“You have to turn your brain off to enjoy it” is one of the dumbest bits of media commentary that plague our arts and entertainment landscape. To be sure, there are some films that require you to be on their wavelength (or buy into their reality as they define it) to fully enjoy it. But that doesn’t mean you have to suspend critical thinking in order to fully appreciate it. Any work that insultingly demands such a moronic approach is a truly insulting piece of content that probably couldn’t withstand an iota of criticism or humanity before the pillars all came tumbling down. Thankfully, ‘Smile 2’ is strong enough to take some of its well-deserved heat. While “Smile 2” does not require any lowering of mental functions, the more one ponders certain aspects of its story and allegory, the thornier things become. Still, by expanding the world/possibilities of its central premise, “Smile 2” mostly improves upon its 2022 predecessor (both written and directed by Parker Finn) even if it still maintains a few of its initial stumbles from that first installment. Some great spooky set pieces and a fearless performance by Naomi Scott power “Smile 2” to be a fairly entertaining movie that even those that didn’t entirely dig “Smile” should check out.
Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is coming back, baby! The pop star went away to get treatment for addiction and more following the car crash that involved her and her (now dead) boyfriend, Paul (Ray Nicholson). But it’s been a year and she’s ready to go on tour again, kicking off in NYC with a big lavish concert. Of course, all the training and rehearsing and more make her injuries act up so she seeks out some pain killers from her old connection, Lewis (Lukas Gage). Only when she gets there, Lewis is plagued by horrific visions that eventually lead to him gruesomely murdering himself, all while a smile stays on his mangled face. Skye is now haunted by that moment, but also by smiling faces she sees everywhere and more lapses in reality as she soon finds herself beset by a demon that seeks to destroy her sanity and then ultimately cause her to kill herself. With time running out and the pressure mounting, Skye tries to find a way to save herself and others from this terrible monster.
Scott throws herself entirely into Skye Riley and puts herself through the emotional and physical ringer to deliver an incredibly impressive performance (across any and all genres) that helps hook audiences into Riley’s plight. “Smile 2” has a lot going for it, but easily the biggest is Scott’s turn, which really sells the terror, desperation, and more that is occurring as her world unravels. Writer/director Parker Finn gets a lot from the unsettling visage of an unmoving, smiling face and many a well-orchestrated jump scare, but without that bleeding, weeping, screaming heart of Scott’s, then it’s all just noise. She truly devotes herself to the role which makes it all the more engrossing for viewers.
In addition to that powerful emotional core, Finn creates a great atmosphere of dread thanks to his staging of these hauntings. “Smile 2” is greatly assisted by DP Charlie Sarroff who does a lot to keep viewers tuned in to the horrific aura through long takes, multiple tracking and panning shots, that make everything feel like it’s all elongated and connected…that just a few more feet to the right and you’d see the smiling demon, too. It’s all part of the same cloth, even when that cloth is made up of pop star dance routines and stage antics, the demon feels at home amidst the shadows and the spotlight. This is also aided by another wonderfully odd and unique score by Cristobal Tapia de Veer, who rejoins Finn and Sarroff to continue creating an ethereally strange audioscape that sets the mood along with the fantastic cinematography.
“Smile 2” still has the same awkward/unfortunate allegory as “Smile,” though it’s not as repugnant in its presentation of mental illness as that first entry. It still basically asserts that those with a mental illness are a great harm to others and that ultimately the solution is for the “infected” person to isolate and/or kill themselves to rid the world of this horrible demon. That’s never stated outright, but that is ultimately where the logic leads and is…not great, Bob! In fact, seeking help and turning to others actually presents an opportunity for the demon to possibly do even more harm. Of course, that may not be the case as the creature warps reality (like depression does!), but to a far greater extent than most neuroticisms where it’s hard to know what is “real” and what is “fabrication by the demon” even after watching the film in total.
There is a real potent tale to tell of how depression warps the world and builds on itself and can infect everything, even a pop star’s idyllic comeback. But “Smile 2” is not that story. Yet it succeeds in spite of its clunky metaphor, not because of it. “Smile 2” is an effective horror film that has multiple sequences of great tension and unrelenting fear that make it hard to maintain that quizzical line of thinking. In a review like this or a critical essay or op-ed, it would be easier to slowly dissect where the film goes wrong in its handling of a central themes, but in the moment, it is all very entertaining and arresting. I found myself often torn between thinking “what’s the implication?” of a scene and being enthralled by how masterfully it was orchestrated by Finn and company. “Smile 2” is a massive improvement from the first entry, with so much done really well all centered around an excellent performance…it’s just unfortunate that the nagging thoughts about its questionable takes persist as well.
3.5 / 5 Stars
Starring: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ray Nicholson, Lukas Gages, Dylan Gelula, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Kyle Gallner
Directed by: Parker Finn
