Smile 2 (2024) – Review

Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – Director Parker Finn’s follow up the ultra-successful Smile (2022) is a confident horror sequel that features an excellent performance from Naomi Scott. 

Starting with the 2021 short film Laura Hasn’t Slept, and continuing on with Smile and Smile 2, director Parker Finn has gotten an impressive amount of mileage out of the devilish Smile Entity that plagues the protagonists in the Smile franchise. On the surface, the idea of an investigative horror film featuring a demon who takes over bodies and smiles creepily at its victims is a homerun. What’s more impressive is that Finn has taken a good idea and not rested on its creepy strength. Instead, he’s built something truly frightening and improved upon each effort. Smile 2 is one of 2024’s best horror films and it’s fun watching Finn become more confident and artistic as the series continues. As expected, the cinematography by Charlie Sarroff (Relic, Night Swim) is excellent as the 2:00 to 1 aspect ratio makes the smiling faces look amazing. Also, Naomi Scott puts in one of the most physical and devoted performances of 2024 as a popstar who is going through one of the worst weeks ever. 

The film opens up with a shootout inside an abandoned house between a guy named Joel (Kyle Gallner – returning from the first film – also watch Strange Darling!) and the drug dealers who use it for their operations. Joel has clearly been afflicted by the smile entity and his plan to kill it goes awry and it’s passed to a small-time dealer named Lewis (Lukas Gage) who is in the worst possible place at the worst possible time. Soon after the shootout, Lewis passes the Smile Entity on to a world famous popstar named Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) when she shows up to his apartment to grab some painkillers. From there, the movie focuses on Skye as she deals with an evil entity, addiction problems, mental illness, bodily injuries, water bottles. and past trauma. 

What makes Smile 2 so good is that it uses its 131-minute running time to bury the audience into the ground. The film is confidently designed to put you in a headlock as Skye is haunted by the jerkiest of demons while dealing with the rigors of a comeback world tour and dump trucks of trauma. When we’re introduced to Skye during an appearance on the Drew Barrymore Show as she talks about her year-long hiatus after a car crash killed her actor boyfriend (Ray Nicholson – great smile) and left her in constant pain. On top of this, she’s an addict who has been sober for a year and can’t take any pain medications stronger than Tylenol. This isn’t great because training for a dance-heavy world tour is intense and not great for people with back pain. Her constant pain (and stress) leads her to Lewis’s apartment where he promptly kills himself in front of her – and leaves her cursed. From there, things just get terrible for her and it wouldn’t be cool to spoil anything else.

What makes Smile 2 so good is Naomi Scott. She comes across as a real-deal popstar and she handles the dancing, singing (She’s great in Aladdin) and physicality with an effortless grace. Her interactions with Rosemarie DeWitt, Dylan Gelula, Raúl Castillo, Peter Jacobson and Miles Gutierrez (the supporting cast is excellent) carry emotional weight and nothing about her journey into insanity (via a demon) feels superficial. The show must go on for Skye, and it hurts watching her flail her way towards her demise. It was a smart move by Finn to make the Skye character famous because it creates instant drama when she’s signing autographs, speaking at swanky dinners or rehearsing with her dancers because any of them can become the Smile Entity at the worst possible time. Also, her past issues with addiction make her frightened outbursts seem less-important to the people around her who are used to her drug-fueled antics and wild explosions. At one point, her mom yells ““Think about the tour, Sky!” during one of Skye’s frightened outbursts, and you really just want someone to hug the poor twenty-something popstar who is completely misunderstood and being hunted by a demon. 

Final Thoughts – Smile 2 doesn’t pull its punches and it will hurt your soul. However, the filmmaking, performances, sound design, costuming and cinematography will put a smile on your face.