Move over, Trap Summer, it’s Skye Riley Fall. It’s tempting to compare the newest October terror to the recent “concert-horror” movie, Trap, but Smile 2 has more in common with The Idol though it relies less on flimsy shock-value, and instead on a talented stage-commanding lead living through more than one version of her worst nightmare. While the main threat is familiar, Smile 2 evolves from its predecessor by trading in “disturbing” for “terrifying.”
When we last left the grinning demon, it was latched on to Joel (Kyle Gallner), him having witnessed the previous protagonist’s untimely demise. Now, it’s made its way through him to a toothy drug dealer (Lukas Gage) and onto a flailing popstar being pushed to reclaim her megastar status. His death isn’t the first that Skye (Naomi Scott) witnessed firsthand- she is making her comeback on the tail end of recovery after her drug fueled celebrity life sent her and her boyfriend (Ray Nicholson) off the edge of the road in their car. Some wellness treatments and a canceled world tour behind her, Skye and her broad management team are ready to put her back on stage and back into the hearts of pop fans. But Skye’s demons (of all kinds) haven’t quite vacated her space, leaving her to desperately fend off a smiling monster while making sure she doesn’t ruin the tour. The WORLD tour!
When we’re introduced to Skye, she is immediately identifiable as susceptible to the demon we met in the first installment. (ICYMI, this monster is mostly a metaphor for contagious mental illness causing suicide, the implication that witnessing the horrific self-harm can cause ideation in its next host). It would have been easy to do the expected, to have the same demon return in the next conduit, and while that’s mostly what Smile 2 does, it does so in a crafty way that expands its conversation about mental illness to a whole new arena. Skye isn’t a struggling every-woman with a supportive partner, mental healthcare access, and unequipped friends. She is a pop idol with cameras on her, insurmountable pressure to pay lots of people’s bills, and thousands (if not millions?) of adoring fans. She can’t afford to sit-this-one-out or call up her therapist, because everyone is relying on her and expecting her to be perfect on TV, at her meet-and-greets, and on stage. It’s particularly timely in a time of Chappell Roan’s reactions to fans, new docs weekly about the pressures of stardom and toxic fan culture, and the reassessment of people like Britney Spears. Smile 2’s metaphor is present and prescient, but it is also a horror movie and is sure not to wade into too familiar waters as to feel “too real” and less fun.
And Smile 2 is (at least) as scary as it is fun. Lukas Gage and Dylan Gelula bring a new sense of levity to this sequel, made ever more necessary as it turns up the terror. Slamming together comic gags, frights, and uncanny frozen smiles is what creates this film’s heart pounding tone, something perfectly exemplified by its stunning dancer scene. After watching Skye struggle through grueling rehearsals, she is united with a dance crew in a truly inspired horror scene with shades of Suspiria and Climax. Contorting smilers flipping around the lead is raised up by stellar choreography, dizzying camera work, and a chorus line well versed in dreaded dancer facial expressions. Smile 2 is scary and I mean scary. It has the “trust no one” sick feeling of Rosemary’s Baby and an invasive demon that makes sure nowhere is safe. I’ve been waiting for a film that left me jittery on my ride home, and this one is it.
While I’ve handed this one narrative flowers for taking its premise into fresh territory, it isn’t flawless. As much as the I-can’t-trust-my-own-eyes-and-ears scares are what makes this movie so effective, it’s also too heavily relied on to conjure frights which makes many of them inert. Further, an unwelcome walking expository tries to tie the films together, but instead robs our lead of the agency to try and figure things out. Horror movies are often slowed down by research scenes, but it would have perhaps been more fun to watch Skye struggle to find a solution (the way Joel seems to have done in his endlessly-more-interesting cold open scene) instead of handing those reins to a character that could have easily been written out.
Smile 2 is the sort of movie with staying power by virtue of it almost never taking the easy way out. It evolves its own premise and tone by adding new subjects and fresh levity, allowing it to stand on its own as a stellar scary movie. Throw in details like wicked costume design, artful sound and foley, and a career defining performance for multi-talented Naomi Scott and Smile 2 is absolutely worthy of those filled theater seats.
Smile 2 hits theaters October 18, 2024