Smile 2
Smile 2 is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated R. Common Sense says 17+.
Troubled pop star Sky Riley (Naomi Scott) is about to kick off her comeback tour. But after witnessing the bizarre death of a friend, bizarre and terrifying things begin happening all around her. And then to her. She’ll need to figure out how to stop them before she lets down her millions of fans.
STORY: C+
It’s not a sophisticated story. But it is quite bonkers and creepy.
Horror doesn’t need to be complicated because fear isn’t complicated. Smile 2 seems to be aware of this fact. It spins a simple story that thankfully never feels very simple as you watch it.
PEOPLE: B
Naomi Scott climbs atop the scream queen throne.
Like Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out, Scott carries this film. And like he does, she lets her eyes do the lion’s share of the work.
Those magnetic eyes of hers triple in size every time a new terror peeks its head around a corner. Fear floods her eyes with the scent of a dark ocean’s secrets. Scott will be sitting at the top of horror film directors’ wish lists for a long time to come.
FILM NERD STUFF: A-
Smart camerawork amplifies every moment of fear.
Jump scares are great, but their effects are like fireworks. One big boom, then it’s over. This movie’s full of effective jump scares, but director Finn Parker also uses a lot of slow pans.
Because he knows slowness leads to impatience. Impatience leads to worry. Worry leads to fear. And fear leads your imagination to fill that lil’ ol’ head of yours with all sorts of disgusting, horrific, terrifying ideas while the camera slowly creeps toward the next reveal.
Slow pans make us feel more than mere surprise. They instill true terror.
ONE BIG LESSON: C
Rules. Just follow the rules.
It used to be an unwritten rule in horror films: the more you sin, the more certain it is you’re toast. After the screenwriters of the Scream franchise essentially wrote out (and then rewrote) the unofficial Horror Film Handbook, these rules became common knowledge. A blueprint for survival.
The problem is, people never really know if they’re living in a horror movie or not. I’m not just talking about movie characters. Who’s to say we’re all not living inside some Stephen King-like version of The Matrix?
It’s a Pascal’s wager proposition. Heed my advice: Follow. The. Rules.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Smile 2 doesn’t seem to exist for any other reason than to capitalize on the success of its predecessor. It doesn’t veer into any new, curious territory. It doesn’t add much to the haunting lore of the Smile-y-verse.
However, any lack of innovation is more than made up for by the fact that Smile 2 is a well made, stylish, satisfying movie. It’s closer to fast food than fine dining, but that’s ok. Sometimes fast food horror hits the spot. It sure does here.
Fans of the first film and fans of smart, low stakes horror are going to love this movie.