Smile 2

I did not have the highest hopes for 'Smile 2'. It seemed like a concept that had one film in it and nothing more. How wrong I was. This film took an above average horror film in the original, and said we are going to better it in every way.

I mean don't get me wrong, it's still popcorn horror, but it's popcorn horror of the highest quality. Jump-scares rarely get anything out of me these days. This one had be jump out of my chair multiple times. I do have to make a note on this however - these did seem like the loudest jump-scares I've ever heard in a cinema. Even when the fright didn't work the sheer noise was capable of being quite startling. Not entirely sure if that was just the volume in my cinema or the sound mixing.

I worried when we were introduced to the lead character, and she was a pop-star, that it was going to be hard to side with her. Pop-stars in real life haven't exactly made themselves the most likeable of people over the last couple of decades. Her character was quite well created though. She was flawed, but she was also very personable and easy to side with. It helped that we got a terrific performance out of Naomi Scott it has to be said.

A good opening scene in horror movie has become a lost art. It's so important to get your audience hooked from the get go and set the standard. Many modern horror films forget about this, but not this film. The opening scene was great and really kicked the film off on the right note.

This film is pretty long for a horror film, coming in at over 2 hours. That's an ambitious ask to keep the quality up for that long and I kept wondering when it was all going to fall apart. It never did though and it even stuck the ending which I was really worried it wasn't going to do. I never thought I'd be writing this, but 'Smile 2' is going to be a contender for one of the best horror films of 2024. 9.5/10.

A very disturbing portrayal of the Smile phenomenon using the pop music scene and celebrity culture as a backdrop. Skye the central character is front and center in this horrifying story that presents layers upon layers of one's life spiraling out of control. We see most of the story from Skye point of view and so the movie does a great job of building empathy for the character in spite of all her moral failings. It also presents some deep themes on the toxic culture of pop stardom. In the movie, Smile takes on many meanings as it also reflects the pressure of showing up and smiling for the cameras when one's mental health is in shambles. Her momager, her assistant and fans all seem reasonable in the chaos yet their actions seem to become instruments of torture. It's so disturbing, Personally I feel like the Skye goes through too much and at the end I was just relieved that the movie was over. If you are into body horror then you would love this. The movie is quite scary but it is more disturbing than it's scary.

Smile 2 delivers a few decent scares, but it fails to bring anything fresh to the table. The story feels repetitive, and the ending is both confusing and anticlimactic, as if it was abruptly cut short. The film's bloated runtime only adds to the frustration, dragging out a narrative that could have been much tighter.

However, Naomi Scott's stunning performance is the highlight, infusing the film with emotional depth and intensity. While she shines, the rest of the movie feels like an unnecessary sequel, more of the same but stretched too thin. It's mediocre at best, offering little beyond what the first film already accomplished.

It's pretty similar in structure and how it plays out to the first movie, so if you liked 1 then you'll like 2. But where this movie really shines is Naomi Scott. She gave this movie 1,000% and I was absolutely blown away by her performance. She demonstrates so much range and brings an intensity to the movie that was definitely not present in the first movie. They also really amped up the gore here, which I enjoyed.

As for issues, as mentioned previously it's quite similar to the first movie. I was hoping for the formula to get changed up a little, but it follows the same blueprint. Also, as this movie is almost completely standalone, it treads some similar ground in terms of lore and learning about what the "entity" is. So if you've seen the first movie, you'll get some repetitive aspects there.

It's still solid enough on its own though. There are some very creepy sequences, great gore, and Naomi Scott being the absolute shining star of the movie. It's definitely worth seeing just for her performance alone.

"Smile 2" is a good film that, without being a masterpiece, manages to tell a solid story of horror and suspense. Its predecessor "Smile" is an overrated film, but this sequel improves in many aspects of the script. The cinematography is good, especially in those pop music atmosphere scenes. The makeup effects are realistic and gory. The performances are good, highlighting Naomi Scott and Kyle Gallner. Director Parker Finn demonstrates maturity in his cinematographic style, obviously surpassing himself. The soundtrack is gloomy and accentuates the suspense in several scenes. It is worth mentioning that the scene of Sky's apartment being invaded by characters with devilish smiles will become an iconic scene in horror movies. "Smile 2" is one of those sequels that surpasses the first film.