The Reel Review
A pop star already in the throes of significant emotional trauma loses her grip on reality after she witnesses the extremely gruesome suicide of her drug dealer and starts experiencing disturbing hallucinations that she believes are being caused by a supernatural entity. Naomi Scott stars in this sequel to the 2022 psychological horror/thriller Smile.
Scott (Aladdin, Charlie’s Angels) is the magic that makes Smile 2 surpass its predecessor, giving an all-in performance as the pop star already coping with a history of substance abuse and a deadly car crash that killed her boyfriend a year earlier. Unlike the prior film, the line between reality and the vivid hallucinations is a lot more blurred this time, as writer/director Parker Finn takes us along with Skye Riley’s descent into madness, the telltale sign being when Riley loses track of time. The film also explores the loneliness and isolation associated with fame. Just as in his first film, we get a strong first hour filled with some real terror (home invasion, public humiliation, etc.) and terrifying jump scares, all set to a chilling electronic score and some harrowing bouts of trichotillomania, a psychological disorder associated with excessive hair pulling.
The second hour is a bit less realistic, as Skye Riley’s psychosis/supernatural demon takes full control, revealing some clever twists along the way which help explain some of the film’s more confusing earlier moments. The finale, while approaching a level of insanity on par with 2024’s The Substance, at least makes more sense given the film’s psychosis context, culminating in one very chilling final shot. Parker Finn has a hit franchise on his hands. It is exciting to see what he will do next.
REEL FACTS
• A Disney child actor, Naomi Scott says she was inspired by Lady Gaga in her portrait of Skye Riley, even doing all her own dance choreography and writing and singing her own music in Smile 2, available as Smile 2: The Skye Riley EP on iTunes and Spotify.
• Ray Nicholson, who plays Skye Riley’s dead boyfriend, is the son of Oscar-winning actor Jack Nicholson. His film credits include Licorice Pizza and Promising Young Woman.
• Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling, The Passenger, American Sniper), who appears in the film’s opening scene, is the only person to reprise his role from the first film.
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