Smile 2 (2024) Review – A Psychological Horror Film About Trauma and a Terrifying Curse

 

Smile 2 | 2024 | 1h 34m
Genre: Body Horror/Folk Horror/Psychological Horror/Showbiz Drama/Splatter Horror/Supernatural Horror/Tragedy/Horror/Mystery/Thriller | Country: United States
Director: Parker Finn | Writer: Parker Finn
Cast: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage
IMDb: 6.7
My Rating: 7/10

Skye is trying to return to the entertainment industry after struggling with her mental health. However, her life becomes even more chaotic after she accidentally witnesses the mysterious death of one of her acquaintances.

Content Warning:

Alcohol, drugs, strong language, violence, self-harm

 
Synopsis:

Joel inherits the curse after witnessing Rose's death. To free himself, he tries to pass the curse on by brutally killing someone in front of a witness. A group of drug dealers becomes his target. Unfortunately, his plan does not go as expected. The person who was supposed to witness the murder is killed as well. Unbeknownst to him, the incident is witnessed by Lewis, who happens to be there.

Meanwhile, Skye, a famous singer, is trying to return to the entertainment industry after going through various hardships in her life. Drug abuse, scandals, and an accident that claimed someone's life have left both physical and emotional scars. Hoping to ease the pain that continues to haunt her, Skye visits Lewis to buy drugs. Instead, she witnesses Lewis mysteriously taking his own life.

From that moment on, Skye's life slowly turns into a nightmare. Strange hallucinations begin haunting her until she can no longer tell the difference between reality and illusion. The opportunity she has fought so hard for to return to the stage is now at risk of falling apart.

Can Skye break the curse before it completely destroys her?

 

Review:

The curse continues. A smile that should symbolize happiness once again transforms into something terrifying. However, Smile 2 (2024) is no longer just about the curse itself. Instead, it focuses on how fear, trauma, and life's pressures slowly destroy someone from the inside.

While the first film introduced the origin of the curse, how it worked, and Rose's attempt to stop it, the sequel gradually shifts its focus. This time, the audience experiences how the curse consumes its victim, especially when that victim has no understanding of what is happening to them.

The film opens with a clear continuation of the first movie through Joel's return and the time card reading "6 days later." The brutal opening scene immediately connects the two films. For first-time viewers, it is better to watch the original movie first so the sequence of events feels more complete.

Skye's character development is one of the film's greatest strengths. Her background is explained well, from her personal struggles and the pressures of being a public figure to her growing loss of purpose. The audience can immediately sense that Skye is emotionally fragile long before the curse reaches her. As a result, when the terror begins, everything feels more believable and emotionally impactful.

The supporting characters are also introduced naturally and each serves a clear purpose in developing Skye's character. No character feels unnecessary.

The internal and external conflicts complement each other very well. Skye's deteriorating mental state, career pressure, unhealthy family relationships, and the demands of returning to the public eye all reinforce one another. The curse then becomes the catalyst that magnifies every fear and emotional wound that already existed.

The suspenseful scenes are also executed effectively. Unlike the first film, which mainly relied on brief appearances of frightening figures, Smile 2 presents hallucinations with much more complex choreography. The audience is fully placed inside Skye's perspective, allowing them to experience her confusion, panic, and loss of control.

The ending is handled quite well, although it feels a little rushed. The final scene leaves a strong impression, but the reactions of the concert audience feel less convincing. Their expressions and panic do not fully match the magnitude of the event unfolding before them.

In terms of both storytelling and acting, this film feels more polished than its predecessor. The cinematography, camera movements, transitions, music, and sound design all strengthen the unsettling atmosphere the film aims to create.

Unfortunately, the presentation of the hallucinations sometimes causes the story to lose its footing. The audience becomes just as confused as Skye, making it difficult to tell which events actually happened and which exist only as hallucinations. This approach successfully immerses viewers in Skye's psychological state, but at the same time makes the actual sequence of events feel less complete. Even so, the overall viewing experience remains tense and successfully maintains its horror atmosphere until the very end.

In the end, Smile 2 does more than deliver fear through a curse that continues to pass from one victim to another. It also shows how emotional wounds, guilt, and life's pressures can become the doorway that makes someone sink even deeper into their own fears. Perhaps that is why the most terrifying thing in this film is not the smile itself, but the moment when someone can no longer distinguish between reality and the fear living inside their own mind.

 

Most Memorable Scene:

Skye finally opens up about the burden she has been carrying to Gemma, her friend with whom she had grown apart. In the middle of the night while they are staying together, Skye admits that she feels trapped in a chaos that only she can experience. It is a feeling that continues to haunt her but is difficult for the people around her to understand.

Living with an unstable mental condition, depression, or other mental health struggles is truly exhausting. It affects not only relationships with the people around us, but also slowly eats away at the person experiencing it from within. Sadly, that internal battle is often difficult for others to understand, even when someone tries to explain it. As a result, many people feel increasingly alone and find it even harder to discover a way to recover.

 

Memorable Dialogue:

"You'll never escape who you truly are on the inside."

 

Ending:

Sad Ending

 

Recommendation:

Worth to Watch

 

(Aluna Uwie)