Smile 2 (2024) Dir. Parker Finn

2022’s horror film Smile came and went with a pretty big shrug from most - including myself - so anticipation for an inevitable franchise sequel hardly set pulses racing.

Well, like many, pulses did end up racing in this sequel which delivers even more scares and gore than the first. But surprisingly it’s also far more creative too, with better camerawork, lighting and a number of truly unique and terrifying dream-like sequences.

Naomi Scott stars as pop star Skye Riley who gets infected with the Smile “demon” - I’m still not sure what the entity is and its rules seem to be frankly “whatever the film wants” - as she begins preparations for her upcoming tour.

A fantastic intro featuring Kyle Gallner attempting to pass on the curse to another is delivered in a well-executed extended one-shot and as the story switches to Scott’s musical career, we get more of her backstory and backstage troubles. With a history of drug-addiction, the film explores public and private personas and has a number of legitimately freaky scares including a disturbing sequence of choreographer “smilers” invading her apartment en masse.

There’s a hint of The Substance about it all towards its end with its bloody body ghastliness and like that film it explores how others' perceptions are set against our own view of our self. There's also echoes of Vox Lux (2018) with its pop star losing their grip on reality.

And as hallucinations come and go, Skye tries to reconnect with a friend as she rehearses for her big arena shows all the while her entourage worries about her increasingly unstable state of mind.

It's a rare feat that any sequel - and especially in the horror genre - is better than the first but that is exactly what’s happened here. Parker Finn’s direction is leaps better too. The celebrity iconography allows the filmmaker to play with music video aesthetics, stage dancing and create interesting visual compositions using the varied locations of the pop world.

The anxieties and paranoia of the lead are palpable and we’re along with her every step of the way. With excitement, terror and a number of serious themes around mental health thrown in too, Smile 2 will give horror fans a big grin with its great cast exploring the distorted face of fame.

★★★★

4 / 5

Michael Sales

Smile 2 gets a UK home release on 20th January 2025