Smile 2 Review: A Delightfully Nihilistic Sequel That'll Leave You Grinning

I was caught off guard by 2022's "Smile" – a blunt, bleak examination of how society treats those with debilitating mental health conditions dressed up as a gory supernatural horror. The debut of writer-slash-director Parker Finn clearly caught Paramount off guard too, with the film's originally planned streaming debut jettisoned after glowing test screening scores. Its success with audiences both before and during release is something of a miracle considering how despairing the treatment of its subject matter is, as well as the notable lack of anything approaching levity or a happy ending. The biggest surprise with "Smile 2" might be that, despite the much higher profile as Paramount hopes to turn it into a continuing franchise, it doesn't feel like a safer, watered-down studio product when placed next to its predecessor.

For the uninitiated, the curse in "Smile" is passed down to the last person to see the previous victim alive, starting a six-day ticking clock in which they will have intense visions and act destructively in ways beyond their control. It was the perfect allegory for a stand-alone film about the pressures of living with an incurable condition other people can't begin to comprehend your personal experiences of, but it didn't offer anything in the way of a narrative template for stories about further victims who have become the curse's host. Not everybody is going to have the same personal demons that shape how others respond to their sudden dramatic shifts in behavior, and so Finn skips 12 days and two hosts — don't worry, we do find out what happened to Joel (Kyle Gallner) in a cold open which acts as the connective tissue — to poison a pop star on the cusp of a comeback after a very public battle with addiction.

This is Skye Riley, a Miley Cyrus-esque wild-child-turned-good who, in a nifty bit of meta casting, is played by another former Disney star, Naomi Scott. After canceling a tour a year prior, following a car crash that claimed the life of her partner (Ray Nicholson), Skye is clean from drugs and alcohol and ready to take to the stage again. However, she's harboring a secret addiction to pain medication since the accident, and it puts her life in jeopardy in a completely different way after a fatal visit to her dealer Lewis (Lukas Gage), who was cursed six days prior. The conundrum for Skye isn't just whether she can survive the Smile Entity, but whether she can maintain a reformed public persona when all signs — such as the amount of drugs at the crime scene — point toward a relapse.

Parker Finn takes clear inspiration from the various tabloid case studies of how women battling addiction in the public eye are treated; as with the likes of Britney Spears, Skye is treated like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off even when there are no gestures in that direction. The curse placed on Skye is deliberately unsparing, warping her actions to those around her and robbing her of any chance to escape it — but despite these pre-established rules, the writer-director once again manages to avoid veering into outright exploitation of his troubled protagonist, even if he refuses to offer her a lifeline. It's the continuing paradox of the "Smile" movies, that this is the rare Hollywood franchise to explore the mental troubles of its lead characters with a genuine empathy, all while continuing to force them to suffer unimaginable brutality that only exists within their own head. You won't find richer parts for young actresses in any other contemporary studio horror, nor will you find any put through the ringer to this extent at no fault of their own — but it's only through the relentless approach to scarring its heroine that the film can effectively address the external pressures forced onto women in the spotlight.

As a sequel that is only tenuously connected to the first, there are some teething problems as this urban legend moves to a much bigger stage. It isn't until the third act when Skye first learns about the curse, for example, via an expository character the film would be much stronger without. It would be especially mean-spirited for the protagonist to not learn about the curse and continue to think she's suffering a violent mental breakdown, and Parker Finn does seem keen to make sure that his films never feel like ritual punishment. However, it is apparent that there is no neat way in which he can connect the dots. In the first "Smile," Sosie Bacon's doomed heroine managed to understand the curse thanks to a detective friend she could research prior case studies with; here, that knowledge comes to Skye entirely out of left field in a groan-inducing manner. It's one of the few areas where it's clear the prior film wasn't designed with sequels in mind, despite such a franchise-friendly premise — the lore underpinning the Smile Entity can't be easily passed down when subsequent victims often have little connection to the last.

The other issue is Finn's love for a rug-pull reveal, twisting expectations so frequently audiences may begin to feel carpet burn. Occasionally, this is used to devastating effect — as it was in the previous film — but he utilizes this trick far too often here, making it easy to second guess the nature of the reality being presented long before the illusion is supposed to shatter. In the moment, this is often thrilling, throwing the audience off balance and making a story where the ending is never in doubt frequently feel unpredictable. But very few of these moments hold up to scrutiny once the highs have worn off, with the trick only working when it helps its dual allegories about the side effects of fame and recovery force Skye into a more vulnerable place. More so than with Bacon's performance in the first "Smile," Naomi Scott's leading turn is essential to elevate the material this time, grounding every twist in the character's own devastation at being helpless toward her own deterioration, powerless as the curse transforms her into the troubled diva she's strived to never become.

If "Smile 2" feels just as good as the first in the moment, then it's entirely thanks to Scott, who helps anchor a story that could crack under the weight of its endless twist reveals. Her character's arc is a reminder that the real strengths of the "Smile" movies aren't necessarily their biggest scares (as much as its director might disagree) — and while "Smile 2" doesn't forget this, it is far more desperate to unsettle you compared to last time.

"Smile 2" creeps into theaters on October 18.