by Austen Terry, Contributing Writer
In 2022, Parker Finn sent us all straight to therapy with his breakout hit, Smile, which tells the story of an evil entity that follows people who have experienced great emotional trauma. The entity then will cause the person to lose their sanity, before it possesses them and kills the host (through making them commit suicide) in front of the next victim. Both Smile and its 2024 sequel deal with mental health, trauma, and suicide; if you struggle in those areas, then these films are not for you. Finn showed how he can easily drive his audience and actors insane in the first film, but Smile 2 one goes to extreme heights, exploring what would happen if an extremely famous person (someone like Taylor Swift) was followed by an evil entity trying to possess them.
The film follows Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), who is returning to the limelight after stepping away a year earlier due to a previous incident involving drugs and alcohol. Skye is managed by her mother, Elizabeth Riley (Rosemarie DeWitt), and assisted by Joshua (Miles Gutierrez-Riley); they try their best to help Skye, but always keep her career the main focus over her. When Skye seeks out drugs from a former friend, Lewis (Lukas Gage), she bears witness to the entity killing him in front of her, setting the events into motion. With the looming new World Tour coming, Skye eventually spirals out of control, leaving her and the viewer questioning reality.
As with the first film, Finn again shines in this sequel. He so easily leads his characters to the depths of their sanity, pushing them over the edge. With help from cinematographer Charlie Sarroff and composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer, long, lingering shots over insanely suspenseful music pull the audience into the feeling of anxiety. In Smile 2, Skye not only deals with her mental health, but her past drug addiction, making everyone question what she is seeing.
Finn also creates a fantastic world that has the audience questioning what is real throughout. This only drives Skye further into insanity. Finn also creates some brilliant kills and deaths throughout the movie — they’re terrifying and almost disgusting
Scott not only excellently portrays being a beloved pop star, but also incredibly goes to the edge, creating a sense of uneasiness in the process. She has an incredible talent for this, and the film’s ending is just as shocking for the viewer as it is for Skye. Finn and Scott work well together with everything that Skye goes through, making it so much more terrifying. Having someone who is so famous recognizable being the target of the entity makes it all the more tragic.
Smile 2 shines in its anxiety-inducing scares. It is one long panic attack with very few breaks. You will be on the edge of your seat the entire time, and will leave you questioning your reality. There haven’t been many horror sequels that are better that the first one, but Smile 2 is one of them.
Rating: Loved It
Smile 2 is currently playing in theaters
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