by her mother and Skye’s assistant Joshua (Miles Gutierrez-Riley, in a hilarious albeit brief role), leaving Skye little time to come up for air or find any kind of inner peace. There’s palpable anxiety even without witnessing suicides and creepy smiles. On that note, the best creepy smiles come during a meet-and-greet photo-op scheduled for Skye with fans. Those can turn uncomfortable on a dime even without creepy smiles, but the macabre expressions increase the awkwardness even more. This celebrity encounter feels eerily authentic in a movie that revolves around bizarre supernatural occurrences that only one person can see.
As in the last movie, the revelation in the third act has little impact since by then, the damage has been done. Visually, it’s certainly creepy, but there is still an air of mystery surrounding the menace, and I’m fine with that. Less is more, after all.
The ending of “Smile 2” really swings for the rafters boldly and audibly. As previously mentioned, it guarantees another movie. Finn missed an opportunity by not immediately cutting to Louis Prima’s “When You’re Smiling” as it leads to the end credits.
RATING: ***
