SMILE 2: 4 STARS. “this sequel should should turn your frown upside down.”
SYNOPSIS: In “Smile 2,” a new horror film now playing in theatres, strange happenings plague pop star Skye Riley on the eve of her world tour. As people around her die, their faces twisted into a horrifying “happy face” rictus, she digs deep to confront her dark past so she can get control and move forward.
CAST: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, Ray Nicholson, Kyle Gallner. Written and directed by Parker Finn.
REVIEW: Even if you’re not a fan of sequels, “Smile 2,“ the follow up to 2022’s “Smile,“ should turn your frown upside down.
The story of a metaphysical being that clings to a host – in this case a popstar named Skye Riley, played by a terrific Naomi Scott – asks some questions – What is real and what is not? Does a vomit leave DNA behind?– and delivers some truly creepy and inventive psychological thrills.
“Smile 2” specializes in jump scares, but director Parker Finn also stages several memorable scenes of psychological terror. A face that suddenly evokes Skye’s car accident is an unexpectedly cool image, but it’s a sequence of her persecution through her home that brings true horror. Staged somewhere between a mass zombie attack and a Broadway dance number, it’s one of the film’s best scenes.
Added to that are some very funny moments – mostly courtesy of Dylan Gelula as Gemma– that provide breaks from the mounting tension.
As Skye’s BFF Gemma, Gelula brings relatable, charm, while Ray Nicholson, as the pop singer’s deceased boyfriend does a very credible impression of his famous father Jack’s “Shining“ era.
Scott, however, Is the film’s MVP. On screen for 99% of the runtime, she sells the terror of someone who can’t be sure what is real and what is not.
The extreme ending may suffer by comparison to the recently released “The Substance,” but caps the movie with a sequence that’ll keep the gore hounds happy.
“Smile 2” is the rare sequel that outdoes the original, and actually made me curious about where the franchise—and if it makes bank this weekend, it will become a franchise—will go next.
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