Review: ‘Smile 2’ finds new ways to go from grin to cringe

A scene from ‘Smile 2’ courtesy of © Paramount Pictures

‘Smile 2’ follows the curse as it’s transmitted to a famous person who doesn’t have the luxury of going crazy in private.

Over-the-top horror centres on imaginary monsters wreaking havoc and committing impossible acts. Extra strong, oversized, impervious and physically out-of-the-ordinary, these killers create a safe distance at which fans can watch and be superficially scared. However, the more frightening scares come from stories that mimic real life. The movies that take ordinary experiences and uncover their inherent creepiness or feature regular people with bloodcurdling secrets are far more menacing. Even the smallest possibility that a film premise could become a reality can haunt audiences, making the narrative more frightening than one based in pure fiction. Smile 2 does this by making the most benign, everyday expression startling.

Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is a famous pop star preparing to launch a big comeback tour after a fatal car accident killed her boyfriend and left her with chronic back pain. Now clean and sober, she’s ready to get back out there — or at least her mother (Rosemarie DeWitt) has convinced her she is because any more time away and people will forget she was famous. However, Skye is infected with a paranormal parasite that feeds on her fear, driving her crazy with threateningly smiling faces and painful memories from her past. The torture persists until the affected dies by suicide, passing on the virus to any witnesses. But Skye wants to find another way out.

While a smile is generally considered pleasant and the sign of a friendly face, there can also be something sinister about it. Maybe it’s too big or seems disingenuous. It can be especially troubling when a smile doesn’t reach a person’s eyes. This disturbing expression is used very effectively in the Smile movies as silent people with soulless grins plague the protagonist. Sometimes they appear suddenly, which is often good for a jump scare, or they just stare intently at their target, building intensity and letting anxiety mount until the valve is released to temporarily relieve the pressure.

Writer-director Parker Finn returns and picks up where the original picture concluded as Joel (Kyle Gallner) struggles to end the curse without bringing harm to an innocent person. Eventually, Skye becomes afflicted, though her instincts for handling scary situations are not always the best — by now, everyone should know investigating a mysterious noise or not keeping the lights on is a bad idea. Nonetheless, her public figure status puts her in a unique position to encounter more strangers and be generally surrounded by more people than the average person, which creates a lot of opportunity for her to be haunted. In addition, most of her freak outs are witnessed by dozens of bystanders and recorded for social media posterity. This idea of someone always watching adds an extra layer to Skye’s nightmare.

This movie definitely measures up to the first chapter, delivering all the anticipated creepiness with a good number of scares that rival its predecessor. It’s a little unrealistic that no one is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to stop the entity once and for all, but apparently people’s (and the franchise’s) survival instincts are more persuasive.

Director: Parker Finn
Starring: Naomi Scott, Kyle Gallner and Rosemarie DeWitt