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Smile 2

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Smile 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed byParker Finn
Written byParker Finn
Produced by
  • Marty Bowen
  • Wyck Godfrey
  • Isaac Klausner
  • Parker Finn
  • Robert Salerno
Starring
CinematographyCharlie Sarroff
Edited byElliot Greenberg[1]
Music byCristobal Tapia de Veer[2]
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • October 18, 2024 (2024-10-18)
Running time
127 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$28 million[4]
Box office$9.4 million[5][6]

Smile 2 is a 2024 American psychological supernatural horror film written and directed by Parker Finn. A sequel to Smile (2022), the film stars Naomi Scott as a pop star who begins to experience a series of increasingly disturbing events as she is about to go on tour. It also features Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, and Ray Nicholson, as well as Kyle Gallner reprising his role from the first film.

In March 2023, following the commercial success of the first film, Finn signed a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures to develop additional horror projects. In the following April, a sequel to Smile had entered pre-production, with Finn returning as writer and director. Principal photography took place from January to March 2024 throughout various locations in New York.

Smile 2 was released theatrically in the United States on October 18, 2024. Like its predecessor, the film received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

[edit]

Six days after witnessing Rose Cotter's suicide, ex-police officer Joel accosts two criminals at their hideout, intending to make one of them his intended witness to pass on the Smile Entity's curse. He kills one but the other dies in the ensuing shootout; however, a second witness, drug dealer Lewis Fregoli, arrives, inheriting the curse. Now free from the curse, Joel flees from the criminals' associates but is run over, severed in half and killed by an oncoming pickup truck.

In New York City, Grammy-winning pop star Skye Riley prepares for a comeback tour following a highly-publicized struggle with substance abuse and a car crash that killed her boyfriend, actor Paul Hudson. Despite being under near-constant supervision from her mother and manager Elizabeth and her assistant Joshua, she has secretly been addicted to Vicodin, which she takes to help her back pain from the car accident. She sneaks out to buy the drug from Lewis at his apartment; instead, she can only watch helplessly as Lewis, in a manic state, smiles and smashes his own face in with a weight plate, killing himself. Traumatized, she flees, too scared to notify the police and risk revealing her presence.

Soon, the curse manifests and Skye begins to experience physical and auditory hallucinations, including ones of people smiling eerily at her. Her mental health steadily deteroriates as a result. She contacts her ex-best friend Gemma, with whom she has not spoken in over a year after a bitter falling-out, for help, and the two make up. An unknown number texts her, stating that they know Skye was at Lewis' apartment and she is in danger.

At a charity event she was invited to speak to, things derail further when the teleprompter stalls ―revealed to be a hallucination— and forces Skye to give an impromptu talk in which she humiliates herself. She sees Paul Hudson, her dead ex-boyfriend, smiling at her. As he approaches her menacingly, she lashes out before the shocked audience, humiliating herself and accidentally injuring the elderly patron onstage. In desperation and seeking answers, Skye replies to the unknown number and meets with the contact; a man named Morris, a former nurse, who has been tracking the entity ever since it killed his brother. He explains how the curse can be transferred to anyone who witnesses the death of someone afflicted by the entity.[a] He theorizes that the entity is a parasite that will die without a host; therefore stopping Skye's heart to "kill" her, then resuscitating her may rid her of the curse. In a flashback, it is revealed that Skye had a drug-induced argument with Paul on the night of the accident, and had grabbed the wheel, causing the car to crash.

At her apartment, the entity attacks her again in the form of her backup dancers, and she suffers a concussion. She awakens at a wellness retreat, where she argues with her mother before Elizabeth suddenly smiles and stabs herself in the face with a shard of glass, poking her eye out. Skye then realizes she is covered in blood, revealing that she was the one who stabbed her mother.

Skye grabs a security guard's gun and escapes the hospital. She runs into Gemma, with whom she carjacks her driver, and races off to meet Morris for the resuscitation procedure. She then receives a call from the real Gemma, who asks why Skye hasn't spoken to her in a year, revealing that the entity has been posing as Gemma the entire time. Skye meets Morris at an abandoned Pizza Hut, where they will perform the procedure in its walk-in freezer, as the low temperature will slow down the process and protect her from brain damage. He will use a syringe to stop Skye's heart. He leaves Skye alone for a moment, and the entity attacks her, taking the form of Skye's self from the accident. Skye injects herself with the syringe, but the entity mocks her, revealing that she is still hallucinating.

Skye suddenly finds herself on stage at her tour's opening night on Madison Square Garden, where it is revealed that her mother is still alive, watching her happily from the audience alongside Joshua and music executive Darius. Unseen by everyone else, the entity reveals its true form to Skye - a skinless, semi-humanoid monstrosity. The monster pulls open Skye's mouth and crawls inside her; to the audience, she is seen choking and collapsing. The now-possessed Skye, smiling eerily, stands back up. Projected on the big screens, she stabs herself brutally in the eye with her microphone and dies, passing the curse on to the thousands of horrified spectators in the arena.

