Review: Smile 2 – A scar is born
Directed by Parker Finn
Starring Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson
6/10
A year since a horrific car accident, Skye (Naomi Scott) has rebuilt her career, her life, and her body. Now, poised on the cusp of a comeback tour, the young starlet witnesses a brutal suicide. Haunted by the smiling victim, her life begins to unravel as a sinister force attempts to drive her to madness and death.
The first Smile is a surprisingly solid horror film, in part due to its underlying theme. The idea of trauma being passed on, destroying the host’s ability to fit in and seek help until they’re overwhelmed and suicidal, is oddly affecting. Add to this the creepy visual aspect of an empty smile (a horror classic since London After Midnight) and you have a decent genre flick.
Smile 2 doesn’t stray too far from this solid setup in terms of theme or story beats. It ups the spectacle by giving us insight into the drama of a pop idol’s life as she prepares to set out on a comeback tour. Hence we’re given stunning sets acting as backdrops to a few jaw-dropping sequences of horror.
This iteration also increases the gore factor, giving us a ludicrous amount of splatter from the very first scene. Director Parker Finn is able to use this obvious increase in budget to boost the shock value in many of the staged horror sequences, allowing for a few poetic and terrifying moments. Where the first felt a little empty in those moments, this is where Smile 2 shines.
Then there’s Scott’s performance. She carries the role with an intensity worthy of a self-made idol but is also able to let the audience glimpse moments of humour and vulnerability. As there’s less investigation work in this outing, it’s Scott’s predicament that really keeps the audience engaged. In both a world and a story that bear little basis in everyday experience, she still manages to keep us watching and relating to Skye.
Unfortunately, Smile 2 goes down the safe route for a sequel. It chooses not to expand or explain the lore of the supernatural parasite passed on by trauma (probably for the best), but merely repeats a slight variation of events with a different character and setting.
Its handling of its theme is also a little bit weaker. Smile 2 does make a passing comment on the public fascination with celebrity trauma, but this is barely touched upon. Instead, it retreads much of the same ground as the first film but gives Skye even less agency. The upside is that the ending leaves the franchise in a very interesting position going forward, if a third film is ever considered.
A flashy sequel with even more of the strong visual style that characterised the first. However, Smile 2 doesn’t do a great deal to build on the previous outing, feeling a little hollow by comparison.
DAVID O’CONNELL