Now playing in UK and US cinemas is the supernatural horror sequel, Smile 2. The movie – written and directed by Parker Finn – stars Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Lukas Gage, and follows the story of a pop star who finds herself experiencing a series of nightmarish visions.
In the movie, Skye Riley is a musician and recording artist, who has been out of action for a year following a tragic car accident. Although she has mostly healed from the physical trauma of the accident, she has not quite healed mentally.
However, Skye is doing the best she can to move forward and is keen to push ahead with new music and a tour. Problem is, she is addicted to pain medication and needs her next fix.
Visiting her local dealer, Skye hopes to get her pills and leave without any fuss, but when she arrives she witnesses something truly unsettling. From here, Skye finds herself haunted by a strange and unexplained presence which appears to be impacting her already fragile mental state.
Picking up shortly after the events of 2022’s Smile, but focusing on a new lead character, Smile 2 is a simple and somewhat effective horror. Somewhat effective because while significant aspects of it work very well (more about that in a moment), the film will either hold your attention and satisfy you greatly, or you’ll struggle with it and at times lose interest.
I unfortunately found myself falling into the latter category, but I’m pretty sure plenty will fall into the former. As such, depending upon the journey you have with Smile 2 you may have a vastly different opinion of the picture.
Either way, it’s not bad, it’s just not amazing either. As far as I’m concerned it falls into mid-range territory which you can either take or leave.
Similar to its predecessor, Smile 2 is about a female protagonist pursued by an unseen force which causes her to see disturbing imagery. This imagery eats away at her mental health, causes her to spiral considerably, and leads to plenty of mind bending shenanigans.
And it’s here where Smile 2 is most effective. The film’s exploration of mental illness and PTSD is pushed to the forefront of the picture and everything that is conveyed on screen feels authentic.
As the story progresses, Skye descends further into the depths of depression and despair and the darkness in her mind is reflected by the darkness of the unseen force. A similar tactic was utilised in Smile, but here it feels more encompassing.
Although I’d argue a significant reason why the darkness seems bigger this time around is due to actress Naomi Scott. She is the other very effective element of Smile 2, and arguably its greatest selling point.
Smile 2 is essentially built around Scott and she leads the film brilliantly. The actress is in almost every scene and she helps to sell this picture as a very personal tale.
Scott throws herself into the movie and gives it her all. Between Scott and the film’s metaphor for darkness and depression, Smile 2 has the bones of something very strong.
But if the film has the bones in place, why did it not quite win me over? Well, largely because I found it all a bit long-winded, plodding, and occasionally tiresome.
While Scott is truly fantastic in the film and she sells everything she needs to, I’m not sure what’s being sold is something I want to buy. Watching someone descend into darkness on screen might sound interesting, but two hours of it is not as entertaining as you might expect.
A swift 90-minutes? Maybe. But two hours is hard going.
Smile 2 also feels a bit like a movie that never quite gets going. This could be because it never quite grabbed me, or it could be because it needs to branch out into other spaces and environments than the ones we ultimately get in the story.
Back when Smile was released in 2022 I gave it a fairly encouraging review and awarded the film 3.5/5. I liked a lot of what the original had to offer, it had some good ideas, and felt fresh.
I’m not quite so sure about Smile 2. For me, it’s a slightly lesser instalment than its predecessor, which has some great elements (once again, Scott is superb) and the movie boasts some excellent imagery, but it just doesn’t work as I would like.
However, others will have an entirely different viewpoint, which is perfectly fine. I am happy to agree to disagree on this one.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this review on It’s A Stampede!. For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.
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