‘Smile 2’ is a terrifying sequel

BY LINDSEY HUGHES / Multimedia Journalist

Halloween is here, and in turn many new thriller and horror movies are being released in theaters. “Smile 2,” sequel to the popular horror/thriller film “Smile,” was released October 18, 2024. 

Warning, there will be plotline spoilers in this review. 

This film was psychologically a thrilling, terrifying watch. Not many movies have the ability to leave a watcher feeling unsettled and inwardly deeply uncomfortable, but that is exactly what “Smile 2” does. 

The plot revolves around a popstar, Skye Riley, who is newly sober and making a comeback after a tragic car accident. The film shows the stars struggle with the “smile monster” after being infected. 

Actress Naomi Scott does a fantastic job of portraying the fear, desperation, emptiness and despair that Skye Riley feels during the battle she is forced to fight inside her own head. 

“Smile 2” was Scott’s first encounter with the horror genre, and was quite the turnaround, as two of her most popular movies are Disney’s “Lemonade Mouth,” and Disney’s live action “Aladdin.” Based on her overall performance, it would be difficult to tell that it was Scott’s first time acting in horror.

“Smile 2” was certainly different in several prominent ways from its prequel. While it is gorier and certainly more graphic than the first movie, “Smile 2” also incorporated some humor, which is difficult to do in a horror film without taking away the fear factor.

Several of the scenes in “Smile 2” were executed in ways that made them both scary and unexpected. Throughout a large chunk of the movie, Riley is living her life inside her head, every scene that plays out is purely psychological. 

As the viewer, however, you do not realize this until she “snaps out” of the trance that the Smile monster had put her into. This played out in a terrifying way, and ultimately ended in the somewhat predictable death of the star. 

The Smile movies are the first franchise of director Parker Finn’s career and have also proven to be the most popular. While there hasn’t been any official talk of a “Smile 3” movie, the director and writers did a great job of setting the stage for a third addition to the franchise.

“Smile 2” is overall a great horror movie. If you enjoy psychologically and mentally scary, challenging, movies, and are not easily bothered by gore, this will be an entertaining watch.