Smile 2 is an adequate but forgettable horror film that is a sequel to a Smile which was released in 2022. Parker Finn is the writer and director with Naomi Scott in the lead as a troubled pop star named Skye Riley. The cast includes Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Ray Nicholson, and Dylan Gelula.
The film picks up about six days after the previous entry ended. A police officer is attempting to pass off the curse of the Smile Entity to a couple of notorious drug dealers, but that goes awry when one of their hapless customers gets the brunt. The police officer is killed, and the drug user passes the curse onto pop star, Skye Riley. Skye has a tragic past which involves drug addiction and the horrific death of a boyfriend when they were both in a car accident. Skye’s sanity starts to unravel when she notices the people around her approaching her with the unnerving, fixed smiles that is familiar to those who have seen the previous film.
I will start off and say this film is not that bad for another sequel in the horror genre. There were some genuinely creepy moments. It’s not that great, and we learn nothing all that new about this admittedly interesting entity. I will try not to give too much away, but the conclusion seemed rather pointless and predictable to some extent.
The performances were fairly compelling. The problem, as usual, is in the writing. There were not many characters I cared about ultimately. I didn’t find the main character to be all that sympathetic because a lot of her troubles she brings upon herself. No one seems to have a real chance to defeat this creature. Some of the scenes were just gross in a ridiculous way.
In spite of the numerous flaws, there was still a real effort to create a fairly unique menace. The film was not without some points of interest, but not enough to really warrant much enthusiasm from this viewer.
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