Smile 2 (United States, 2024)

Smile 2 takes the ideas and aesthetic of the original Smile and doubles down on them. Unlike many horror sequels, which come across as watered-down retreads of their predecessors, Smile 2 uses the first installment as a jumping-off point for a story that is longer, deeper, just as unsettling, and more intense. While the film ties off dangling plot threads left by the ending of Smile, it quickly develops its own identity before concluding with a scene that opens up many possibilities for yet another entry into the series (pending box office performance, of course).

Horror franchise sequels are often (and rightly) dismissed as attempts to milk existing products without caring much about advancing storylines or exploring new avenues. Smile 2 works because it bucks the trend. Yes, it’s too long – perhaps by as much as 15-20 minutes – and a little self-indulgent at times, but it has a visual and aural impact that’s tough to shake. The movie takes viewers into a maelstrom of hallucinogenic chaos where it’s impossible to discern the real from the imagined. There are nightmares inside hallucinations, flashbacks inside hallucinations, and even hallucinations inside hallucinations. Although at times repetitious, it develops an atmosphere in which nothing can be trusted. I was at times reminded of Inception – although the movies are dissimilar in many ways (and the Nolan film is a more complete package), they share some fundamental building blocks about how they treat the ephemeral and mercurial nature of what we call “reality.”

The movie opens with a prologue that does dual duty: wrapping up Smile and jump-starting Smile 2. We are re-acquainted with Joel (a returning Kyle Gallner) six days after he bore witness to Rose Cotter’s suicide and thereby allowed the Smile Curse to pass to him. Now, with time running out, he believes he has devised a plan by which he can cheat his seemingly inevitable death. But it doesn’t work and soon the Curse has passed to another host, low-level drug dealer Lewis Fregoli (Lukas Gage), a former schoolmate and friend to superstar singer Skye Riley (Naomi Scott). By the time she contacts Lewis with a request to purchase a few Vicodin pills to dull the pain of a back injury, he has passed the point of sanity’s edge. And when he bludgeons himself to death with a barbell weight in front of Skye, she becomes the next victim of the Curse.

Despite being world-famous, Skye is managing the lingering trauma from an automobile accident that seriously injured her and killed her boyfriend, actor Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson, son of Jack, who had an infamous smile all his own). Nearly a year later, she has mostly recovered physically, gone through drug rehab, and is attempting to re-start her career with a new tour. The encounter with the Curse starts unraveling both her reality and sense of self. For the better part of the movie’s first half, she tries to cope with an increasingly hostile environment, including a lot of people who look at her with a fixed smile. Eventually, she encounters Morris (Paul Jacobson), a nurse who offers an explanation for her condition and a possible solution to her seemingly terminal dilemma.

Two elements blend to make Smile 2 a success. The first is the uncompromising approach of writer/director Parker Finn, who refuses to soften things for the sequel. Smile 2 is equally as bleak and nihilistic as Smile, if not more so. It’s also a lot more trippy. Looking back at the movie from past the end credits, it’s easy to see what was going on but, in the midst of everything, it’s a lot less clear. Then there’s the performance of lead actress Naomi Scott. Her filmography may not look promising (she has previously appeared as the Pink Power Ranger and in the most recent Charlie’s Angels reboot) but she’s excellent here and has the singing chops to pull off the musical side of the character.

Horror movies mandate a certain degree of gore and there’s enough in Smile 2 to keep fans of the Grand Guignol happy. But the creepiest moments aren’t necessarily the bloodiest. As was the case with the first film, the movie is at its most unsettling when it fixates on the frozen facial expressions of people Skye encounters in passing, from a little girl approaching for an autograph to the hoard that later pursues the harried singer.  And what about her own face when she looks into a mirror and sees her lips forcibly turned upwards? As for the jump-scares – there are probably a few too many of those. The first one got me but, after that, they start to feel more obligatory than organic.

I don’t know that Smile 2 is likely to expand the fanbase developed by the original (which is sizeable – Smile made over $100M domestic) but it will almost certainly please those familiar with Finn’s breakthrough effort. The relentless pace, which flags only occasionally, and entrancing storytelling make this follow-up an even more satisfying experience than the one provided by the 2022 production.

Smile 2 (United States, 2024)