“Smile 2” is one of the better horror movies of the year. The sequel is a large departure from the original “Smile” of 2022. While I haven’t seen most of the original Smile, the tones just seem completely different. You can tell there was a lot more budget this time around and it seems the filmkakers utilized it well.
This sequel is an interesting take on the horror movie subgenre/trope of possessed people being chased or unable to stop a demon-type entity from following them. The movie makes you feel like you’re in the passenger seat of Naomi Scott’s character Skye Riley’s journey throughout the movie, figuratively and literally.
Riley is a famous pop star who has had struggles with substance abuse before and is now trying to remain clean at least publicly while dealing with ultra-popularity after a break. Her struggles with substance abuse now hit the rearview mirror as a new challenge presents itself in the Smile Monster. The entity disguises itself as people around her and can show up at any time. It could be her friends, colleagues, loved ones and even herself.
The movie manages to hook you with a twist in the first seven minutes but manages to keep you from what it does within the first 30 minutes. Riley winds up in a horrible situation where she has witnessed a murder-suicide and can’t go to the police or her team for help as it will likely implicate her. From witnessing that murder she has unknowingly gotten herself attached to the Smile entity that will follow her and make her question her sanity. It was a brilliant writing move to have Skye be famous, as now she has to make decisions with herself and her fame in mind.
“Smile 2” is incredibly well managed with the run time never really feeling like it’s dragging, in fact, I didn’t want to get up with just the amount of stuff constantly going on in every scene. What I really like about this movie is that the character makes believable choices while running from the Smile Monster or entity. So, within the first 30 minutes you have very different scenarios but they kind of give you an introduction to the complexity of the Smile Entity and what it can make people do, possessed or not.
There are some amazing sequences in this film. There is one straightforward scene where a little girl who is a fan is smiling at Skye for a good three minutes. I didn’t expect it to be that creepy, but it’s one of the best scenes in the movie.
The number of twists and turns is kind of jarring. I ended up kind of enjoying them, however. While there is some action packed scenes, this movie packs a punch even in its quieter parts, where it gives viewers a break and time to think.
Grade: A-
