“Smile,” released just two short years ago, was a massive success, particularly among non-horror fans. Borrowing heavily from J-horror classics like “Ringu,” the film capitalized on its simple yet high-concept premise. A therapist becomes victim to a terrifying entity that manifests as increasingly disturbing experiences, notably the appearance of various people bearing creepy Richard D. James Album-esque smiles, before finally dispatching its victim in front of another person, thereby spreading itself.
The original “Smile” was an absurdly literal manifestation of the now-tired “trauma as horror” trend. It echoed films like “It Follows” and “Midsommar” with its over-determined metaphors of psychological scars made flesh. Writer-director Parker Finn’s feature-length debut had impressive moments of atmospheric dread. However, it was ultimately weighed down by its self-seriousness and a near-comic reliance on jump scares.
A More Focused Outing
Picking up six days after the first film, “Smile 2” follows our monster as it victim-hops from suburban New Jersey to cosmopolitan New York City. There, it latches onto Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), a young pop sensation grappling with her own demons. She inherits the “curse” from an old high-school acquaintance, triggering a familiar series of increasingly surreal encounters, fragmented flashbacks and a cursory treatment of deeper emotional issues like trauma, grief and gaslighting. Finn keeps the narrative formula intact, opting for spectacle over thematic depth.
One of the better aspects of the previous installment is Parker Finn’s workmanlike sense of craftsmanship. While certain stylistic flourishes — for example, the many upside-down drone shots or music cues — are certainly derivative of other so-called “elevated horror” films, “Smile” has plenty to look at.
This time around, Finn has thankfully eschewed some of that aesthetic, giving him even more room to play around with the form. Tracking shots, close-ups and zooms all contribute to a more pleasurable viewing experience. Of course, what would a “Smile” film be without at least a few groan-inducing decisions here and there?
What “Smile 2″ gets right this time is its tonal shift. The first film suffered from overwrought attempts to infuse psychological resonance into what is essentially a haunted house ride. “Smile 2” takes a different approach. While the movie doesn’t entirely dispense with its half-baked exploration of trauma, it wisely pulls back. This allows room for a meaner and even humorous sensibility to emerge. Finn appears to have learned that these films often work best as delivery vehicles for grotesque images, and “Smile 2″ plays to this strength, helping the weaker elements and bloated runtime go down a little easier.
Grounded in Character
It bears mentioning that Naomi Scott, the film’s center, does a good job of grounding the horror. Even at the film’s most absurd, Scott remains an eminently watchable screen presence. She keeps the audience locked into what’s going on around her. Skye Riley’s emotional journey, while still underwritten, is felt more acutely than Rose Cotter’s (Sosie Bacon) in the first film. Some of the film’s most shocking sequences work because of this character’s sheer relatability. Parker Finn deserves credit for calibrating these performances to the material.
“Smile 2” offers nothing new, but it certainly improves on its predecessor in tone and execution. Parker Finn thankfully embraces horror’s primal appeal. He invests more in actual scares and grotesque imagery rather than chasing the heavy-handed psychodrama that dragged the original down. It may not be a cinematic triumph, but as a simple pleasure, “Smile 2″ delivers what it promises: gruesome thrills that, this time, don’t come at the cost of entertainment.