Smile 2 is a 2024 American psychological supernatural horror film directed by Parker Finn, and the cast includes Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, and Raúl Castillo.
Now, I have to admit, I was not a huge fan of the first Smile. (Read my Smile review).
It had some good moments for sure, but overall, it didn’t do much for me, only so much you can do with the premise, and I didn't feel the first one did a lot.
It wasn't bad though, and leading up to the release of this one, I quite liked the trailers for Smile 2 and it suckered me in more than I thought it would, but trailers can sometimes be deceiving, as we all know.
In Smile 2, we follow pop star Skye, who is focused on her recovery and planning a world tour.
But when she reconnects with an old friend possessed by the Smile entity, she becomes the next victim, and starts to face some terrifying visions and mind games as she attempts to understand the curse and without losing her sanity.
I will start by saying Naomi Scott nails it as Skye.
Skye is a pop star who's dealing with a ton of personal baggage, addiction, trauma, and a very public car accident that took a person’s life.
Right from the start, as a character, you find her much more interesting and relatable, and you genuinely feel for her as well, even before the shit hits the fan.
Skye is broken (Aren't we all?), and Naomi Scott brings a real humanity to the role.
She’s not just a scared victim, she’s a complicated person trying to move on from her past while a lot of dark stuff happens around her, you genuinely care for the character, and Naomi Scott deserves a lot of credit for her performance.
Smile 2's plot isn't too much to write home about, but it is slightly better than the first, and if you’ve seen the first movie, you kinda know what’s going to happen.
The entity or whatever you wish to call it, is back, and it’s haunting Skye, and you always have a pretty good idea of how things are going to unfold in the second half of the movie.
The predictability does make the film suffer, much like in the first film too, but the film is more engaging though, as the film ramps up the jump scares in this installment.
These jump scares work, but again, you kind of know they are coming though and it does get quite repetitive, but despite that, they will still get you as they are done quite well.
Where Smile 2 really shines though is in its atmospheric horror.
When we see Skye hallucinating, you start to question everything that is happening, just like she does. Is it real, or is it a nightmare? The psychological torment in the film really attempts to take you out of your comfort zone.
Visually the film is really good, and has ramped up the creepiness with the entity, and we have some really good scenes in the film featuring the demon, that are quite unsettling yet quite artful.
A big negative for me though was the film just goes on too long, it's over 2 hours, on a premise and a story that just doesn't need near that amount of time, and this would have helped with the predictability aspect as well I think.
While I am not going to spoil anything either, I will also say the ending didn't land well for me, and takes a certain shift that I don't think worked very well.
Smile 2 overall is a bit more engaging than the first movie, even if it does have flaws, and even if you weren't a great fan of the first film, you might still want to check this one out, as it does a lot more right.
The horror is amplified along with the emotional weight, and Naomi Scott is the heartbeat of this movie, and no doubt some of the jump scares will get you, and is visually striking as well.
I definitely enjoyed it a bit more than the first one, but it just still suffers from similar flaws, and I just wish it did not go on for as long.
It will be interesting to see if we get a Smile 3 and where they go with it and how long they can stretch the predictability out for, though.
But if they do release a third installment, one thing is for sure, it will make money.
[Smile 2 on IMDB] [Where to watch Smile 2]
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