Directed and written by: Parker Finn
Starring: Naomi Scott, Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage, Dylan Gelula, Raul Castillo, Ray Nicholson, and Rosemarie DeWitt
Runtime: 127 minutes
‘Smile 2’: This sequel sparks winces, flinches, and gasps. Oh my!
“A smile is the universal welcome.” – Max Eastman
“From even the greatest of horrors, irony is seldom absent.” – H.P. Lovecraft
“Let’s put a smile on that face.” – Joker (Heath Ledger) in “The Dark Knight” (2008)
In 2022, director/writer Parker Finn terrified this critic with his psychological horror film, “Smile”, in which an unknown entity shows itself through prolonged gazes and sinister smiles.
Two years later, Finn transports us only six days after the conclusion of “Smile” and continues this winding journey from therapist Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) in the first film to pop music superstar Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) in this effectively edgy sequel, “Smile 2”.
Finn doesn’t modify his basic formula for success (as “Smile” raked in $217 million at the worldwide box office). However, the Final Girl here, Skye, has a dramatically higher profile than Rose, and “Smile 2” feels like a grander production than the original, despite only costing $28 million, just $11 million more than the first movie. And hey, the increased budget could be explained by inflation, right?
Well done, Parker!
When we first meet Skye, she did (most of the) work to pave a road to recovery. This superstar had addictions to cocaine and alcohol and lost her partner, Paul (Ray Nicholson), in a car accident, but then sobered up, both physically and emotionally. Although it’s been one year since the said tragedy, she carries actual scars and mental bruises while attempting to embark on a brand-new concert tour, one that begins in New York City.
Well, through guilt and the pain of nagging injuries, Skye has trouble sleeping in “The City that Never Sleeps” and flutters into an unspeakable nightmare where The Smile Demon disturbs her already bumpy comeback.
The film’s first 20 minutes play out the Demon’s unlikely path to Skye. The remainder of the 127-minute narrative reveals her coping mechanisms in dealing with inexplicable supernatural acts and hallucinations, and the script artfully slithers into both frequently.
Through her choreographed dance work, rehearsals, and day-to-day interactions with her mom (Rosemarie DeWitt), manager (Raul Castillo), and random strangers, she falls into bizarre and frightening realities or daydreams where actual time flies past her body clock. These scenarios include a pair of startling sequences that contain a stalker fan and her dance troupe. In these scenes, Finn exacerbates nerve-wracking moments through clever camerawork and disturbing visuals from the aforementioned antagonists.
Of course, these villains carry eerie, unrelenting grins that would make The Grinch turn (even more) green with envy.
For years, U.S. filmmakers offered praise (and shown a little envy) for Japanese horror movies from the 1990s and 2000s. “Smile 2” offers similar, delightfully dubious vibes as “Ju-On: The Grudge” (2002), where escape seems impossible for Skye, even in broad daylight, and inhuman movements and behaviors from the ghastly demon, who – in this movie - occupies others during our heroine’s dicey arc into madness.
Even though the runtime runs longer than two hours, you hopefully won’t go mad over the movie’s length, especially because Scott delivers a wildly effective Final Girl performance. As a foundation, Naomi establishes a realistic portrayal of a young, vulnerable woman. Skye already deals with monumental baggage and the pressure to sing and dance in basketball arenas, but she’s constantly combatting (from) crumbling while this sicko entity toys with her sanity. Scott leaps into a bodily taxing struggle as Skye continually dodges smiling ghouls and suffers wicked demonstrative swings through alarming, tangible imagery.
From the get-go, Skye seems to only possess a sliver of hope, but through pure will, she maintains a fighting chance for survival. Meanwhile, Scott’s magnetic work and Finn’s hefty bag of terrifying tricks – primarily psychological but also a few moments of gore – should keep audiences engaged and wincing, flinching, and gasping until the end.
Jeff’s ranking
3/4 stars
