“ In an early scene in "Smile 2," the fictional pop superstar Skye
Riley is in her drug dealer's apartment. "Do you believe in weird stuff?" he asks her, between doing lines of coke.
You certainly will after this horror romp - writer-director Parker Finn's second movie that suddenly opens
up the franchise with the promises of multiple directions in the future.
Not for that drug dealer, though: He soon smiles at her demonically as he
repeatedly slams a 35-pound gym weight into his head, making it hamburger.
"Smile 2" lands as unsettling grins are plastered on pumpkins and
politicians alike as we approach Halloween and Election Day, and the psychotic, overly made-up leads
of "Joker: Folie à Deux" have been putting up a brave face at their terrible box-office numbers.
So it's the perfect time for a sequel to 2020's "Smile," which bridged the
gap between elevated art horror and straight-out, unapologetic slasher.
Finn this time takes on fame, a better tonal fit than the generational trauma of the first.
It's a meditation on breakdowns in the public eye, with a side dish of
body horror.
We start six days after the last movie but they are barely connected - a single
character for a few minutes - as we watch a demon that forces its victims to smile before meeting a
gruesome end working its way into the low-level drug
game.
The evil entity will eventually glom onto our heroine,
Skye, a fictional Grammy-winning pop superstar akin to if
Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus had a baby. We meet her a year after
a horrific car crash she was in that killed her famous boyfriend and left her with a Vicodin addiction and rumors about whether she had anything to do with it.
That drug dealer has now infected Skye, but she has no idea
what's in store (or in score, the terrific work of
Cristobal Tapia de Veer).
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Naomi Scott
in a scene from "Smile 2." (Paramount Pictures via AP)
On thing to really beam about is leading lady Naomi Scott going for it all-out,
all snot, smeared blood and wide-eyed, full on-fear.
Scott manages to pour her humanity into the part - diva, whimpering, defiant,
strung out, panicked. She even sings on the soundtrack - songs that
are credible hits.
The smile demon collides with Skye as she's about to launch a comeback tour and the
pressure is on. Finn is at his best here, mocking confessional TV interviews - a Drew Barrymore cameo, a nice touch - full of self-work and apologies: "I let you down and I promise this will never happen again."
Her management demands that she show up "smile and read from the teleprompter." Skye's mom
- on the payroll - is little help: "You need to stay hydrated," she tells her after Skye is
clearly in torment.
Finn has become a much more assured filmmaker and uses humor
so well here, from nasty gangsters enjoying pumpkin Frappuccinos to our heroine Googling "Does vomit have DNA?" He's still fond
of jump-scares and blood spurting and gross-out tricks,
like a body dragged by a truck until it's just a smear with entrails.
One delightful moment has Skye chased by demonic backup dancers,
a Bob Fosse-meets-"Thriller" sequence.
Finn also has a ball putting his heroines
into cringe-worthy situations. In the first movie,
a murdered cat got bundled into a kid´s birthday present.
In this one, it's a impromptu speech in front of
music industry types that goes horrifically off the rails.
He's got a deeper target: How do we quiet those
voices in our heads that say we're no good?
Finn's script sometime lags as he searches for an ending for
"Smile 2," seemingly in two minds, before basically delivering both,
kicking up dream sequences and alternate timelines like a squid pumping out ink to cover its tracks.
Over two hours ends up being too long.
But he has found a great satirical target, given life to a third film easily and showcased
another rising star to watch. That's a reason to, well, smile about.
"Smile 2," a Paramount Pictures release that lands in movie theaters
on Friday, is rated R for "strong bloody violent content, grisly images, language throughout and drug use." Running time: 127 minutes.
Three stars out of four.
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Ray Nicholson in a
scene from "Smile 2." (Paramount Pictures via AP)
Lukas Gage, from left, Naomi Scott and director Parker Finn pose for photographers upon arrival at
the premiere for the film 'Smile 2' on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Lukas Gage in a
scene from "Smile 2." (Paramount Pictures via AP)
Lukas Gage, left, and Naomi Scott pose for photographers
upon arrival at the premiere for the film 'Smile 2' on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024, in London. (Photo by Thomas Krych/Invision/AP)
Naomi Scott poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere for the film 'Smile 2' on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Lukas Gage, left, and Naomi Scott pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere for the film 'Smile 2' on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024, in London. (Photo by Thomas Krych/Invision/AP)
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Dylan Gelula, left,
and Naomi Scott in a scene from "Smile 2." (Paramount Pictures via AP)
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Rosemarie DeWitt in a scene
from "Smile 2." (Paramount Pictures via AP)
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Rosemarie DeWitt, left, and Naomi Scott
in a scene from "Smile 2." (Paramount Pictures via AP) ”