On the eve of her world tour, a global pop sensation begins to experience increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and pressures of fame, she must face her dark past to regain control of her life. A film by Parker Finn, starring Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, Raúl Castillo, Drew Barrymore, and Kyle Gallner.

Following the events of SMILE, where therapist Rose Cotter died in front of police officer Joel (Kyle Gallner), the evil entity has latched onto him.

Desperate to rid himself of the curse, Joel attempts to transfer it by killing Yev (Roberts Jekabsons) in front of his brother, Russian criminal Alexi (Zebedee Row). The plan backfires when Alexi draws his gun after witnessing Joel killed his brother, leading to a confrontation where Joel accidentally kills Alexi.

Unknown to Joel, Lewis Fregoli (Lukas Gage) witnesses the entire scene from across the room, unknowingly becoming the curse’s next vessel. As Joel prepares to leave, he encounters Maksim (Sean Stolzen) and two gang members. In his panicked attempt to escape through the storage room, Joel runs into the street where a pickup truck strikes and kills him instantly.

Pop superstar Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) makes her first public appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show since a tragic accident nearly a year ago that claimed the life of her actor boyfriend Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson) and left her with two permanent scars on her stomach and back. During the exclusive interview with Drew Barrymore, Skye opens up about her struggle with substance abuse and offers a heartfelt apology to her fans. She concludes the emotional appearance by announcing her comeback tour, which will kick off in New York City before going worldwide.

During rehearsals, Skye experiences severe back pain but conceals it from everyone, including her assistant Joshua (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) and her manager/mother Elizabeth (Rosemarie DeWitt). After they drop her off at her apartment building, she sneaks out to buy Vicodin from her former high school friend, now a drug dealer, Lewis Fregoli.

Upon arriving at Lewis’s apartment, Skye becomes terrified when he behaves erratically, pulling a sword on her. Lewis appears disoriented, with no memory of texting Skye to come over. Though uncomfortable and attempting to leave, Skye reconsiders when Lewis’s mood suddenly shifts and he offers to get her Vicodin from another room. Desperate for pain relief, she reluctantly agrees to wait.

When Lewis returns, he appears frantically disturbed, reacting to something invisible to Skye. After collapsing into a brief seizure, he rises with a horrifying smile before grabbing a barbell plate and repeatedly smashing it into his own face until he dies. Skye flees the scene in horror, unaware that the evil entity has already chosen her as its next victim.

Written and directed by Parker Finn, SMILE 2 is a psychological supernatural horror sequel to the 2022 film SMILE. Following the box office success of its predecessor, which grossed over $217 million against a $17 million budget in Finn’s directorial debut, SMILE 2 received a substantial budget increase to $28 million, allowing the filmmaker to expand his vision with bigger and bloodier sequences.

Naomi Scott delivers an impressive performance as pop star Skye Riley, showcasing a wide range of emotions, though predominantly fear and terror. The supporting cast is also interesting, particularly Ray Nicholson as Skye’s ex-boyfriend Paul Hudson, who delivers an unsettlingly smile.

While the sequel offers more insight into the evil entity’s capabilities, it shares its predecessor’s shortcoming of deliberately blurring the line between actual events and the protagonist’s hallucinations. Though this ambiguity might intentionally reflect the entity’s ability to distort reality, the film never clearly explains what happens to the protagonist’s physical body when she’s lost in her mind, making several scenes feel unconvincing.

The film also struggles to generate sympathy for its lead character, as Skye is portrayed as a self-centered, selfish, and inconsiderate young woman who shows little regard for anyone but herself.

Additionally, the reliance on cheap jumpscares and an unnecessarily extended runtime diminishes the overall impact. Even the final showdown, which finally reveals the evil entity in its true form, feels underwhelming. I mean, if you’ve seen “THE SUBSTANCE”, it’s just very difficult to top that.

SMILE 2 was theatrically released in the United States on 18 October 2024.