A common friendly debate among cinefiles is which sequels rival, or even (gasp) exceed their predecessor. Heck, the classic discussion even crept into a scene in Scream 2 in 1997. The topic is so engrossing because there are so few examples of such improvements. We get the occasional horror franchise where later films end up rising to nearly the same level of quality and magic as their origins, but if anything, these oddities prove the rule that series typically offer diminishing returns. While 2022’s Smile is a perfectly cromulent movie, Smile 2 is destined to be one of the films mentioned in the pantheon of sequels that outshine the original. It really is that good.
The crux of the Smile films rests with an unseen and un-understood contagious curse (for lack of a better term) that leaves the afflicted with delusions in which they witness violence and smiling people around them. Their sanity is pushed to the brink until they inevitably kill themselves in desperation to escape their visions and imagined tormentors. The curse then hops to their witness to start the cycle all over again. All of this is tested and found out through the investigation of the leads in the first film. When Smile 2 picks up, we are watching Joel (Kyle Gallner), who has carried over from one film to the other, trying his best to have the curse end with him. Things don’t go quite as he planned.
This entire opening sequence is done in one single take, and it is a doozy. Going in and out of buildings, sometimes through the door, multiple characters and taut tension all factor into the creation of such a single shot. The frenzied camera whips from one face to another only to occasionally dwell on gore and chaos, without a moment of rest or safety for the audience or participants. Starting the film with such bloody excitement and legitimate movie magic sets up Smile 2 for an incredible, unpredictable trajectory.
The curse eventually winds its way to pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott). Of all people who do not need this shit right now, it is her. Skye is on the brink of starting a new tour after a year-long hiatus. The “break” was anything but, as she was physically recovering from a car accident that killed her boyfriend and horribly injured her, in addition to a stint in rehab for substance addiction. Everyone around her is rooting for her comeback, but everyone around her is also counting on her success to keep their careers going. No pressure, right?
While Smile 2 does drum up some sympathy for this young woman who is trying to keep it together, it also does not cut her much slack when she acts like a spoiled diva. As the curse grows, much of her irrational behaviour could be attributed to pre-show jitters, or entitled ranting. Lashing out and carrying drama like a backpack is not beyond Skye’s previous antics, so how can they possibly be read as a cry for help now?
But Skye’s behaviour, which is a completely understandable reaction to the horror she is witnessing at any given moment from the smiley curse thingy, gets more erratic. She is terrified. Alone in a crowd of assistants, back-up dancers, and her momager (Rosemarie DeWitt), she feels lonely and no one believes her.
And she has every right to be terrified. The things she sees and hears, thanks to this curse, are all downright terrifying. Of course, there are the sinister smiling strangers, but add to that full scenes that are completely invented outside of reality where she is being stalked in her own home, or talking to people of her own invention. She has the double whammy of not only feeling like her life is in danger, but when the threat subsides, she must deal with the fact that she appears to be losing her mind.
If Smile 2 were any other film it could be broadly stated that Scott carries the picture and elevates it above the material within. And she does. Her performance is completely transcending and should be discussed in the same breath as Toni Collette in Hereditary, but the filmmaking also does a good amount of hefty lifting to make this film a true gem. The camera work, editing, sound design, art design, overall direction, and cohesive vision all work to create a legitimately incredible film.
The icing on the metaphorical cake here is that all of these elements also coalesce to craft commentary on fame and addiction. Skye’s behaviuor and the insistence of those around her to continue rehearsals in the midst of a mental breakdown are a cutting look at celebrity and what it takes to feed that machine. Layering all of that on top of the truly unsettling horror of the curse adds a dynamism that the first Smile did not even try to approach.
Smile 2 is not any greater than the sum of its parts. All of the parts- ever bloody, diabolical, uncanny and artful part- all come together to create a film worth of an entry into the hallowed halls of horror history.
