Shocktober 2024 - Smile 2 (2024)
“You’re not in control. I am!” – Skye Riley
Are you though, Skye? Are you really?
This is the third of the three cinema releases I have planned for this year’s 13 Screams – and wow, it delivers. It delivers more than we can reasonably expect from a sequel. Especially considering that it’s a sequel. I had enjoyed the first Smile, but I didn’t really think it needed a sequel, the tale was told. But yes – we needed a sequel, especially when it’s a strong as this one. Smile 2 is that rarity, an inventive, original sequel that is even more powerful than the first film.
In the first film, we were introduced to the concept of the Smile Entity, a sort of curse, where if inflicted, the victim won’t live much past a week, experiencing a mental breakdown, self-harming, hallucinations, ending in suicide. Should you witness this happening, the Smile Entity then possess you. This is how it perpetuates. The only way to kill it is to kill yourself while the Entity is in you, and no witnesses.
Okay – we start “6 days later”, which left me wondering 6 days later than what? Well, six days later than the first film, which left cop Joel (Kyle Gallner) infected. He has decided to pass the Smile Entity on to an East European drug gang, but it doesn’t go exactly as planned. Joel is shot and instead passes the Entity on to a small-time drug dealer, Lewis Fregoli (Lukas Gage).
Now, the story can properly start, as we’re introduced to Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) a pop princess making a comeback after a car crash that killed her film star boyfriend and severely injured her leaving her with knee and spinal damage, and scarring on her back and abdomen. She is also recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, both of which were a contributing factor in the accident. But things are looking up, she begins her return with an appearance on the Drew Barrymore show, and has a huge comeback world tour ahead of her. But those back pains keep nagging, so she approaches a high school acquanintance to sell her some prescription painkillers. The dealer in question is Lewis Fregoli, now deep into the curse. He succumbs to suicide by smashing himself repeatedly in the face with a barbell weight in front of Skye, now passing the curse on to her.
When watching this film, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Britney Spears’ breakdown several years ago, as the pressures of showbusiness are clearly taking their toll on Skye, add to this the increasing severity of the hallucinations as the Entity tightens its grip on her sanity, causing her to misread autocues in front of an audience, see stalking fans who aren’t there, including one stunning sequence where she sees a roomful of them, all smiling and moving in unison. Finally, she doesn’t know whether she’s actually awake or asleep as the hallucinations begin to take on a sinister dream within a dream quality and reality is blurred beyond her ability to tell the difference.
The powerful performance by Naomi Scott really carries the film, the increasing severity of her delusions and their effect on her, and how they impact her life are elements of the movie that will stay with you long after the lights have gone back up and you’ve left the multiplex, as will the effects of the Smile Entity on its hosts, as one is shown removing his jaw – with a crowbar. Despite the bewildering amount of gore in the Terrifier films, I found this one scene more disturbing and harder to watch than the three Terrifiers.
Of the three cinema movies I’ve included in this year’s list, this might well be the most powerful. Terrifier 3 was insane over the top fun, ‘Salem’s Lot was a traditional classic-style vampire movie, but Smile 2 is haunting and deeply unsettling. It’s the ideal movie for a Halloween Night outing.
The ending, in particular is chilling, but as the movie’s still on theatrical release, I’m not going to spoil it here.
Smile is such a wide concept that they can literally go anywhere with the story, as they’re not dependent on continuing characters to go from film to film. These are character-based horror movies where the true horror comes from whatever’s in the character’s psyche. And THAT’s a horrifying place.
Rob Rating = 9