Writer-director Parker Finn’s 2022 surprise hit, Smile, endeared itself to genre fans looking for something new. The film had a good premise but suffered from an uneven execution and a terrible final act. Now comes the inevitable sequel, Smile 2, a superior film in every way and a picture so well-executed that the first entry seems like a fading memory. What failed in the first film (the “smiling” was more silly than sinister) works very well here, as Finn focuses more on character and expands the terrors to a palpable chilling effect. The director goes bigger and gets more creative, but seems more focused than he was the first time out. 

In only his second feature film, Parker Finn establishes a masterful skill for visual tone and atmosphere, while achieving a more firm grip on his narrative. As did Smile, this film focuses on a woman besieged by horrors she cannot fathom. As she tries to keep herself from going insane, people she knows and loves die horrific deaths. The deadly threat in both films is a supernatural demon that possesses its chosen host. For the sequel, the filmmaker gets more technically ambitious, using askew visuals and some incredible inverted shots to invoke the paranoia and constant fear of the lead character.

In a star-making performance, Naomi Scott is Skye Riley, a pop superstar who is a cross between Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish. The film introduces Skye as she is rehearsing for a world tour after recovering from substance abuse; although Vicodin is still needed for the pain that lingers from the car crash that nearly killed her (she still bears the scars from the incident), but did kill her actor-boyfriend, played by a menacing Ray Nicholson. The Pop Star is stepping back into the spotlight too soon, as her grief regarding the accident is forefront. It is her manager/mom (Rosemarie DeWitt) who pushes her to keep going in an attempt to restore her daughter’s star status. It is all Skye can do to cope with the physical and mental pain from her recent tragedy.

After spilling her last pain meds down the drain, Skye goes to score pills from a trusted friend, Lewis (Lukas Gage). As she arrives, her friend/dealer is manic and frightened. Soon, the already panicked Skye is forced to watch him bash in his face with a weight plate. As Lewis does this, he smiles at her. Fans of the first film know that Skye is now cursed and it will be a race against time to figure it all out and, hopefully, save her own life. 

After such an interesting and creepy setup, Finn kicks his ambition into overdrive, coming up with one superbly designed sequence after another, while infusing it all with a fascinating lead character and using the skyline of New York to sometimes artful levels. 

Smile 2 exists as an entry into the rare subgenre of the “Big City” horror film. Chillers are usually reserved for spooky houses, woods, castles, etc, but a small number of horror pictures find terror in the bustling world of the metropolis. Films such as Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby and Michael Winner’s The Sentinel used their metropolitan locales to enhance the terrors, incorporating the architecture and city lights, casting them as conduits for the scares. Cinematographer Charlie Sarroff maintains tight control over the framing, using a patient camera to imprison the audience’s attention. There is no reprieve from director Finn’s inventive ideas in how he presents the main character’s torment. 

The screen is filled with terrifying closeups of tortured faces on the edge of death, each maniacal ear-to-ear grin a demonic reflection of the carnage to come. Full of bloody gore, the gruesome ways in which the deaths occur are more impactful than in the first Smile. It isn’t just the death scenes that shock, the filmmaker crafts many riveting sequences that fill the screen with some truly unnerving imagery. The best comes when  Finn directs with such an excitingly devilish creativity, even the jump scares (a tired horror mainstay) work.  

There is texture to the filmmaking here. A great deal of care is given to the story, the film’s design, and to the creation of Skye Riley. Naomi Scott is simply breathtaking as she gives life to such a complete and well-drawn character. Skye is a broken young woman who sings of living in a borrowed body. The subtexts to the film (demonizing one’s struggles with mental health) are intelligently handled, as Skye deals with not only the monster of her trauma, but the very real evil that is taking over her life. Scott delivers a powerhouse work that should catapult her to a long and successful acting career. It would not be a bad thing for the Academy to recognize her with an Oscar nomination come awards season. The actress is that good. 

Parker Finn understands the recipe for a good horror film. This film is disturbing without going over the top and frightening while being grounded in character. As the remarkable finale of doom reaches the heights of a filmmaker like John Carpenter, the director turns his original idea into something deeper and quite effective. 

With its unrelenting psychological terrors, creative gore, and inventive design, Smile 2 is a vivid nightmare come to life and one of the best horror films of 2024. 

Smile 2

Written and Directed by Parker Finn

Starring Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Dylan Geluna, Ray Nicholson, Lukas Gage, Peter Jacobson

R, 127 Minutes, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Players, Temple Hill Entertainment