Cast

[edit]
  • Naomi Scott as Skye Riley, a famous pop music recording artist
  • Rosemarie DeWitt as Elizabeth Riley, Skye's mother and manager
  • Miles Gutierrez-Riley as Joshua, Elizabeth and Skye's assistant
  • Dylan Gelula as Gemma, Skye's estranged best friend
  • Raúl Castillo as Darius Bravo, the head of Skye's record company
  • Peter Jacobson as Morris, a nurse
  • Ray Nicholson as Paul Hudson, a deceased actor and Skye's former boyfriend
  • Lukas Gage as Lewis Fregoli, a drug dealer and acquaintance of Skye
  • Kyle Gallner as Joel, a police officer who previously was cursed by the Smile Entity.
  • Trevor Newlin as the Smile Entity
  • Mila Falkof as the smiling girl

Additionally, Drew Barrymore appears as herself, interviewing Skye on her talk show.

Production

[edit]

Parker Finn, writer and director of Smile, intentionally left portions of the first film ambiguous, with various plotlines unresolved, to create the opportunity to explore those details in a sequel.[7] He noted that while additional installments may explore the backstory of the entity, he would like to keep its mysterious nature intact, adding that a follow-up film would be notably different from the first as he believed "there is still a lot of interesting stuff to explore in the world of Smile. ... I'd want to make sure that there's a new, exciting, fresh way into it that the audience isn't anticipating."[7][8][9] In March 2023, following the commercial success of Smile, Finn signed a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures to develop additional horror projects.[10] The following month at 2023 CinemaCon, Paramount announced that a sequel to Smile had been green-lit and had entered pre-production, with Finn returning as writer and director.[11]

In December 2023, Naomi Scott was cast in a leading role.[12] In early 2024, Lukas Gage, Rosemarie DeWitt, Dylan Gelula, Raúl Castillo and Miles Gutierrez-Riley joined the cast.[13][14][15] Kyle Gallner reprised his role as Joel from the first film.[16] In September 2024, it was revealed that Drew Barrymore would appear as herself in the film.[17] Principal photography took place from January to March 2024 throughout Hudson Valley, New York, with primary locations in Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Wappingers Falls, Albany and New York City.[18][19]

Music

[edit]
Smile 2: The Skye Riley EP
EP by
Skye Riley
ReleasedOctober 11, 2024
GenrePop
Length17:58
LabelInterscope
ProducerIdarose
Naomi Scott chronology
Promises
(2016) 		Smile 2: The Skye Riley EP
(2024)
Singles from Smile 2: The Skye Riley EP
  1. "Blood on White Satin"
    Released: June 18, 2024
  2. "Grieved You"
    Released: September 13, 2024
  3. "Death of Me"
    Released: October 11, 2024

Smile 2: The Skye Riley EP is a soundtrack extended play (EP) by English actress and singer Naomi Scott, under the moniker "Skye Riley". It was released through Interscope Records on October 11, 2024.[20]

Background

[edit]

On June 8, 2024, the @SkyeRileyNation Instagram account began teasing a new era of a popstar named Skye Riley.[21] On June 13, Bloody Disgusting spotted promotional billboards promoting the artist and her new music.[22] On June 18, a song titled "Blood on White Satin" was released through Interscope Records and was featured in the first trailer of the film.[23] The film was promoted with an audience member at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.[24] The second single, "Grieved You", was released on September 13.[25]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Grieved You"
Take a Daytrip2:40
2."New Brain"
  • Idarose
  • Paul Bogum
  • Keven Wolfsohn
Idarose3:05
3."Just My Name"
Idarose3:32
4."Blood on White Satin"IdaroseIdarose2:43
5."Death of Me"
  • Scott
  • Idarose
Idarose2:46
6."Just My Name (Piano version)"
  • Scott
  • Idarose
Idarose3:15
Total length:17:58

Release

[edit]

Smile 2 was released by Paramount Pictures on October 18, 2024.[26]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

In the United States and Canada, Smile 2 is projected to gross $17–25 million from 3,500 theaters in its opening weekend.[4][27] The film made $9.4 million on its first day, including $2.5 million in previews.[28][29]

Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 131 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Blessed with a nerve-jangling star turn by Naomi Scott at his disposal, writer-director Parker Finn broadens Smile's conceit into a pop stardom nightmare that'll leave a rictus grin on horror fans' faces."[30] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[31] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale (up from the first film's "B-"), while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 71% overall positive score (including an average of 3 1/2 out of 5 stars).[29]

Writing for Polygon, Austen Goslin gave a positive review for the film, deeming it superior to the first, while stating: "Rather than simply rehashing the original, Parker Finn pushes his clever premise to its logical extreme and builds some incredibly scary scenes to match. In fact, Finn ends Smile 2 in a spot that feels like the perfect conclusion to the franchise — and the perfect jumping-off point for the career of one of the most exciting horror directors of his generation."[32] David Fear of Rolling Stone wrote, "There are long stretches where you actually forget you’re watching a Smile movie and couldn’t be blamed for thinking you’ve stumbled into a slightly more nightmarish version of Beyond the Lights."[33] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave the film 3/5 stars, writing, "I’m not sure if Smile 2 really adds much to an experience that we don’t already know but it does make for a neat, well-utilised setting for a horror film about losing one’s mind."[34]

