This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
ambusched94’s review published on Letterboxd:
This review may contain spoilers.
Scary good psychological horror sequel with a dazzling, powerhouse, star turn from Naomi Scott!! Whoaaa, this was way better than I thought it would be. Pure terror and unrelenting dread all the way through. Probably the standout, only well done film I've seen released this year and one of the best psychological horrors I've seen in a while. Smile 2 goes for the no holds barred approach, so ruthless in its terrifying, disturbing visuals (the smile entity's big bulging, bloodshot, piercing, menacing eyes were an "omg i don't want to see that, that's terrifying, I gotta look away" moment) some predictable but still effective jump scares, more gory with graphic dismemberment gore that shocks and also makes it hard not to stare in fear at it, wholly convincing, emotionally intense performance from Naomi Scott as troubled pop singer Skye Riley who deserves all the praise for going all in for a meaty, visceral, cathartic, and tragic star turn performance in an anxiety-inducing-inescapable paranoia sequel that the first Smile (2022) did well, but amped up times 10. Smile 2 is a more wild ride, more daring, scarier, where no scene feels safe to the main character or us viewers. I felt uneasy, anxious, and on edge for majority of the film, squirming in my seat and trying to cover my eyes in some scenes because the jump scares and frightening moments got me especially towards the latter half (when Skye's looking at her phone to watch a video and she gets jump scared by a vision of smile entity as Lewis, the mom's face contorting into the smile entity all of a sudden, and many more). The smile entity is probably one of the best horror monsters in cinema at the moment because it psychologically breaks its host/victim and isolates them where they are trapped in a very real (to them) and trippy living nightmare. A sharp commentary on trauma and the guilt of it, mental health, and how this is further scrutinized when it's experienced by a fictional famous person. I was rooting for Skye to beat the smile entity and survive at the end. She's a relatable character that wants to redeem herself and be better from her past mistakes she's traumatized and feels guilty over, we care if she survives. Her character and Scott's performance are a superb version of what a scream queen should be. Scott's performance elevates the story and the film as a whole, without Scott as the lead I think the film would have suffered despite having a good premise. The supporting cast were all superb; notable mention for one of the eerier, uncanny smiles goes to Ray Nicholson (Jack Nicholson's son), he has his dad's Joker smile and it works so effectively in the charity event speech scene. The Joel scene was an engaging opening scene for transitioning the first film's aftermath of Joel being passed the curse from Rose to propelling the chain of events that result in the smile curse passing on to pop singer Skye.
The downside was the predictable ending that someone predicted on Reddit or YouTube earlier this year lol. But it does work in favor of the entire plot and does leave me wondering what the sequel would be like and the direction it'll head in. This one also had much more reality warping from the smile entity, so the lines of reality and what was hallucinated were blurred and up for viewer interpretation. I don't think and I hope the entire film wasn't 20% real and the rest was all imagined, no that would cheapen some of the plot points. I think Skye did hallucinate visual and auditory here and there, it kept escalating the further in each day passed by. I think the smile entity fully took control and manipulated Skye's reality onwards almost fully after day 3 or 4 when Skye is attacked by the smile entity's form of her tour backup dancers.
Beyond amazing, magnetic performance from Naomi Scott in a difficult, emotionally heavy role. She commits all the way and it shows; a hard core, intense, emotional performance that deserves awards all around, maybe Oscar-worthy even; reminds me of the intensity of Toni Collette's performance from Hereditary (2018). Smile 2 is a very unforgettable, horror film viewing experience, memorable, disturbing moments that feel haunting and PTSD triggering for the audience and the character (the car crash aftermath and reaction from Skye was distressing to see). From the disorientating and creepy cinematography and editing, jarring sound design, catchy synth-pop music sang greatly by Scott (talented gal, I was vibing to the "Blood On White Satin" on-stage rehearsal performance, terrific scene and Scott slays with the singing and dancing; the Skye Riley EP track list is awesome), tense and frightening scares and visuals (e.g. the smile entity disguised as the car crash version of Skye is utterly unsettling) discordant and haunting film score, and excellent performance from Scott, Smile 2 is worth seeing in theaters (particularly in Dolby Cinema for the amped up sound) for horror fans and fans of the first Smile film. I look forward to the next sequel because the ending left a lot of open-ended questions and makes me wonder if the next film will focus on just one character like these last two films or have more than one character focused on as the lead. The successful drive of Smile is its nuanced character pieces on broken, complex individuals, so it may get too messy and gimmicky if they decide against this and have the smile entity possess the entire audience (but that seems too plausible), but we'll have to see what director Parker Finn comes up with next. I also look forward to seeing more of Scott's work in upcoming films and TV shows.