'Smile 2' Review: This Is Going To Ruin The Comeback Tour

The music industry is (for some) a pathway to talents maximized and dreams fulfilled. There’s the other side to all the parties, sold-out shows, and glamour. The stories of Britney Spears and Chappell Roans exist where I don’t have to reiterate that all that shimmers isn’t exactly gold. Although (thankfully), there has been more of an emphasis on the delicate dance of mental health and fame. But if the endless demands of tours, meet and greets, and commitments aren’t enough, imagine if you had a parasitic demon to fight off. “Smile 2” follows much of the same formula as its 2022 predecessor. Still, writer/director Parker Finn raises the temperature—more gory setpieces, more disorienting points of view, helped by returning cinematographer Charlie Sarroff, and some more layers given the musical aspect of the plot. Now you get to base a rather simplistic horror film about trauma in a world where smiles cut deeply on both sides of the coin. If you’re an artist, they hide real intentions, and on the flip side, a wink and a nod of performance can only hold back the depths of despair.

Naomi Scott stars in Paramount Pictures Presents A Temple Hill Production A Parker Finn Film “Smile 2”

Meanwhile, “Smile 2” still preserves the fine print details about the lore of this curse and perhaps ways to combat it. The template is simple; if you are witness to a violent act, you essentially become a carrier for a parasitic entity (demon, maybe?). Within a week, it plays mind games with you in the form of your deepest and darkest insecurities until you’ve had enough. Once you are on the brink of insanity, it causes you to commit suicide, and the cycle keeps repeating to no end.

It’s been a year since a horrible car accident caused mega-pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) to retreat from the spotlight. The truth is, Riley already had her share of troubles battling drug abuse — if it wasn’t the accident itself, the endless nights of excess would have served to be Riley’s undoing. But she’s back fresh from a rehab stint and ready to conquer the world on a tour she had to abandon. We all love a comeback story, right? The problem is that the accident has left a considerable toll on Skye – not only from a mental standpoint by losing her boyfriend (played by Ray Nicholson), but physically. She has scars that illicit self-consciousness and a back issue, which drives her to seek out pain medication. During a considerable amount of chronic pain, Skye makes a call to her dealer, Lewis (Lukas Gage). But something is wrong, and Lewis is in a state of mania. Soon after, Skye is witness to Lucas hitting his face repeatedly with a gym weight. It’s as ghastly as it sounds, and the comeback story of Skye Riley is not exactly going to go according to plan.

This is where Finn’s creativity comes into play, not allowing you to fixate on any perspective because we are looking through the eyes of an unreliable narrator. The first “Smile” is a relatively straightforward story of what could have happened to an ordinary person’s mind if they were to be in this scenario. Imagine if this curse is in the playground of somebody who has a multitude of unworked traumas and the stress of keeping up a high-profile appearance. “Smile 2” utilizes the same unnerving soundscapes and score, but elects to twist what you see because the film relies on music. It’s not as if Skye has the greatest support system to fall back on. Her mother and manager (Rosemarie DeWitt) believe the show should go on at all costs because a lot is riding on this tour. Her ex-best friend Gemma (Dylan Gelula) had a falling out, so there’s no solace there, either. In essence, the pop singer’s grief-stricken mind is the perfect nesting place for a creepily smiling entity.

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Scott fully commits to bringing this fictitious star to the realization from the dancing parts to the recorded singing. It’s the descent into madness where her physical performance and the tight aspect ratios of the camera elevate a palpable sense of dread. “Smile 2” has a considerable amount of jump scares and scenarios that tailor this plot point to what was forged in the first film. The first “Smile” had the benefit of being a relatively confined story, and the beginning of the second film plays into that. Now, the stakes are a little bit higher, and anxiety is still the main driver. If it wasn’t enough to fight against the ticking clock of trying to figure out what to do about this curse, another aspect is inflicted upon a person with a vast, watchful audience. It’s not necessarily that “Smile 2” is an overt commentary on the often overstepping of fandom and how interconnected artists are expected to be with the world at large. The film acknowledges it, but doesn’t allow it to take over its overall focus. Facing your insecurities can feel insurmountable, but stuffing them down can conjure something worse.

Ultimately, you have a sequel that builds upon what made the first film stand out and paves the road for (possible) future stories. Horror is very much in the trauma business, and there isn’t a worldwide shortage of those who feel it.

Main Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures