.png)
Parker Finn (Director) is a madman. He took the premise of a short film to create Smile (2022). I was really entranced with his style back then because this is the type of movie/story that could really wear out its welcome to the point of becoming too cheesy or unintentionally comedic. However, Finn managed to craft a genuinely frightening "demon/possession" film that uses themes of mental health, loneliness and grief to weave its way through the story, and nearly perfectly I might add. So, with all that said I am here to tell you that with his follow up, simply titled Smile 2, he improves on literally every single aspect of all these things I loved about the first one.
Finn still has his foundation of mental health, grief, etc., but he also now incorporates elements such as the societal impact of things like social media, celebrity and the pressures of expectation. Another weirdly impressive thing about these Smile films so far is that they could seemingly go on forever with essentially the same plot over and over - just insert a new protagonist and their journey to try to solve the entity and what makes it tick. That may sound tiresome, but why I love it is because it will inherently challenge the filmmakers to up the ante (especially if it is the same director as in this case). It will also challenge the audience to find new meanings behind these familiar plot beats.
I am not sure how long the Smile franchise will go on, but it's safe to say that with this sequel, Finn accepted the challenge and upped the ante way beyond my expectation. The movie has its fair share of jump scares, all of which service the story or particular scene. It also delivers on a pretty gruesome amount of blood and body horror, of which all the kills highlight as well. Not to spoil too much, but the only horror ingredient that I did not particularly care for was the overuse of CGI in the final act - apparently opting to go this way as opposed to practicality. It seemed off-putting to me since all the horror effects in the film prior to that seemed to be largely practical. That is a minor inconvenience for me though, and some of the general audiences may not even notice or care.
The performances in the film are all terrific too, none more than the lead character of Skye Riley played by Naomi Scott (Aladdin 2019, The Martian). Scott delivers such a layered, nuanced and disturbed performance that teeters between innocent charm to psychotic lunacy. We learn to love Skye, then when we least expect it - we hate her. Then, when the chips are on the table - we are rooting for her all over again. Smile 2 is truly an edge-of-your-seat type of movie, and most of that hinges on Scott and her incredible performance. I am not saying this as hyperbole, but she is absolutely Oscar-worthy in this film. There is also a pretty hilarious supporting performance from Dylan Gelula (Dream Scenario) who plays her best friend, Gemma. I was in tears laughing at most of her line deliveries (a compliment). It is also awesome to see Kyle Gallner pop back up reprising his role of Joel that we got to know in the first film. He is also the anchor of one of the most compelling and taut opening scenes in any movie this year.
With 2024 giving us Demon/Possession Horror films such as Immaculate, The First Omen, Late Night with the Devil, Oddity and Longlegs (just to name a few) - I never thought there would be one to come out in late October that would leap frog all of these, but my friends as I sit here Smile 2 is the best of the lot, and it is also the best Horror movie of the year so far. Also, give Naomi Scott some roses - ANYONE, please.
🍿 SCORE = 91 / 100
Comments