As we learned from “the rules of a horror sequel” in one of the few horror sequels that actually held its weight against the original – 1997’s Scream 2 – things are always bigger and bloodier in a Part 2; “Carnage candy,” as it was so deliciously described. And, indeed, Parker Finn has a sweet tooth for sinisterness in Smile 2, the suitably titled sequel to one of the more surprising successes of the horror genre, 2022’s Smile, which, well, smiled itself all the way to the bank as it overcame its original straight-to-streaming destiny and put bums on seats during a time when multiplexes still weren’t entirely a back-to-normality setting.
Following a set of rules that bring to mind the killer video tape in The Ring series, once you see “the smile” you have seven days until you’re entirely consumed and something kills you. What that thing is was revealed at the end of the first film, where the perennially suffering Rose (Sosie Bacon), a therapist, succumbed to the curse after a week of trying to rid herself of it; the curse essentially manifesting itself as an entity that feeds on trauma, and the only way to escape it is to brutally kill someone else in front of a witness to traumatize them, passing the curse to the witness.
As the unfortunate witness to Rose’s demise, police detective Joel (Kyle Gallner) has his week cut out for him, and Finn immediately sets us off in a space that continues the first movie’s dread with a “Six days later” tag that suggests Joel’s desperation is at boiling point. There’s no allowing us to settle into this universe as Smile 2 opens with a violent set piece that sees Joel manage to pass on the curse to the unsuspecting Lewis (Lukas Gage), a lowly drug dealer whose initial side player energy exponentially grows when we realise that he’s a supplier to one Skye Riley (Naomi Scott, throwing her entire being into a dynamite performance), a Gaga-sized popstar whose career is in the midst of a rebrand following a horrific accident that left her boyfriend dead (Ray Nicholson, who very much inherited the grin from famous pap, Jack), her career in pieces, and herself in rehab.
With Skye’s schedule forever a moving piece that she has no control over – Rosemarie DeWitt providing wonderful support as her “momager”, Elizabeth – Finn easily sets up a feeling of disorientation, and it’s Skye’s constant travels to make nice with music executives and fans that builds suspense. She’s already tightly wound, and it’s because of her being worn out from constant rehearsals and holding over pain from the accident that killed her boyfriend that she visits Lewis; this scene ending in the poor lad smashing his face to a broken, bloody pulp with a free weight as he, too, succumbs to the curse.
Of course, Skye has no idea why Lewis did what he did, and despite her exhaustion she powers on with tour preparation as if nothing happened; if anyone is mastering the art of smiling behind the pain, it’s Skye. Though we are aware that she is now cursed, Skye puts her violent hallucinations down to exertion, but when the creepy smiles start surrounding her and people’s actions don’t align with what they’re telling her, she’s unsure who to trust. When she receives anonymous text messages claiming someone knows what she’s going through, she’s unsure even of that validity, but Finn, masterful as he is, continually builds a macabre world around her, peppering in healthy smatterings of graphic gore, superbly executed jump scares and a healthy sense of humour to let audiences know he’s all too aware of the funny found in the fear; these two emotions perhaps best merging in one sequence in her apartment where Skye’s contorting backup dancers haunt her with voguing choreography.
Managing to avoid the demystification of its central horror figure – something many horror sequels can adhere to – Finn plays with the tropes of the horror genre and the horror sequel with Smile 2. Scott feels almost possessed herself as she fully embodies the emotional wreckage of survivor’s guilt, carried trauma and professional responsibility, grounding the film with an intensity that never wavers. In the moments we aren’t gripping the seats, Smile 2 never feels like it’ll truly let us breathe, and as excruciating as that is, it’s ultimately the best thing to smile about. A sequel that doesn’t suck? Get happy!
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Smile 2 is now screening in Australian theatres.
