The act of smiling can be perceived in multiple ways, but in the case of the Smile Demon, it’s not the best thing. In the Smile film universe, we’re forced to confront how people are expected to behave despite trauma. Both films are directed and written by Parker Finn, but they tackle the same problem differently.
Smile, the first film is a psychological/supernatural horror film that focuses on a psychiatrist named Rose (Sosie Bacon) who witnesses a suicide and begins to have disturbing experiences. We learn about the Smile Demon and Rose’s traumatic past throughout the film. Meanwhile, Smile 2 follows pop star and recovering addict Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), who experiences unsettling events before her comeback tour.
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Both Smile and Smile 2 accurately depict the weight of trauma and how people don’t always take a person’s trauma seriously. The hallucinations that Rose and Skye endure by way of the Smile Demon are horrifying. But Smile 2 is surprisingly a sequel that one-ups the original. What does it do better, exactly? I’m about to let you know, and hopefully, we can avoid the Smile Demon.
The Scares
The scares in Smile aren’t to be downplayed in the slightest because they are mostly effective. However, the scares in Smile 2 are on a grander scale, much like how some sequels up the stakes a little bit. Due to Skye being a pop star, there are unsettling dance sequences, and the ending is out of control and frightening.
In Smile, most of the scares and hallucinations occur in isolated locations throughout the runtime. Rose isn’t forced to deal with public scrutiny or creepy fans who may or may not be the Smile Demon. Instead, she is mostly terrorized in her own home, her nephew’s birthday party, and at work. At the film’s end, she’s tricked into believing she escaped and goes to her ex, Joel’s (Kyle Gallner), home to reconcile.
Meanwhile, Skye deals with the news tearing her apart, her recovery, fans being weird at events, not knowing what’s real or what isn’t for long stints of time, and the public recognizing her when she’s trying to lay low. It’s the nature of Skye’s celebrity status and the demon appearing as her on the night of her car accident that make her hallucinations all the more terrifying. Overall, the scares in Smile 2 are a step above because of the gore, the public nature of Skye’s career, and the inescapable nature of the Smile Demon. The ending is something out of a cosmic nightmare, and there’s no telling if/how the Smile Demon will torment all those people after that.
The Practical Effects
There’s something so exciting about bold and innovative practical effects still being utilized in horror media. The practical effects used in both Smile films are stellar, but Smile 2 takes it a step further. All the practical effects are gnarly and effectively jaw-dropping throughout the film. This is not to say that Smile fails in the practical effects department. Smiles have more than a few memorable practical effects, such as the demon’s final form, the partial practical effects of the demon crawling inside Rose’s body, and everyone’s creepy smiles. But Smile 2’s practical effects are extravagant and eye-widening.
Two (partially) practical effects highlights in Smile 2 include Lewis’s (Luke Gage) gruesome death scene with a weightlifting plate and the form the entity takes on stage during Smile 2′s final minutes. A large monstrosity opens Skye’s mouth inhumanly wide for us to see. And that monster was created by special effects genius Alec Gillis and his team. There’s something grotesquely beautiful about how monstrous the demon looks and moves. Body horror, as well as practical effects fanatics, will appreciate Smile 2 for its desire to deliver practical effects that are on a grander scale.
The Protagonist
Smile doesn’t give us an unlikable, boring, or even unsympathetic character in Rose. Her backstory is heartbreaking as she’s a survivor of child neglect and abuse, and she feels partially responsible for her mother’s death. And the Smile Demon has no problem causing Rose to drive away her sister, her fiancé, or anyone else that she thought was there for her. It makes what happens to her in the end all the more tragic, as she dies in her dilapidated childhood home. However, we’ve seen stories like this quite a number of times throughout horror history. And that’s what makes Skye a more interesting as well as unique protagonist for a film like this.
Skye’s journey is full of anguish, both physical and mental, and her struggles are brushed aside in favor of her pop star duties. When the Smile Demon torments her and causes her to unravel, the people in her life merely assume she has relapsed. Skye’s public life makes it harder to deal with what’s happening. Just like Rose in Smile, Skye has a very minimal support system and has lost people due to her struggle with addiction.
While Skye doesn’t have a fiancé who claims she sounds “crazy,” she has a mother who has been thriving off her success. All the elements that come with being a public figure, the performance that Naomi Scott brings to the table, as well as the heightened hallucinations, all aid in why Skye is a level above Rose as a protagonist.
Smile 2 is a sequel that’ll appeal to fans who love body horror, pop stars in horror scenarios, and a more original premise. Not to mention, Naomi Scott sells the terror of being tormented in the public eye. It’s certainly a worthy sequel to Smile and cements the Smile Demon as a formidable entity.
You can watch Smile 2 on VOD.
