Smile 2

Review by Mark Woodring

It’s no secret that I had some issues with the original Smile, as I was a bit disappointed in the marked lack of smiles in that film.

After a rewatch this past weekend, though, I found it to be much more enjoyable.

**NOTE: this post may be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, you can read Mark’s review below. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**

Smile 2 - Review
Smile 2 (Paramount)

 

127 Minutes, Rated R
Written by Parker Finn
Directed by Parker Finn

Synopsis:

About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her past.

Suffice it to say that writer/director Parker Finn has corrected that egregious oversight in the follow-up to that film.

Smile 2 picks up 6 days after the end of Smile, and boy, does it start with a bang.

The sequel ramps up the tension from the get-go, with a bit of a red herring in terms of the movement of the, uh… affliction. But don’t worry; we soon get back into the swing of things as Skye Riley makes the acquaintance of the Smile, and all hell breaks loose in her life.

Look, it doesn’t help that Skye has several factors working against her when it comes to dealing with this trauma-monster: she’s recovering from a car accident that killed her boyfriend, she’s a recovering addict who can’t drink anymore, and who wouldn’t be doing drugs anymore, except that she’s in such pain from the accident (probably legitimate pain, btw, as a fellow sufferer) she still clandestinely takes Vicodin on the sly, and is also dealing with the standard pressures of fame: i.e. being responsible for an entire industry of people built around her career.

So no pressure.

Now throw in the influence of “the Smile” and you can see how her mental state might break down a bit quicker, and in more creative ways.

Sure, Smile 2 still has a bunch of the requisite jump-scares, but it also really starts to fill out the world it exists in, which is what a good sequel should do.

Some really creative appearances by Smilers, including an awesome, Suspiria-esque, interpretive dance sequence (which really is cooler than I just made it sound), along with some actual musical numbers which put those of Joker 2 to shame.

Naomi Scott is impressive as Skye, really digging into the role as an artist struggling with so much mundane garbage that the supernatural addition just feels like “one more thing” to have to deal with, albeit with a “deal with it or DIE” type of outcome.

Kudos to Parker Finn for not just phoning in a sequel, and for absolutely, positively, giving me the darkest possible ending he could for this one. Sometimes the hero doesn’t win, evil isn’t vanquished, and good people get hurt.

Smile 2 recognizes this and says “here’s you helping of reality for today.”

I know, I know… this isn’t real, lol. But if it was, this is how it would end.

Not often mentioned in horror films is the score, and in Smile 2 we get such a consistently downbeat score it blends beautifully with the sound design of the film (which is also great). Heck, even Skye’s songs are downers, despite their poppy trappings.

Awesome.

If you’re a fan of the first film, check this one out.

Smile 2 is in theaters October 18 and stars Naomi Scott, Kyle Gallner, Rosemary DeWitt, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, Peter Jacobson, and Raul Castillo.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.

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