Smile 2
Following a tragic life event pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) finds herself on the precipice of of a world tour and stressed out, and, before long her reality and sanity begins slipping; faces of the people around her begin taking on a demonic smile dysmorphia that only she can see. But, what’s truly driving this evil, can it be explained, and can it be stopped?
Written and Directed by Parker Finn, this surprisingly effective second installment in the Smile series brings plenty of jack in the box jump scares and shadow boxed punches of terror to keep horror fans happy for at least the first two thirds of the film. And, Scott is clearly a perfect foil for the character given her prowess as an actor and a singer, her talents far exceed the rather cobbled finish in the third act. Where new horror such as It Follows (2014) manages to keep audiences in suspense by specifically not showing the monster, Smile 2 devalues its scare potential dramatically by showing us the evil and it’s hard to go back once we know the monster. Still, strong production values keep this Halloween-y timed fright fest in good company and with subtle nods to Rami and Burton, fans of the genre will find the jumps and chuckles still enjoyable. Running two hours and seven minutes, a tad long, Smile 2 is rated R.