I finally got around to watching Smile 2. After being a huge fan of the first film, I was completely ready for this one. Parker Finn directed both films so I know already that the sequel would not disappoint. The narrative is similar to its predecessor. It centers on Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), a pop star staging a major comeback after a year-long hiatus and trauma-inducing events. As she returns to the spotlight, Skye becomes haunted by the malevolent ‘smile demon’. This leaves her to question sanity and reality.
Naomi Scott have cemented herself as a horror movie actress in this film. Her portrayal of fear was perfectly illustrated through her facial expressions. This is her breakout role for me. She was compelling and added layers of depth of Skye, capturing the vulnerability and strength. This made Skye’s descent into terror both believable and engaging. It’s easy to root for Skye as the tension mounts.
Parker Finn’s direction was a major strength in this film. He has done a good job at creating an unsettling feeling of terror. He builds upon the foundation that was set in the first film, ensuring that the terror is ramped up. This is especially true in the scene when Skye’s backup dancers are chasing her and taunting her in her apartment. The pacing kept me engaged and when the scares hit, they hit hard. Finn masterfully combines psychological horror with physical tension, ensuring that the audience are never too comfortable.
The reviews for Smile 2 have also been rather positive. Critics have praised Smile 2 for its ability to avoid just rehashing the first film and pushing the premise to new terrifying extremes. Austen Goslin of Polygon wrote, ““Rather than simply rehashing the original, Parker Finn pushes his clever premise to its logical extreme and builds some incredibly scary scenes to match,” and I would have to completely agree with this.
The only flaw for this movie was the plot twist of Skye’s illusion. Even though I liked it, there was some questions I still had. One Of the main ones was when exactly did the illusion start? Was it as soon as she got cursed? Was it after the first day? Also, if Skye was mentally in the illusion, then what was she doing physically during that time period?
My final thoughts of the film is that it was a worthy follow-up to the original adding a more intense and nerve-wracking experience. The Rotten Tomatoes score for this film was 86% and I would have to agree with that score. Still can’t believe Naomi Scott didn’t ;t get a single big award nomination for this role. But, I have an article titled “Horror Movie Oscars” where you can vote for your favorite horror movie performance in their respective category. Since the Oscars fail to recognize horror films, then I will. Head over to that article now while voting is still open!
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