*This film is rated R and contains strong bloody violent content, horrifying images, foul language, and drug use*
The movie Smile 2, a sequel to Smile and directed by Parker Finn, stars actor Naomi Scott, playing the famous pop star Skye Riley who is gearing up to go on tour after a devastating accident. The movie lasts over 2 hours which may seem long, but the plot moves at a great, stable pace. Making the film not feel as long as it is. You don’t need to watch the prequel Smile to enjoy this film, but I recommend watching it to understand more about the Smile universe and the Smile curse. However, I do believe that this sequel is better than the first movie.
Leading up to the Smile 2 release, the advertising and production team curated lots of incredible marketing for film promotion, which got me excited to watch the movie when it was released. For example, they had random actors stand at baseball games with an eerie smile and keep direct eye contact with the cameras without moving for hours. They also made social media pages and billboards for the movie’s fictional popstar, Skye Riley, like she was real and was going on tour. They even created songs for Skye that were in the movie which can be streamed on Spotify and music platforms.
The CGI and special effects in the film looked eerily real, making the whole film an even scarier experience. I really enjoyed the cinematography of the movie and the camerawork for the movie was really great, catching different and unique perspectives while still being very seamless and natural.
Throughout the movie, the film weaves from hallucinations, dreams, and reality. Sometimes it can get a little hard to distinguish if what’s happening is real or fake, which captures exactly what Skye Riley was feeling and experiencing. However, it does get a little confusing at times. The movie features many jumpscares, which I think are well done. But if you don’t enjoy jump scares, I would not recommend watching Smile 2.
The very gory film includes lots of bloody horror imagery and paired with the very well-written story, it makes a great horror film. Though there are definitely scarier movies that will leave you with nightmares.
Overall, the film production, marketing, cinematography, and plot are all very well done. The movie leaves the viewers with an unhinged cliffhanger, paving the ground for an eventual Smile 3 in the future.
You can now watch Smile 2 in theaters and in a few months it will be streaming exclusively on Paramount+.
