In the first-class sequel, even pop girlies get their money's worth

It's easy to imagine a sequel Smile. Something grittier, louder, and more interested in lore than scares, squeezing the rest out of these A24 dream-crawlers' watered-down version of the original. Writer-director Parker Finn has created an entertaining, if unnerving, take on better films using Kubrick-lite compositions to spice up a production limited by coronavirus restrictions, with the cast kept to a minimum and the frame centered. The film's stilted style was too focused on its influences, but it had serviceable scares and a straightforward conceit: Following ring Rules: Once you see the smile, you have seven days to live.

Finns Smile 2 opens in a familiar place. Back in SmileIn the chilly suburbs of New Jersey, leftover cop Joel (Kyle Gallner) spends the sixth day of his Smile journey in his car. Finn doesn't allow us to settle back into his universe; The camera comes to life and in a twisted one-shot it's even more so raid as (REC)It follows Joel through a drug dealer's crumbling house. Before we even know how Smile 2 When you make a connection to the original or the genre of this film, the blood starts to flow and the grin widens.

Finn's script dodges and sometimes ignores common sequel errors, living up to our expectations before upending them with style and humor. Anchored by a gripping and deeply committed performance from Naomi Scott – possessed by the sweaty, snotty spirit of possession Isabelle Adjani—Smile 2 never forget the pain behind every grin.

Scott plays Skye Riley, a pop star on the rebound. A year after her boyfriend (Ray Nicholson, blessed with his father Jack's grin) dies in a car accident, her career falters and she finds herself in rehab, Skye embarks on a comeback tour that triggers her addiction. Desperate for painkillers, Skye turns to an old dealer, Lewis (Lukas Gage), who is nearing the end of his fight with Smile and tries to pass him on.

The first scenes illustrate the diversity Smile 2's script. From Joel's gangster shootout to an interview with Drew Barrymore and Skye's dance rehearsal, the film showcases its different types of tension. Much of the film's disorientation has to do with Skye's schedule, pushing her into situations where she's surrounded by strangers and expected to show off her shiny teeth. Scott's physical prowess makes it clear how strenuous it is to be a pop star with Smile disease. Skye chugs VOSS, sweats and beats herself to a pulp, but that's nothing compared to one of the film's early deaths, in which a face is shattered into a shattered patch of bone, flesh and teeth.

Solid inside her Call In this era, no one hides their pain behind a smile more than Skye. Accompanied by her manager mother (Rosemarie DeWitt) and occasionally abused assistant (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), Skye moves non-stop from meetings with smiling fans to fundraisers with wealthy donors to the makeup chair and the stadium stage. Scott can play different sides of Skye's panic, from harrowing humiliation to Seen-similar bloodletting. Even in the lavishly mundane rooms she calls home, she is haunted by violent hallucinations and smiling figures. Finn casts simple shadows around her Upper West Side apartment, creating an old-fashioned atmosphere while his camera rotates, pans, and zeroes in on Skye's perspective with a modern flair.

Focusing on the gut-wrenching carnage belies how much fun it is Smile 2 Is. The way Skye's team reacts to her madness is whimsical and humorous. After a year of career suicide, people expect her diva behavior and see it as just another part of the job, hoping to make her happy and get the tour going. Her estranged friend Gemma (Dylan Gelula) provides a credible sounding board. The film's humor breaks the tension (without defusing it) and makes room for more idiosyncratic and funny set pieces, like the breathtaking sequence in which Skye's creepy, crawling backup dancers haunt her apartment with hip choreography.

With throngs of screaming fans and backstage areas swarming with photographers and producers, the film captures Skye before the smile even enters the frame. Smile 2 It's not just about trauma, it's about hiding it – and Skye's world gives the film a strong justification for this. The second horror film about a pop star this year, Smile finds more to play with than M. Night Shyamalan's Catchespecially in music. Cristobal Tapia de Veer's contradictory score sits over Skye's Tate McCrae-penned jam “Grieve You,” adding a troubling undertone to Skye's radio-ready pop. The backstage-musical-meets-supernatural-terror elements make for one All the jazz-inspired romp that gives Scott a more complicated character and, as the lines between actor and performance blur, a scarier character Black Swan Song to sing.

Horror sequels are often subject to explanation and demystification before you know it Michael Myers is controlled by a constellation. Smile 2 weaponizes these tropes and inserts them into Skye's journey without damaging the central idea. Yes, the varying quality of the supporting cast's performances and the film's slightly excessive running time of 127 minutes might strain the cheeks. But the film finds dark humor in translating these desperate feelings of unease onto a kaleidoscopic creature of pain and viscera. That's something to smile about – if you can bear to look at the screen.

Director: Parker Finn
Writer: Parker Finn
With: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, Ray Nicholson
Release date: October 18, 2024