Smile 2 is a strong sequel that delivers all the psychological horror you’d expect while adding a fresh angle by focusing on a pop star, Skye Riley. Played brilliantly by Naomi Scott, Skye is on the brink of a major comeback after struggling with substance abuse and surviving a car accident that killed her boyfriend. Just as her tour preparations get underway, her world unravels when she witnesses the horrifying suicide of a drug dealer named Lewis, who is clearly under the influence of the same curse from the first film. From that moment, Skye’s life spirals out of control as she’s plagued by terrifying hallucinations and unsettling encounters with smiling strangers.
The story follows Skye as she becomes increasingly isolated, hiding her mental deterioration while desperately searching for answers about the curse. The tension escalates as she reconnects with her estranged best friend, Gemma, and teams up with Morris, a nurse obsessed with the entity after it took his brother’s life. Skye’s grip on reality slips further as the entity’s influence grows stronger, blurring the line between what is real and what is just another mind game. One of the most disturbing scenes comes during a charity event, where Skye sees her dead boyfriend, Paul, grinning at her from the crowd, triggering a violent outburst in front of horrified onlookers.
Naomi Scott delivers a powerhouse performance, making Skye’s descent into madness feel raw and believable. She perfectly balances vulnerability and terror, bringing a tragic depth to the character. Director Parker Finn doesn’t hold back on the scares either. The film is loaded with unsettling moments, including a scene where Skye’s backup dancers morph into grotesque figures and another where her mother, controlled by the entity, meets a shockingly brutal end.
If the movie stumbles, it’s in its lack of new revelations about the curse. While the first film built tension around the entity’s mystery, Smile 2 sticks to a similar formula with plenty of jump scares and fake-outs but little development in the mythology. It plays it safe, leaning heavily on supernatural gimmicks that work well but don’t break any new ground.
That said, the movie still delivers for horror fans. It’s tense, disturbing, and filled with nightmare fuel. Finn’s use of sound and visual effects is top-notch, and the hallucinations grow more elaborate and unnerving as Skye sinks deeper into the curse’s grip. The final act, set during a chaotic and hallucinatory performance at Madison Square Garden, is an intense, nerve-shredding sequence that ends with a shocking climax sure to leave an impression.
While Smile 2 doesn’t expand much on the lore, it raises the stakes in terms of terror. Naomi Scott’s performance is the highlight, taking Skye from a troubled pop star to a completely unhinged victim of the curse. It may not reinvent the formula, but it delivers a bloody, disturbing, and well-crafted horror experience.
Overall, Smile 2 keeps the scares coming and offers a satisfying dose of fear and gore. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s well-executed and worth watching for horror fans. I’d give it a solid 8.5 out of 10.
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