There’s an old adage about it taking more muscles to frown than to smile. Parker Finn’s unnerving follow-up to his hit 2022 horror film Smile more than makes up the difference by targeting every other muscle you can think of – particularly the ones that make your neck snap back.
Anyone who’s watched the first instalment, will be well aware that easing-in periods don’t exist in this franchise. It’s bangs and bloodshed from the outset, as a nervy assailant bursts into a drug den and mercilessly slits the throat of a dealer before putting a bullet in the heart of another. Yet, the most haunting part of the encounter is the killer’s last words to unsuspecting onlooker Lewis (Lukas Gage): ‘I needed someone to pass it on to.’
The ‘it’ in question is a body-hopping spectre that gets its kicks from compelling its host to commit suicide with a sadistic smile on their face, before transferring into the consciousness of the witness – a narrative cue it takes from the likes of It Follows and The Ring. It’s probably not what Nat King Cole had in mind when he told us we should smile more.
The first film followed psychiatrist Rosie Cutter (Sosie Bacon) through the sterile surrounds of medical facilities. This time, it’s the turn of Aladdin’s Naomi Scott as Skye Riley, a Sabrina Carpenter-alike pop sensation. The huge dance numbers and paparazzi circus of Skye’s world offer a perfect playground for Finn to showcase his upscaled budgets.
It’s unhinged enough to keep you nicely on edge
We meet Skye as she’s making her return after a year-long hiatus brought on by a battle with substance abuse and a near-death car crash. Unable to find a doctor who will prescribe her with medication strong enough to manage her pain, she ends at the doorstep of a two-bit drug dealer. There, the evil spirit bludgeons its way into her subconscious in a sequence that’s a runaway contender for horror scene of the year.
The twisty-turny camerawork and piercing sound design are just as effective, and sure to satisfy the film’s cult following. But Scott is the star here – and considering she’s on-screen almost throughout, unraveling in empty rooms and screaming hysterically into the void, it’s never a dull watch.
Skye’s race against time to exorcise the demon makes for an interesting meditation on life as a Gen Z celebrity. Smiles aren’t expression of joy here; they’re contractual obligations.
But this ambitious attempt to dissect wider social context leaves Smile 2 with a bloated run time and clunky pacing. It’s tamer than its deeply unsettling predecessor, but still unhinged enough to keep you nicely on edge.
In cinemas worldwide Fri Oct 18.