Likely more than a few viewers were skeptical of Skye’s former best friend Gemma (Dylan Gelula) coming back into her life so easily after what was apparently a nasty falling out. After all, the demon impersonated friends and family in Rose Cotter’s life in the first film. So when Skye receives a phone call near the climax of the film from the real-Gemma, who reveals she’s still pissed at Skye and hasn’t forgiven her (even as “Gemma” is currently driving Skye to Staten Island), that evil demonic smile spreading across the face of our “Gemma” is not necessarily a surprise. However, the trick of the movie is that not only is Gemma a hallucination… but so is almost the entire third act of the movie.
This is borne out by the most sinister set-piece in the film when the Demon takes the form of Skye’s adoring fans and back up dancers, and flash mobs Skye in her own apartment. They physically harass and beat the pop star, but one of them also sticks their hand literally down her throat. For the Demon, this is getting a foot in the door. We know from the first movie that the Demon’s final coup de grace is literally possessing its victims by crawling down their throats. Presumably, it began the process early for Skye so as to make sure that it can get her on stage to infect as many people as possible.
This bit of nastiness answers some questions: such as how the Demon “made” Skye kill her mother in the next scene (she didn’t, that was all in Skye’s head). But it also raises another chilling question: Did the Demon plan this all from the beginning? The drug dealer who infects Skye said when he sees her at his door that he has no memory of texting her. It seems probable the Demon texted Skye and was carefully curating her entire journey so as to make sure it can infect the whole world on her upcoming tour. It takes partial control of Skye early in the story, so as to make sure she does nothing to jeopardize getting up on that stage. Like Skye’s mother, record label, and various other sycophants and hangers-on, the Demon is using Skye from the start to get a piece of her fame.
What Do Smile 2’s Fantasy Scenes Mean?
“I wish you could feel what it’s like to be inside my head,” Skye snaps at her mom late in the film. Skye makes variations of that plea throughout the movie, sometimes in dialogue and sometimes even in her songs. Thanks to the fantasy scenes that take up almost half of the movie, we viewers do get to see what’s inside of her head, and it ain’t pretty. Finn uses our knowledge of the movie’s rules, as well as cinematography that puts Skye front and center, to charge the audience with complicity in her breakdown.
Whether or not that approach works is a matter of debate. However, the technique gives the movie a cynical and almost reactionary view on celebrities and media in general. It frames the relationship between artists and fans as toxic, with the public forcing pop stars to be larger than life idols, and those same musicians then infecting everyone with their demons. Literally so in Skye’s case. Consider that Skye picks up the Smile Demon while attempting to score drugs from her usual dealer early in the movie. Admittedly, there is an added social critique in that scene, because Skye is actually buying pain killers she cannot be prescribed because of her history with substance abuse. However, in function the metaphor is still clear: the sins of Skye’s past vices lead to her destruction, with her “demon in a bottle” becoming a literal demon that will destroy her like so many rock and pop stars before her.
And due to the way Skye is idolized for her music (and exploited), Skye’s own weaknesses go on to infect all of her youthful, innocent fans. At the end, they are literally corrupted by Skye after she fails to be the impossible role model she is pretending to be. Either by accident or design, Smile 2‘s themes become not particularly far removed from sermons that anti-rock-and-roll preachers gave about satanic messages hidden on records (Hell’s Bells, anyone?).