Director Parker Finn has strengthened horror’s hold on the October box office with a rare achievement in the historically fickle genre: a sequel better than its predecessor. Smile 2 is loftier in scale and nearly entirely better in every way than Smile, Finn’s feature adaptation of his 2020 short, Laura Hasn’t Slept. This time around, the Smile curse oozes into the world of pop superstardom, leading to even more anxiety and paranoia, more gruesome deaths, and the most psychological dread the franchise has produced to date.
Picking up soon after the end of Smile, the sequel sees police detective Joel (Kyle Gallner) inherit the curse from Rose Cotter and aim to pass it on via murder, the only known method of ending one’s cycle. Naturally, things go awry until the curse eventually spreads to Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), a Grammy award-winning pop artist. Much like the Smile entity’s previous hosts, Skye faced extreme trauma one year prior during a drug-fueled car crash that took the life of her boyfriend, actor Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson). Now sober, Skye aims to re-enter the public spotlight with a monumental music tour.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
As we know from the first film, the Smile curse eats away at the host’s psyche, driving them to the edge of insanity by forcing them to relive their trauma and instilling paranoia by wearing the faces of others as perpetually smiling “masks.” This concept proves utterly horrifying within Skye’s larger-than-life pop universe, an alien world compared to Rose’s more grounded life in Smile. Skye must contend with the constant churn of public interviews, set rehearsals, and overbearing management, including her mother (Rosemarie DeWitt), assistant, and record label executive, all while figuring out the cause of her declining mental state.
Finn does an excellent job showcasing Skye’s downward spiral in the context of this wildly busy career path, and it allows for even more individuals surrounding the protagonist to act as the curse’s vessels for further unsettling Skye. The pop singer’s fierce determination to overcome her trauma and better her life leads to desperate action, and the result is a constant anxiety bomb that festers, becoming more unpredictable until the inevitable explosion.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Aiding the frequent paranoia are even more narrative fakeouts than Finn’s original effort, effectively placing the audience within Skye’s tumultuous headspace. Unfortunately, by the end of the two-hour and seven-minute runtime, the amount of trickery can seem excessive, and the ending slightly cheapens the events of much of the second and third acts. Finally, aside from the scope and one minor attempt to spin Skye’s survival in a new direction, Finn fails to inject anything new into the worldbuilding or lore, causing the structure to feel painfully similar to Smile.
Aside from a few issues with the plot, Smile 2’s other qualities excel. Naomi Scott is electrifying as Skye Riley, offering one of the year’s most dynamic and compelling lead performances in any genre, let alone horror. She balances quiet anguish and public-facing sociability with unbridled insanity perfectly. DeWitt is also excellent as Riley’s mother, and the highly-publicized Nicholson does well with the limited screen time he has.
Most impressive, perhaps, are the much more extensive production design elements, including set dressing, makeup, and wardrobe, eliciting the glamor of musical celebrity amidst a crowded New York City backdrop. And I would be remiss not to call out the more visceral horror aspects of Smile 2, including some incredibly suspenseful nighttime scenes and upgraded gore. Indeed, many of the deaths look and feel gnarlier, featuring excellent special effects; unfortunately, off the back of director theatrical competitor Terrifier 3, some of Smile 2’s non-practical death scenes could use improvement.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Despite some kinks, Smile 2 is an impressive follow-up to one of the more original mainstream supernatural horror films of the 2020s. Its ultimate legacy will depend on how a likely third film will capitalize on its ambitious—if not predictable—finale. That said, Scott is the film’s standout here among a genuinely stressful and strenuous plot buildup, along with some sufficient carnage, and the general horror appeal should satisfy genre fans and casual moviegoers alike.
Smile 2 is now playing in theaters nationwide.
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Never saw the first one. I might have check this one out.
Let Naomi cook! Less Aladdin and Charlie’s Angels…more Smile 2!
Never saw the first one. But I’m curious to see both.
I didn’t like it as much as the first one but it’s definitely loftier than it’s predecessor and Naomi gives the best performance from wifey either film and one of the best performances from this year period. I am afraid this series has hit its dead end though. Every ending can’t be just be people losing. The moment it started to go somewhere new it basically retracted it. Annoyed me quite a bit. Still a very fun movie though.
I was wondering if this would be good
So was the first one good? I wonder if this was the better one I didn’t hear much press about the first one great review I’m very interested
A fitting sequel to the 2022 original. A mostly new cast carries on the story of the entity that possess a person until they can pass it on to some other poor soul. This may not be for the squeamish as there are some gruesome and bloody sequences. Naomi Scott is good in the lead. 3 of 4 stars