The sequel to the 2022 horror hit, Smile 2 begins spectacularly, in a way that might make you wonder if you’ve gone into the right movie. The single-take opening shot has Joel (Kyle Gallner), the cop from the previous film, staking out a Russian mobster’s house before walking in the front door and shooting up the place. Turns out you’re in the right movie, though, because he tries to save the mobster’s life so he can get rid of the smile curse. It’s all terrifically done, and wouldn’t be out of place in some gritty crime thriller.
The bulk of the film takes place afterward, as pop music superstar Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), who is what Lady Gaga would be if Lady Gaga got high on drugs and killed her famous-actor boyfriend in a car accident, prepares to embark on a comeback tour. In severe pain, Skye visits her childhood friend and drug dealer Lewis (Lukas Gage) — who was present at the aforementioned shootout — to buy some Vicodin, only to find him screaming in terror at something she can’t see. He then breaks into that familiar grin before picking up a barbell weight and bashing in his own face until he dies. And, well, how far gone as an addict do you have to be to witness something like that and think: “I can walk out with all his drugs for free”?
Setting the movie in the world of pop music does all sorts of good things for the sequel. For one thing, it allows writer-director Parker Finn to film some dance numbers, something Finn clearly enjoys and which horror filmmakers don’t generally get to do. This pays off in a unique-looking choreographed bit when Skye hallucinates her grinning backup dancers appearing in her New York apartment and attacking her in unison. Scott, the British star of Aladdin, makes a convincing pop star and co-writes some of her character’s songs. The outlandish costumes and makeup she’s often wearing work to heighten the terror when she sees the smiling people.
The fame isolates the main character, too. Skye can’t tell anyone about Lewis because her involvement with a drug dealer’s death would destroy her already battered reputation. Almost all the characters around her are dependent on her so that when she turns to her mother (Rosemarie DeWitt) for mental help, her mother sternly reminds her to think about the concert tour. No wonder so many real-life pop stars cancel lucrative gigs for the sake of their mental health. While many of the threats Skye sees are only in her head, it’s very real when a crazed fan with a skin condition (Iván Carlo) attacks her at a meet-and-greet and declares his undying love for her while security is dragging him away. That’s something most horror-movie final girls don’t have to deal with. We’ve seen movies about famous people who are lonely even when they’re being mobbed by screaming fans, but a horror film that does this is something new. This is a better study of trauma than the current Terrifier 3, and it’s just about as gory for horror fans who like that stuff.
With all this, I can’t ignore how Smile 2 falls apart in the last 20 minutes or so. Scott’s performance turns one-note as the scares pile up, but that’s not the biggest issue. As far as I can tell, the movie ends with the performer immolating herself in front of her audience, and The Substance did that to better effect. A man (Peter Jacobson) who lost his brother to the smile curse pops up to try to exorcise Skye, and while it’s okay if he fails — the movie isn’t even clear whether that’s what actually happens — it only serves to make this sequel end like the original and say that we’re all slaves to our trauma. At least this film does some new things with the idea.
Smile 2
Starring Naomi Scott. Written and directed by Parker Finn. Rated R.