Bilge Ebiri of Vulture was more critical, writing, "As Skye becomes increasingly unable to tell what’s actually happening and what’s a waking nightmare, we should feel more for her, and we should feel more with her. Instead, we lose interest, as the whole thing becomes pointless and even a little cynical and cruel. The movie ultimately scuttles its own ambitions."[35]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ As explained in Smile (2022)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ https://admin.wp-a.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GREENBERG-Elliot-ED.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  2. ^ "Cristobal Tapia de Veer Scoring Parker Finn's 'Smile 2' | Film Music Reporter". Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  3. ^ "Smile 2 (18)". BBFC. September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  4. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 16, 2024). "'Smile 2' Heading For High Teens At Weekend Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 16, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ "Smile 2". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  6. ^ "Smile 2 (2024) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Davids, Brian (December 9, 2022). "How Parker Finn's 'Smile' Went From Streaming to Theatrical in a Single Night". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  8. ^ Kaye, Don (December 2, 2022). "Smile Director: Ending 'Purposefully' Leaves Room for Sequel". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  9. ^ Nichols, Tyler (November 27, 2022). "Smile Interview: Parker Finn (writer/director)". JoBlo. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  10. ^ Kit, Borys (March 15, 2023). "Smile Filmmaker Parker Finn Signs First-Look Deal With Paramount (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  11. ^ Peralta, Diego (April 27, 2023). "Smile Sequel in the Works at Paramount". Collider. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  12. ^ Kroll, Justin (December 13, 2023). "Naomi Scott To Star In Next Installment In Paramount's Smile Franchise". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  13. ^ Grobar, Matt (January 9, 2024). "Lukas Gage Boards Smile Sequel". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  14. ^ Grobar, Matt (February 12, 2024). "Smile Sequel Adds Dylan Gelula To Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  15. ^ Cordero, Rosy (February 14, 2024). "Raúl Castillo & Miles Gutierrez-Riley Round Out Casting For Smile Sequel From Paramount". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  16. ^ Gonzalez, Umberto (January 11, 2024). "Rosemarie DeWitt and Kyle Gallner Round Out Untitled 'Smile' Sequel Cast Exclusive". TheWrap. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  17. ^ Squires, John (September 3, 2024). "'Smile 2' – Open Wide and Watch the Official Trailer for Paramount's Horror Sequel". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  18. ^ Boris (January 24, 2024). "Hollywood Film Crew Takes Over Newburgh Brewing Company Taproom". WPDH. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  19. ^ Hermanns, Grant (March 9, 2024). "Smile 2 Gets Surprising Filming Update From New Horror Movie Star". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  20. ^ "Smile 2: The Skye Riley EP - EP by Skye Riley & Naomi Scott". Retrieved October 11, 2024 – via Apple Music.
  21. ^ "First Teaser Trailer for SMILE 2 Reveals Naomi Scott's Popstar Character Skye Riley". GeekTyrant. June 18, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  22. ^ Squires, John (June 13, 2024). "Viral Marketing Campaign for 'Smile 2' Already Underway?". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  23. ^ Zemler, Emily (June 18, 2024). "Naomi Scott Is a Pop Star Pursued by Evil in 'Smile 2' Trailer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  24. ^ Drum, Nicole (September 13, 2024). "Smile 2 Viral Marketing Kicks Off in The Most Appropriate Place Possible". ComicBook.com. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  25. ^ "Home". Skye Riley. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  26. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 22, 2023). "Smile 2 Sets Release Date, One Love Moves". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  27. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (October 16, 2024). "Box Office: 'Smile 2' Aims to Carve Out $20 Million in Opening Weekend". Variety. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  28. ^ Moreau, Jordan (October 18, 2024). "Box Office: 'Smile 2' Makes $2.5 Million in Previews". Variety. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  29. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 19, 2024). "'Smile 2' Happier With $23M Opening; A24's 'We Live In Time' Making Dime With $4M+, 'Anora' Wows With Massive $105K Theater Average – Saturday Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  30. ^ "Smile 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  31. ^ "Smile 2". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  32. ^ Goslin, Austen (October 17, 2024). "Smile 2 is smarter, scarier, and much better than the first movie". Polygon. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  33. ^ Fear, David (October 17, 2024). "'Smile 2' Proves There's Nothing Scarier Than Pop Stardom". Rolling Stone.
  34. ^ Lee, Benjamin (October 17, 2024). "Smile 2 review – gory pop star horror sequel sings a familiar tune". The Guardian.
  35. ^ Ebiri, Bilge (October 17, 2024). "Smile 2's Ideas Are Scarier Than the Movie Itself". Vulture.
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