This time all hell is breaking loose in the pop world and a singer will quickly lose her laugh in this successful sequel.
The demon of the devilish smile pulls the corners of people's mouths wide again and lets their laughing muscles run amok. It was bound to happen after he had so much success in the first film thanks to director Parker Finn. However, the main female character died there, so a new hilarity victim is now the focus. Naomie Scott (known from “Aladdin” and “Charlie's Angels”) plays in “Smile 2” the internationally famous pop star Skye Riley, who is preparing for a world tour when everything starts to get very unfunny.
Scene from “Smile 2 – Do you see it too?”
Ailing pop star as perfect demon victim
The demon's mode of action has not changed: it feeds on the fears and weaknesses of its victims – and in Skye it finds plenty of material. As befits a real pop star, she has had a difficult time full of drug and alcohol abuse, but she is also troubled by a terrible car accident in which her boyfriend lost his life.
No question: all these bad memories provide material for even more evil visions, which she is now helplessly exposed to. This makes for an exquisite psychological trip with nightmare qualities where you can never be sure where reality ends. Naomie Scott has to go from one extreme to the other in the role and almost constantly teeters on the edge of madness. This fact alone makes us respect her nerve-wracking performance.
Scene from “Smile 2 – Do you see it too?”
Glittering world of pop as a feast for the eyes
While the first part got by on a meager budget of just $17 million (and grossed well over ten times as much), this time Parker Finn clearly had more money at his disposal – and that was necessary to create the glittering world of flash Capture the pop industry properly. Visually, this sequel is much more ambitious and has a lot to offer our eyes with sophisticated camera work as well as often complicated long takes and stage show sequences. But despite all the aesthetic satisfaction, the horror is of course not neglected.
Scene from “Smile 2 – Do you see it too?”
Unforgettable horror images
Finn constantly increases the horror and knows how to surprise us with new, unexpected shock moments. Some of these images are guaranteed to be burned into our brains for a long time – and it doesn't necessarily have to be particularly bloody (although it does): When a whole dance ensemble suddenly shows up in your own apartment with diabolical grins, practically after every blink of an eye As the scene gets closer and closer, this is also very effective – not to mention the little girl with braces who gets an autograph from the pop star, but is clearly under the influence of the demon.
Scene from “Smile 2 – Do you see it too?”
Prologue with a familiar figure
There are many new faces in this sequel – but we also meet a familiar character: Kyle Gallner is back in the role of the police officer named Joel, who we know from part 1. Back then he wasn't able to prevent the final disaster, but by now he should actually know where evil lurks and maybe even be able to do something about it. This is also urgently needed, because after all he had to watch helplessly as his ex-girlfriend died in flames – and that means one thing above all: he is now affected by the scary curse himself.
“Smile 2” picks up the narrative right there and only a few days have passed since the last events. In a kind of prologue we are presented with the immediate effects of the earlier action – and this much can be revealed: it won't be funny for Joel. But the current end is also likely to have very far-reaching and worrying consequences.
“Smile 2” is once again the sequel to a global success in which music is suddenly the focus. In contrast to the second “Joker” part, this sequel is really successful.
4 out of 5 demon hands in human mouths