SMILE 2 improves EVERYTHING - How to enhance a classic formula for a terrifying sequel

A new installment in the saga of director and filmmaker Parker Finn. An honour that began with his short film "Laura Hasn't Slept" (2020), which subsenquently led to the feature film"Smile" in 2022. Originally planned for a streaming release, good test screenings convinced Paramount to distribute it on the big screen. With a small budget of $17 million, the film grossed over $200 million. Of course, such results motivated the studio to produce the sequel for this psychological horror. Now, in 2024, conceived from the start for theaters, the team behind exploits to the fullest this great opportunity to show off as never before. For me, "Smile 2" is a stroke of genius that elevates everything, that was known about its predecessor, to enormous levels.

In the “Smile” saga, the rules of the game go like this. Spoiler alert in this paragraph, in case you've never seen the movies. There is a curse which involves a supernatural metaphysical being, whom we'll call "The Entity", who feeds on the traumas of his/her victim. It invades the mind, torments them with its own inner demons, creates hallucinations of people (with a nightmarish smile) and manipulates their perception of reality. All to break them psychologically, always in less than a week. When the Entity finishes feeding on the trauma, it materializes in a visible entity to possess its victim. A grim act that cannot be seen by anyone other than this new vessel. Now, to pass on the curse to another person, the Entity uses this new body (putting that macabre smile on its face) to commit a gruesome suicide in front of a witness. This works as a traumatizing act to transfer the Entity to that poor soul who had the misfortune of witnessing that death. Thus, the cycle continues. TRAUMA is the key: the core of the franchise. When you have the curse, you only have at most one week to live.

Why did I tell it in so much detail? Well, practically the same thing happens in both installments. In the original from 2022, the protagonist (victim) is a psychiatrist named Rose (Sosie Bacon), dealing with the curse in a suburbia close to rural areas and with a very clinical setting. Then, for this sequel, we are now transported to a bubble of extravagant glamour where we meet pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) who is about to embark on a world tour, but unfortunately will be a new witness in this endless chain. Seemingly invincible.

At first, I was afraid that “Smile 2” would lose the surprise factor, since one would already know the rules of the game. But I was wrong. They take advantage of that aspect to intensify the story and its staging to unceasingly stressful levels. Even when there are occasional moments of dark comedy, the tension is permanently at the surface since the film's action begins to show.

The premise may not be the most innovative (it won't be the first or the last psychological monster story), but the great antagonistic development gives it a sense of iconicity and differentiation. The rules around the smile or the design of the Entity, as well as the background themes of mental health, give it its own identity. In effect, it builds a great proposal with a future full of potential. Later, I'll talk about how the mental health theme stands out in these installments.

As I mentioned a little while ago, I'm glad that "Smile 2" hasn't lost the surprise factor. The already known actions are shown with a more explicit, more grotesque perspective. Mainly, the use of hallucinations transcend like a virus: now the threat is engendered beyond just seeing people standing around smiling. Likewise, I loved that the plan to confront the Entity is a totally different one from the predecessor, without losing logic at all; it even sounds more fruitful. Overall, they play with the anticipated expectations by enhancing the aversion and physical fear, both in story and cinematic experience. In this way, the "Smile ” saga retains freshness thanks to its ambition.

The visual proposal is much more polished. The quick changes between cameras and sequence shots have been neat. The photography has been perfected, generating a greater personal immersion. Thus, we have traumatizing, real and introspective scenes with our protagonist. Combined with a soundtrack where silence predominates, with frenetic changes for monstrous shocks. Also, a montage that plays between subtlety (creating a false sense of calm), as well as chaos (a violent and psychedelic nightmarish edition). It is a noxious atmosphere of uncertainty towards an unlimited evil. As the film progresses, we get to the point where at times the film takes on the role of doing a character study on protagonist Skye Riley. If the demons inside her head are terrifying, the body horror and sudden scares are phenomenal representations for the audience to empathize with such mental suffering.

