Smile 2 (18)

Global pop sensation Skye Riley is poised to embark on a physically gruelling world tour when she experiences terrifying visions of a malevolent presence that feeds on trauma and manifests as a rictus grin on each victim's face before they take their own life. As horrors escalate around her, Skye bravely confronts her dark past and the pressures of fame to avoid becoming another grim statistic.

LondonNet Film Review

Smile 2 (18) Film Review from LondonNet

There are many important life lessons to be gleaned from writer-director Parker Finn’s gruesome sequel to his 2022 horror thriller about a malevolent presence that feeds on trauma and manifests as a rictus grin on a victim’s face before they take their life. Say no to drugs, never drink and drive, always treat the people around you with kindness, capitalise and properly punctuate text messages, going out in public without shoes in a blood-soaked gown will attract attention… Bolder and more audacious than its predecessor, Finn’s second helping of skin-prickling terror repeatedly draws attention to flashier camerawork, including a nervy prologue shot in a single take, which catches up with police officer Joel (Kyle Gallner) from the original Smile, six days after infection as he attempts to pass on the entity to a deserving candidate…

A prolonged sequence inside a speeding car also cranks up tension and an encounter between the sequel’s dance pop diva heroine and an army of demonic dancers is a triumph of impeccably choreographed chaos worthy of a standalone music video. However, directorial brio can be distracting, such as filming scenes upside down for no reason, and, more crucially, Smile 2’s lead character – played with escalating delirium by Naomi Scott – is pitiable but neither sympathetic nor likeable. I struggled to muster concern for the character’s safety.

One year after the drug- and alcohol-fuelled car accident that killed her actor boyfriend Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson) and left her physically and psychological scarred, music superstar Skye Riley (Scott) emerges from rehab to begin the promotional whirlwind for a new world tour. “I am so grateful for this second chance,” Skye tells Drew Barrymore (playing herself) on her televised talk show. To feed the Vicodin habit that numbs her excruciating back pain, Skye secretly visits drug dealer Lewis (Lukas Gage).

Unfortunately, he is the current host of the parasitic Smile demon and commits suicide in front of Skye, transferring the malevolent entity to her. Strangers, fans and members of the entourage, including long-suffering personal assistant Joshua (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), flash Skye sickening grins, causing her to doubt her sanity during rehearsals for the tour. As horrors escalate, Skye confronts her dark past with the help of estranged best friend Gemma (Dylan Gelula) and learns about the demon’s tangled history from a mysterious stranger (Peter Jacobson).

Smile 2 raises the waist-high bar of the original with more dynamic staging, elevated jump scares and a tighter grip on sustained suspense. Scott puts herself through the emotional wringer in between impressive concert performances and dance routines. Finn’s script requires misdirection verging on a swindle to pull off one narrative twist but the picture’s final gory chorus is pitch perfect.

– Kim Hu