Naomi Scott takes on the role of a haunted pop star in a surprisingly humorous horror sequel

Director Parker Finn delivered a disturbing example of mental anguish in his chilling directorial debut Smile. The film mixed supernatural and psychological horror to shock and frighten us through effective jump scares while providing a fitting commentary on mental health issues. Returning for its sequel, Smile 2Finn wrote and directed a film that revisits the themes of its predecessor. The landing doesn’t stick, but at least the jump scare is there. What matters is that Naomi Scott delivers a daring performance that should definitely be seen in the cinema.

Scott plays global pop singer and superstar Skye Riley. After spending almost a year recovering from drug abuse, Skye is preparing for a major comeback world tour. Through sleepless nights and countless rehearsals, the team wants to make it a great success story. But Skye’s persistent back pain prevents her from reaching her full potential. To ease her pain, Skye joins her former boyfriend Lewis (Lukas Gage) to get some Vicodin. When she arrives, she discovers a disoriented Lewis, barely aware of his surroundings. Before she realizes what is happening, Skye witnesses Lewis’ suicide.

Smile 2 waits too long for important revelations

It prevents us from fully understanding Skye

It’s not easy for Skye to deal with the aftermath of Lewis’ gruesome death. To make matters worse, Skye’s team doesn’t seem to understand her mental health issues without accusing her of using again. Interestingly, this is the location Smile 2 could have built momentum, but for some reason it just doesn’t happen. It took us quite a while to figure out what had happened to Skye that had caused both her back pain and mental health issues. But as these scenes played out, it was difficult to truly engage and understand Skye and the relationships with the people around her.

Following the formula of his first film, Finn cleverly uses his jump scare tactics to weave in moments of backstory for Skye. And yet here they weren’t as effective for storytelling. In SmileWe were aware of that Rose’s mental health journey is at the forefront, making it easy to empathize with her while questioning what really happened. Maybe this is just an unfortunate side effect of a horror sequel, but everything is more obvious in it Smile 2. Many of the events don’t seem real, although Scott does her best to convince us otherwise.

“Smile 2” surprisingly leans toward humor

It only works sometimes

Although Smile 2 That’s over two hours of missed opportunity, I can’t deny the fun to be had here. Oddly enough, Finn’s script this time is more humorous, as the world’s biggest pop star experiences strange events that result in a group of fans smiling at her. The humor contained in it and the cast’s portrayal of certain scenes definitely deserve praise. However, we almost have to forget that this is a story about an evil being who forces people to take their own lives in order to enjoy the experience in its entirety.

Ultimately, Smile 2 is by no means a bad film. But it certainly could have made smarter decisions to make it an overall success. Overall, the cast delivers solid performances that are fun to watch. Naomi Scott in particular is so sensational in every single moment she is on screen. With a better script, this could have been a sure winner for them. Even if it doesn’t take its own action seriously enough, Smile 2 is entertaining. Don’t expect the horror film to contain the best commentary on mental health issues, but be prepared for some jump-scare fun.

Smile 2 hits theaters on October 18th. The film is 127 minutes long and is rated R for its strong bloody violence, grisly images, language throughout and drug use.

5/10

“Smile 2” is the sequel to director Parker Finn’s 2022 psychological horror film about a therapist who witnesses a patient’s suicide, which leads to a series of horrific supernatural events. The sequel sees Finn return as director, while Paramount continues distribution.

Advantages

• Naomi Scott delivers an extremely daring performance.
• The script is often humorous.

Disadvantages

• Smile 2 doesn’t take its heavy themes seriously.
• The script places more emphasis on humor than actual storytelling.
• The film suffers from familiarity.