Smile 2
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 Fear is spreading...
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Smile 2 is a 2024 American psychological supernatural horror film written and directed by Parker Finn; a sequel to Smile (2022), the film stars Naomi Scott as Skye Riley, a pop star who begins to experience a series of increasingly disturbing events as she is about to go on tour. It also features Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, Raúl Castillo, and Kyle Gallner reprising his role from the first film.
Plot
Skye Riley is an international pop sensation, ready to launch her new world tour. But after witnessing the horrific suicide of her friend Lewis, smiling ear-to-ear, she gets entangled in increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Completely engulfed by the escalating horrors surrounding her and the pressure of fame, she's forced to confront her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.
Why It Never Lets Go
- It builds on the formula of the first movie and adds much more. What if The Smile Entity passed onto a pop star instead of a doctor in the original?
- This is also why it is arguably even better than what the first film did (as to what made it great in the first place). While sequels don't work well for films, this one somehow managed to be even better and takes the Smile entity to a more popular figure in the sense of a much grander scale.
- Excellent cinematography, such as the opening scene done entirely in one take. Also, the said cinematography helps to make the takes needed to shoot this film crank it up where the scares are exceptionally effective, which is enough to scare the viewers, especially considering where this was filmed. It also helps that the outside and inside places where it's filmed help to make this cinematography camera shots even more effective.
- Naomi Scott gives a great performance as Skye Riley, with her performance being like that of a singer but also frightened during the scares.
- Many, and we mean many, great scares. This is one of the few films where jumpscares are indeed effective.
- Even when there aren't jumpscares, the film has its creepy moments, like Alfrendo who has an obsession with Skye.
- Excellent soundtrack, helped by the fact of its use of pop, mainly thanks to its EP (also known as Smile 2: The Skye Riley EP) that supports the film; nonetheless, the pop music that plays during the film gives a good contrast to the film's horror and dark tone.
- Gory kills that end up being more terrifying than the first, such as Lewis smashing his face with a dumbbell, Skye’s mother stabbing her eye before slicing her neck off, and, of course, the ending.
- Shocking and horrifying ending: Skye (possessed by The Smile Entity) commits suicide by smashing her eye in with the microphone onstage, passing the Smile curse to thousands of horrified onlookers. One can imagine what would come next.
Bad Qualties
- The plot mostly follows the same beats as the original, particularly the ending, which, while shocking, is the same as the original, which is disappointing that Smile 2 could have had a better ending than the first, despite the first film also having a terrifying ending.
- Joel, one of the main characters in the first film, is killed off in the opening. He could've been a more interesting character, considering he survived the Smile curse.
- Likewise, Morris could also be an interesting character as his goal is to rid the Smile entity by clinically killing Skye and reviving her with the Smile demon gone.
Reception
The film received positive reviews from critics, who considered it an improvement over the first film. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 154 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Blessed with a nerve-jangling star turn by Naomi Scott at his disposal, writer-director Parker Finn broadens Smile's conceit into a pop stardom nightmare that'll leave a rictus grin on horror fans' faces."[3]