It’s been six days since police officer Joel got the Smile Entity’s curse passed onto him after watching Rose committing suicide, which is the grim way the curse spreads over to someone else. Joel appears to know a way to pass it on to someone else before the curse makes him kill himself, though. He targets two criminals, intending to kill one of them in front of the other, hoping this could free him of the curse. This doesn’t go by plan at all, and both criminals end up dead during a shootout. There was still a witness, though…the drug dealer Lewis Fregoli who had hidden himself in a closet upon Joel entering the place. When seeing him, Joel apologizes, saying this was not meant for him, and then flees the place. He did not get to live long enough to figure out if he got rid of the curse, however, as he gets hit by an oncoming pickup truck that smears his blood and entrails on the ground, forming a smile. And that’s the opening for Smile 2.
Now, we enter the life of Skye Riley, a pop star having a comeback after a time of substance abuse and a car accident that killed her boyfriend. She’s still got the scar from the accident, and is bothered by severe back pain which she desperately needs some strong pain killers for. She’s got this guy who can supply her with vicodin, and you probably guessed it: yes, it’s the drug dealer from the opening. When Skye meets him in his apartment, he’s already into the latter stages of the curse, and before his weird behavior rings enough alarm bells for Skye to leave, he kills himself in front of her by smashing his face to pieces with a weight plate. Nice. Another trauma to add to the list for the poor pop star. She first thinks about calling the police, but instead flees the place as she’s afraid that getting caught up in the death of a drug dealer during her comeback won’t look good. Of course, she doesn’t leave the place emptyhanded, as the Smile Entity has already infected her, and she soon begins to experience the first stages of the curse: hallucinations where people keep eerily smiling at her. And then, of course, things get gradually worse.
Smile 2 is the sequel of Smile from 2022, both written and directed by Parker Finn. It stars Naomi Scott as the pop star Skye Riley. She is an English actress and singer, and a soundtrack of the songs in the movie called Smile 2: The Skye Riley EP was released through Interscope Records on October 11, 2024.
I really enjoyed the first Smile movie, which I initially didn’t know what to expect from, but ended up having a real good time with. Then the news about a sequel came, and oh man, I did not have high hopes for this one. Not only because I initially felt that the first movie worked well as a stand-alone, but also because the first trailer of Smile 2 made it look incredibly generic and underwhelming. Well…I’m happy to say I was totally wrong, and Smile 2 was much better than I anticipated. I actually even found it to be better than the first one, and that caught me quite by surprise. Just like the first movie, it’s starting with a punch and does not hold back. The backstory of the protagonist is told through bits and pieces, giving us further and further glimpses into her psyche and troubles. While you’re supposed to feel sympathy for her of course, it’s also obvious that she hasn’t completely unstuck her head from her ass despite therapy and going off drugs. In her past she treated those around her like shit, and while she is clearly ashamed of this now, she’s still at a stage where her selfishness and woe-is-me attitude makes her completely blind to how the people that cares for her are oftentimes bending over backwards just to support and help her. And of this she’s actually subconsciously aware, which is why the demon is having a field day when toying with her.
The jumpscares in Smile 2 are generally good and adds to the atmosphere, in contrast to movies where many of the jumpscares don’t have any other impact than blasting you with high sound or quick movement and no actual scares. Sure, you can see them come from a mile away, but the way they build up the tension and also lingers makes them a perfect example of how good jumpscares should be utilized in movies like this. The one with her friend on the bed, in particular, is a prime example of this. The ending also ventured a bit into horror-acid-land when Skye’s completely under control of the hallucinations, and just like in the first movie we also get some monster effects which are pretty wild.
So, despite my first expectations, Smile 2 is a worthy sequel of the first and in my opinion even surpasses it, and while the ending was very predictable (at least when you know how the Smile Entity works), it sets up for what could be a pretty interesting third movie in this franchise.
And it also effectively advertise the Norwegian-based bottled water VOSS, which Skye is drinking liters of for her well-being. Yup, it’s important to stay hydrated, curse or no…
Writer and director: Parker Finn
Country & year: USA/Canada, 2007
Actors: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, Raúl Castillo, Kyle Gallner, Drew Barrymore, Zebedee Row, Roberts Jekabsons
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29268110/
Prequel: Smile (2022)
