Movie Review: Smile 2

Is it wrong for me to say that Smile 2 is…kind of a masterpiece?

Okay, in all fairness, I was perhaps approaching this movie from a place that helped it along a little, given that I loved the original Smile. And I’ve been looking forward to the second part of this unexpected indie horror hit ever since. But, truly, I didn’t expect it to be that good.

Director Parker Finn takes the reins for this second part, which follows Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), a global pop superstar about to embark on a post-sobriety comeback tour after a car accident killed her boyfriend and left her with serious injuries. But, the week before the tour kicks off, she witnesses the apparent suicide of her drug dealer, and soon finds herself stalked by the manifestations of the Smile curse.

And what I think Smile 2 does so well, in terms of its place as a sequel, is ratcheting up the scale of the infection. The stress of the run-up to Riley’s tour – the press, the meet-and-greets, the public appearances – make a perfect backdrop against which to play out this story, the very public stakes of her increasing delusions giving everything a more urgent tone. Everything is playing out in front of an enormous audience, and the pressure and constant surveillance that comes as a result of Skye’s fame and infamous reputation delivers a claustrophobic commentary on the state of stardom alongside the horror.

The gore is more intense, the scares are packed and varied and generally pretty effective, and there’s an undeniable confidence behind the camera here – the movie opens with a fantastic one-take prologue following Kyle Gallner’s character from the first film, a downright show-off piece of cinematography for a blockbuster horror sequel. Despite the horror-centric focus, it’s also got an undeniable sense of humour, albeit a very dark one – and, for a movie about pop music, some of those original songs are bangers.

All those things make Smile 2 a good film, but what elevates it into downright masterpiece territory is Scott’s turn as Skye. She’s a great character on paper, a decidedly more morally-grey leading woman than Sosie Bacon in the original – an addict who suffers from mental illness that has caused undeniable hurt to the people around her, literal and metaphorical. I’ve seen a lot of stories try to pull off “you wouldn’t get it, I’m damaged”, without ever showing us just how difficult this damage can make those characters, but Smile 2 isn’t afraid to make her unlikeable, irrational, even dangerous, before the curse reaches her.

But Naomi Scott takes that character and runs with it, putting in the shift of the year in this leading role. It’s an exhausting watch, the emotional gamut she sprints through here, the bloody edges she gives to Skye and her journey through the movie – there are several moments of her performance that are so raw, so intense, they’re almost hard to watch. About two-thirds of the way into the movie, I found myself thinking, I’ve seen people get Oscars for less than this, and frankly, I stand by it. Even if you’re not a fan of this premise of the first movie, it’s worth it for her alone.

Though, with the ending of this movie nodding to an even bigger threequel, it’s probably best to jump in on this franchise now. If this sequel is anything to go by, the Smile series is going to be one of the most exciting and entertaining things in horror – hell, in movies at large, provided you can stomach the gore. I can’t wait to see where it goes next, and I sincerely hope it gives the boost to Naomi Scott’s career that she evidently deserves. Yeah, you know what? Smile 2 is a masterpiece. I’ll stand by that.

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By Lou MacGregor

(header image via Gizmodo)