For this first post, I will review what is probably one of my favorite horror movies from last year in October, which had many people feeling astoundingly terrified after watching it. This movie would be “Smile 2,” the 2024 sequel to 2022’s “Smile.” The first movie starred Sosie Bacon (Kevin Bacon’s daughter), Kyle Gallner, and Jessie T. Usher. This new installment stars Naomi Scott in the lead role, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Ray Nicholson, son of Jack Nicholson from “The Shining.”
This sequel was one that many thought did not need to happen, but welcomed with open arms anyway, that is, after the trailer, as it follows pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), who is as big as Taylor Swift in the “Smile” Universe, get followed around by the Smile Demon/Curse, which makes people who are haunted by it see hallucinations of creepy smiles until it possesses the cursed host, making them kill themselves with a smile in front of another person, passing the curse onto them. This sequel had much to live up to, given the end of the last movie. This review will be spoiler-free but will talk about the performances of each part of the movie, as well as what could be to come for the next installment.
To begin talking about Smile 2, one must first recap the end of the first “Smile” as this saw Rose Cotter (Bacon) haunted by the “Smile” Curse, get possessed by the end, and then commit suicide while being possessed by the end of the movie, in front of her ex-boyfriend, Joel (Gallner). Once the demon curse finally gets to Skye Riley (Scott), things certainly heat up in the best way possible for those who love all of the thrills that come with horror. From smiling dancers to creepy fans at meet-and-greets, things certainly feel daunting in this profound sequel. Overall, you may want to wonder how this will result in something better for a possible future 3rd “Smile” Movie.
Regarding the potential of a 3rd movie, the stakes certainly need to be raised as much as possible. For the jump scares for the fans, it must be able to make them feel haunted as much as possible. With the themes of trauma that are ever-so present in this movie, I am certainly curious to see if they end up addressing the trauma lens of it all, and how to heal from it. With that regard, I am sure that it will be able to satisfy fans, as people will be thinking that “Smile 3” is even better than “Smile 2.”
In closing, the overall consensus of “Smile 2,” in my opinion, would be a magnificent hit for those who want to get into more horror, as one could easily say the same about the first installment in the series.
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