A sequel that intelligently and ambitiously outdoes its predecessor by a country mile, Smile 2 takes the clever ideas behind returning writer-director Parker Finn’s original concept and runs wildly and satisfyingly in a new direction. A quantum leap in scope and inventiveness, Smile 2 is such an engaging horror movie that even those unfamiliar with the original will be able to dive in immediately. Admittedly, I was part of a minority that didn’t find Finn’s first feature outing with these themes and concepts all that exciting or entertaining, but Smile 2 is something I won’t forget any time soon. It left me squirming in my seat with an ear-to-ear grin on my face almost the entire time.
Pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is ready for a big comeback after a series of tragic life setbacks. She’s about to embark on a world tour, marking her first public appearances since a tragic auto accident – which claimed the life of her actor boyfriend (Ray Nicholson) – forced her into rehab for drug and alcohol addiction. Despite the constant “encouragement” of her manager mother (Rosemary DeWitt) and unnaturally chipper personal assistant (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), Skye is still going through a lot of mental and physical pain. At the end of her limits with a nagging back injury, Skye breaks down and reluctantly calls her former dealer, Lewis (Lukas Gage), to score some pain pills. But when she gets there, Lewis is acting more paranoid and off kilter than a drug dealer would normally act, leading to a bloody freakout delivered with a sinister smile. From that moment onward, Skye finds herself tormented, terrified, and tricked by an unseen demon bent on ensuring she suffers a similar fate before moving on to another doomed host.
Although the classic Japanese horror influence that imbued Finn’s previous film is still clear and pronounced, Smile 2 is the work of a filmmaker that’s more comfortable, assured, and willing to carve out a more original path. From the intense, long take opening sequence that links the entries together, it’s apparent that Finn has been given a lot more space and room to experiment with style and narrative this time out, and the writer-director embraces the chance with deft aplomb. Smile 2 is so sleek, stylish, and creative on a visual level that it almost makes its predecessor feel like a nominal test run of these ideas. Smile was a spooky time for anyone who could get caught up in its charms. Smile 2 is top notch filmmaking that hits with maximum force and creepiness.
The choice of heroine this time out also allows for a smart, empathetic look at trauma, recovery, and the price of celebrity. Skye Riley has already compartmentalized so much of her past out of necessity that this demonic haunting couldn’t be coming at a worst time. (Not that there’s a GOOD time to be stalked by a demon.) She’s already trying to balance the responsibilities of a tour with kissing the ass of a record label exec (Raul Castillo) who expects her to drop everything to do whatever he wants. She’s physically suffering, and the demands of her stage performance take a repeated toll. Her personal relationships remain in disarray, and there’s little room for reconciliation amid all the chaos. She has to deal with creepy fans, make talk show appearances, and still find some small amount of time for herself, all of which has been made harder by a literal demon. Her world is already straddling the line between a dream and a nightmare, so a demon that constantly shifts her concept of what’s real and what’s imagined is no bueno.
There’s a lot of tragedy to be found in Smile 2’s examination of the price of celebrity and the various ways superstars have become conduits to make all of their handler’s dreams and ambitions come true, but Finn also works in a lot of dark humour that’s as hilarious as it is sometimes uncomfortable to laugh at. (Side note: There is one EXTREMELY inside baseball film industry joke in here that lasts all but a second, but got a bigger laugh from me than any of the other bits, but maybe 1% of the viewing public will pick up on it.) Smile 2 is very serious in its aims to terrify, but not too stoic as to ignore the ludicrous nature of being a celebrity.
Finn’s script and technique are solid throughout, but it’s Scott’s tour de force turn as Skye that makes Smile 2 into something unmissable. Capable of tapping equally into the character’s aspects as a consummate professional performer (yes, she does indeed sing all of Skye’s songs for real) and a wealth of subconscious baggage, Scott turns in one of the best leading performances in horror movie history, full stop. It’s a work of such energy, nuance, and substance that it should be studied alongside the all time greats of the genre. Scott makes Skye into a likably flawed, understandably fraying protagonist that comes across as humane and smart rather than a typical portrait of a megastar in crisis. Finn provides the ground work to get all his moving parts on base, but Scott provides the grand slam that brings it all home.
The ultimate end game of Smile 2 isn’t all that hard to piece together, if the viewer has been paying attention. That might be the only knock against it. But Finn and Scott handle all of the third act twists, pivots, and reveals with such dexterity that it turns the films own sense of inevitable predictability into an asset. It also points towards how Finn could possibly top what they’ve created here. Instead of being cautiously optimistic about the potential for a third film, I’m now deeply curious and actively excited. This has all time classic status written all over it.
Smile 2 is now playing in theatres everywhere.
