The problem with horror sequels is that they inevitably require some hefty ante-upping. This can be tricky when you’ve already announced yourself in quite memorable fashion, such is the quandary facing Parker Finn, whose feature debut Smile made a staggering $200 million return on investment for Paramount back in 2022. A follow-up was inevitable – but how does a filmmaker riding high on that level of success tackle the sophomore slump?
Finn picks up right where he left off, with police officer Joel (Kyle Gallner) now attempting to rid himself of the smile curse – which causes victims to kill themselves in violent fashion – after contracting it from his ex-girlfriend at the end of the previous film. As in the original film, if Joel wants to survive, he must find a way to pass the curse on to someone else, and the action kicks off in an even bloodier fashion than its predecessor as Finn ups the ante on a grand scale.
We follow a chain of unfortunate events all the way to pop singer Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), who’s on a redemptive PR offensive following the car crash that killed her boyfriend Paul (Ray ‘Son of Jack’ Nicholson). She mournfully bares her soul on Drew Barrymore’s chat show, agrees to play nice with her record label’s requests, and quietly agrees to meet her adoring fans even though she’s still dealing with the literal and figurative scars from her accident. It’s hard to think of a more inconvenient time for a violent suicide demon to enter your life.
Yet enter her life the demon does after Skye witnesses the death of her drug dealer. She starts to experience violent, disturbing visions of smiling stalkers (which her team seem remarkably unfazed by, considering she’s supposed to be a world-famous pop star) and her tour prep is suitably derailed. This is the main problem with Smile 2, as it quickly becomes repetitive to see Skye freak out over another delusion, and she’s remarkably inert when it comes to doing anything about them. Considering there is already an existing amount of lore, it becomes repetitive to see Skye going through a variation of the first film’s events, with no real progression until the film’s final third when Skye finally decides to answer the cryptic text messages she’s been receiving.
But if you’re looking for logic in a film where the villain is a fleshy meat puppet called ‘The Monstrosity’ you might be beyond help. Instead, Smile 2 – like Smile – is concerned with keeping the audience squirming in their seats, through gory kills and effective jump scares. It’s sort of about trauma, with flashbacks demonstrating the horrific crash that Skye experienced the year previous, but – like Smile – isn’t overly interested in its themes or meaning. Finn seems aware that his audience mostly wants to be entertained, reason be damned, and seems to lean into the opportunities presented for cartoon levels of violence and crunchy dialogue.
It’s all exceptionally silly, and fans of the first film might find the first hour little more than a rehash of Smile, but there’s still something admirable about Parker Finn’s gusto. A scrap of lore about The Monstrosity emerges in the third act, but otherwise, precious little is done to ‘world build’ – an impulse that’s antithetical to the po-faced horror franchise instalments of recent years that can’t help but wrap themselves in lore at the expense of fun.
One thing that did prove distracting however was the incredible product placement deal that Voss Water secured for this film – there are about ten different shots of someone either holding or drinking the “artisanal water” within Smile 2’s two-hour run time. It’s even a key point of Skye’s character that she drinks a lot of water at the recommendation of her drug rehabilitation advisor. This ultimately doesn’t amount to anything within the film’s plot, but it was too laughably conspicuous to not mention – and perhaps that’s another part of Smile 2’s goofy appeal, alongside the wacky use of upside cameras, the janky giant monster marionette and a wilfully discordant score. It’s so, so silly, but it sure is fun.
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ANTICIPATION.
What's that dang demon up to now?! 3
ENJOYMENT.
A second helping of gross-out kills and violent jump scares. 3
IN RETROSPECT.
Super silly, popcorn-spilling scares abounds. 3
Directed by
Parker Finn
Starring
Naomi Scott, Rosemary DeWitt, Dylan Gelula
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