One of the biggest trends in 21st-century horror movies is “the curse movie.” And with so many of them flooding the market, of course some are going to be good and some are going to be bad. Writer/director Parker Finn’s 2022 offering Smile ranks up there with The Ring and It Follows as one of the best of the bunch. So, in another 21st-century trend, it’s no surprise that it would get a sequel – the aptly titled Smile 2.
Smile 2 is about a pop starlet named Skye Riley (Aladdin’s Naomi Scott) who, through events that can be traced back to the first movie, winds up with the dreaded curse. Skye is constantly tormented by visions of people around her smiling wide and threatening her, and the only way to pass on the curse is by (minor spoiler for those who have not seen Smile) committing suicide in front of a witness who will then be saddled with said curse. Of course, Skye has a problem believing all of this, and given her dark past riddled with tragedy and drug addiction, those around her think she is just having a breakdown. Or worse, a relapse.
Basically, Smile 2 is Parker Finn rehashing what he did with Smile, but with a different set of characters and in a different stage in the curse. The concept is the same, the execution is the same, and some of the set pieces are even the same. This isn’t always a negative – Smile was a pretty effective movie and Smile 2 pretty much follows the same formula. It’s just that it gives the viewer the feeling that they’ve seen it all before.
Parker Finn’s strength in Smile 2 lies squarely with his use of imagery. While the comic creepiness of the smiling demon motif isn’t used to quite the same effect as it was in the first movie, there are still plenty of horrifying segments. Finn is a disciple of James Wan’s keep-it-quiet-until-it-goes-BOO! philosophy, and the jump scares in Smile 2 reflect this.
Finn is also great at setting an audience up to be scared, and while Smile 2 doesn’t always hit, when it does, it hits hard. One scene where Skye is being attacked by her backup dance troupe – all smiling, of course – demonstrates how absurdly terrifying the concept behind the Smile movies can be. Aside from the obvious smiling stalkers, the subject of the curse is constantly questioning their own sanity as well. It’s a double-edged threat.
Aside from it just repeating the same plot points as Smile (which, let’s be real, happens more often than not with horror sequels), the biggest weakness in Smile 2 is a frustrating lack of backstory. At a bit over two hours, Smile 2 already runs a bit long for what it is. However, there are a handful of unexplored subplots such as Skye’s relationship with her estranged bestie Gemma (Dylan Gelula from Shameless) and the media’s portrayal of Skye’s “breakdown” and “relapse” that could be fleshed out more. It feels odd to say it, given its current length, but Smile 2 could stand to be about 20 minutes longer with a bit more exposition and exploration.
There’s nothing subtle about Smile 2. It goes for the jugular on a superficial level, and there’s thinly-veiled subtext about the pressures of teen pop stardom tossed in for a bit of social cred. As far as horror sequels go, it’s passable. But the concept feels like it can’t really support a franchise as well as, say, the Final Destination concept can. Let’s all hope that Parker Finn moves on because the guy knows how to make a movie. We just need him to come up with a new idea.
GRADE: C
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout, grisly images, drug use, and strong violent content
Release Date: October 18, 2024
Running Time: 2 hours 7 minutes
Studio: Paramount Pictures
This post was last modified on October 17, 2024 5:28 pm