2022’s Smile was an effective, if derivative, curse-horror film with interesting but bleak subtext about the nature of trauma. This sequel picks up the threads from the last, and takes them in fascinating new directions. Not simply a rehash of the first film’s overreliance on jump scares and creepy visuals (although this film has both in abundance), this film dives deeper into the psychological torment and mental breakdown the entity inflicts upon its victims. We are up-close and experiencing the main character’s mental degeneration, as the lines between reality, memory, sanity and personal torment blur. Naomi Scott gives an absolutely riveting performance, a ludicrously talented singer, actor, and the role plays in ways to subvert her beauty and appeal. There are some genuinely harrowing sequences, and some of the best jump scares cinema has to offer. They aren’t simply gibbering ‘boos’ but close, personal and often unexpected. The film plays with the expectation of scares in every hidden shadow and every isolated moment, but when they come, they’re never from the direction expected. They are also reflections and perversions of the main character’s experience, with some sly commentary on the loneliness and vapid existence of stardom and celebrity. This is Parker Finn’s sophomore effort, and superior in every way to the original film. What few complaints might be that it could be far more streamlined in the editing, a good 20 minutes and at least one subplot could be slashed without diminishing the final product. There are far too many lingering shots of how things are ‘upside down’, and it does rehash the last film’s twist a bit too lavishly, but that also reflects the entity’s nature and how trauma distorts perception. Regardless, this is still one of the better horror entries 2024 has to offer, and even without a followup sequel, leaves the viewer satisfied and eager to see what Finn might offer genre fans in the future.
Smile 2 (20240