Since I just mentioned it, I'll add that lead actress Naomi Scott (Aladdin, Charlie's Angels, Power Rangers) was SPECTACULAR. Easily the best performance of her career to date. Loaded with expressiveness, voice for the songs (yes, there are musical scenes), the dance choreographies. You can feel the preparation, the passion that Scott imbues in her screen time. She carries the entire story with her in a gloriously empathetic way, making the 2+ hour running time fly by. If the film managed to grab your attention, then you will stay until the end to find out what happens to her. She is just a wonderful protagonist. Along with the enhanced audiovisual technique, her performance enhances the introspection into her dark past. As a result, the talk of past traumas becomes much more interesting.

In the original film, we were first introduced to the concept of trauma and how terrifying it is to directly confront your ghosts from the past. The horror genre enhances these insecurities by personifying them as a threat to human life. This is an allegory that we should not neglect our mental health. If we disregard it, sooner or later our negativity could consume us from the inside and do us even more harm than a physical wound. With that background message, 2022's "Smile" places us in an unhealthy obsession with work, product of a family tragedy from psychiatrist Rose's childhood.

With that in mind, I admire the creative risk of raising awareness of the subject under new angles. If the first one focused on the mystery behind these catastrophes together with a woman of science, now this second one for the alienated action in the hands of an artist. I really love that contrast.

“Smile 2 “ places us in a world of big cities, show business, spectacle, superficiality and the unhealthy duty to hide your inner imperfections for the sake of your brand. A brand where you are the product. Ironically, the world of stardom, media, fame... forces you to SMILE in the public eye. Make a mistake and the whole world will be watching. Constant repression of your weaknesses is the new approach to raising awareness about mental health. Unfortunately, getting to the top doesn't mean your sorrows will disappear.

A more distressing terror, so the terrifying threat is personified and intensified in tandem. Here, part of the fear is also in witnessing Skye's painful relapse. It's unfortunate, because the one thing she feared most was becoming a controversial, problematic and toxic figure to everyone around her. Could it be that she has always been like that?

With all this tragedy behind us, when we reach the denouement of the film, what happens may be predictable for some. That is if we take into account all the path that has been laid out for us, especially in the climax. But that didn't matter, because it was incredibly stunning. The film takes care to tell it as a bittersweet surprise, which establishes on chaotic scales the supremacy of the Entity. The story will shock you and make you question literally everything. Ultimately, that conclusion is a turning point that enhances the franchise. The closure is perfect. It promises visceral, mammoth, apocalyptic scares for the future of the saga. I'm confident Finn can direct a third installment that blows the roof off even more, telling new horizons and nooks and crannies about the human psyche.

This is a horror franchise with contemporary messages, necessary and suitable for a new generation. Today, there is a greater awareness of these topics that are no longer taboo. Mixed with psychological and supernatural horror stories, ingeniously traumatizing films have emerged.

In conclusion: “Smile 2 ” is the pinnacle of Parker Finn's career. It takes the best of the last installment and expands it to unexplored frontiers. It elevates the stress of inescapable evil to captivatingly morbid levels. Likewise, there is a colossal evolution in the direction, cinematography and soundtrack. I really appreciate the eagerness to outdo themselves. Happily, they succeeded. The terror penetrates your mind. It penetrates Skye Riley. It permeates your senses relentlessly, to the point that you will remain under overwhelming tension, until it's all over.

Adding the new scale of production, quirky sets, Skye Riley's music as an authentic artist and the concert atmosphere... I was sure that the budget had tripled compared to the first one. But upon checking, I'm surprised that the costs haven't even doubled: $28 million (not counting marketing). That is exemplary financial management for Hollywood productions. A guaranteed box-office success. Tremble, "Joker: Folie à Deux" and its... $200 million?

I'm serious. Just the thought of so many possibilities for a third film... brings a SMILE to my face.

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