REVIEW: ‘Smile 2’ Is The Sequel I Didn’t Know I Needed

When Smile premiered last year at Fantastic Fest, it felt like a loud and mean return for theater horror in a big way. Whether it was the creepy viral marketing campaigns at baseball games or the terrifying grins, the film felt like a pop culture moment. That said, I didn’t think we really needed another one. In Smile 2, the sequel to 2023’s Smile, Parker Finn returns as the writer and director, and he doubles down on his concept, exaggerating it and twisting it in new absurd ways that create a much-needed balance between ridiculous premise and absolutely grotesque and intense violence.

In Smile 2, Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is preparing to embark on a comeback world tour. A global pop sensation, we first meet Skye on a talk show couch, and we get a peak at her past—or at least what’s been curated for the media. But when old habits rear their head, Skye finds herself the next victim of the smile demon. As she begins to experience increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events, the lines between reality and delusion begin to fade, and the violence in her life grows.

What was a chance to reclaim who she was morphed into constant reminders of grief and guilt. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and pressures of fame, Skye attempts to fight the darkness of her past that threatens to take hold of the future, but it just may ruin the tour. The world tour.

My issues with the first film may have started with pacing, but as time went on and I sat with it longer, the serious approach to the suicides in the film and the overall grounded cinematography made it feel like something was missing. Smile 2 is that rare sequel that takes on all of the things people loved about its predecessor while evolving its theme and tone to keep audiences engaged and move from concept to substance, building on beautiful and grotesque visuals without using it as set dressing.

It would have been easy for Skye’s pop star identity to be touted around for the fun you can have with concert sets. Instead, Finn crafts a story that makes Skye’s profession and how she’s been burdened by it essential to understanding who she is and what the parasitic demon feeds from. As Skye, Naomi Scott is a lot. At first, you feel for her and her trauma. Skye is trying to recover from losing her boyfriend in a car accident and also reclaim her image after well-documented substance abuse and addiction. You feel for Skye Riley, even if her anger seems to get the better of her occasionally.

With musical performances that are well woven into the film, eccentric costumes, and vibrant light set-ups, Smile 2’s colorful tone stands in stark contrast to the first film. Skye is outfitted with sensational wardrobe choices fit for a pop star that, when juxtaposed against the baggy hoodies and pants she wears off the stage, builds her contempt for the stage in a way that doesn’t have to be explained. Additionally, Smile 2‘s cold open situates it in relation to the events of the first movie but breaks from it tonally. The cinematography choices, humor, and even the lead character are all extremely detached from what we saw Finn bring to the screen previously, and it pays off.

This works because Finn isn’t scared to embrace the campier elements of horror that come with the absurdity of having a smiling demon that spreads like the plague. It’s truly a ridiculous concept, and Smile 2 knows that it lives up to it. The levity we see in this film works to cut some moments of impending dread, but at the same time, it never completely takes away the unease that comes with every scene. We don’t know when the demon will rear its head or what is real and what is make-believe in Skye’s life. Having knowledge of that from how the first film ends, Smile 2 operates on uneven footing but excels because of it.

Even though the vast majority of truly terrifying moments come in the form of jump scares, Finn has a mastery of horror timing that always selects the moment you’re lulled into safety with the trappings of jump scares surrounding Skye. Mirrors? Yeah, she’s constantly around them, which you know logically will yield a jump scare, but Finn consistently captures the moment you begin to feel safe. Add in rapid flashes of graphic violence, and boom, you live in unease.

To accompany that, Smile 2 has an astounding sound design that becomes the film’s primary oppressive force. The squishing sounds of blood, crunching bones, breaking glass, doors closing, and bass from a Riley Skye song bumping—all of it works to hit you directly over the head. The soundscape is so well designed that it doesn’t let you escape even when you look away during an intense moment. It builds horror effectively.

Smile 2 is the kind of sequel I didn’t know I needed. It’s just as mean as the first film, but it also captures the vibrancy of pop stardom. Balancing levity and violence, horrific imagery, and situations with campier moments of possessed backup dancers, Finn exceeds all expectations. Smile 2 is one of the best theater horror experiences of the year. From sound and costumes to jump scares and violence, Smile 2 is just damn good.

Smile 2 is playing in theaters nationwide on October 18, 2024.