Yahoo Movies Everything we know about Smile 2
The grizzly grinning horror returns for a second outing…
Don’t be fooled by their eccentric expressions, the possessed people in the the Smile franchise don’t want to be your friend — and in Smile 2, they’re bringing the action to the main stage.
Released in 2022, the first Smile movie was written and directed by filmmaker Parker Finn and based on an idea he had originally explored in a short film. Translating it to the big screen, Finn introduced us to an unfortunate psychiatrist who’s haunted by a plague of grinning faces after she witnesses the unfortunate death of a patient.
As the experience intensifies, she’s forced to question her own sanity while desperately trying to figure out what’s happening to her. With Finn leaving elements of his first film open for interpretation, he’ll be exploring new areas of his dark world in Smile 2. Read on for all the key details you need about the sequel, including its release date, cast, trailers and plot details.
How can I watch Smile 2?
Smile 2 is out in cinemas now, just in time for Halloween, and will later be available to stream from home.
What are critics saying about Smile 2?
Smile 2 has received largely positive reviews from critics. The Wrap praised star Naomi Scott’s “demanding performance” and calling the sequel “feistier and funnier” that its precedessor, “proving that the premise has legs and also some malleability”.
The Hollywood Reporter called Finn a “gifted visual stylist” and predicted the film would “leave plenty of horror fans grinning from ear to ear,” but said it relies on “bigger, bolder excess” rather than subtlety. Fellow trade title Variety said the movie “strives to create a genuine emotional centre” while keeping the audience “off balance”.
Deadline was less impressed by the horror follow-up, saying it “gets too bogged down with the travails of its lead woman under the influence” despite its impressive jump scares and sound design.
Read the full verdicts below:
The Wrap: Horror sequel gleefully finds new ways to terrify (5-min read)
The Hollywood Reporter: Naomi Scott gets put through hell in unsettling horror sequel that goes full freakout (7-min read)
Variety: A skillfully disquieting sequel turns the life of a pop star into a horror ride of mental breakdown (6-min read)
Deadline: An intense Naomi Scott takes on sequel to 2022 horror hit that just feels like more of the same (5-min read)
The Guardian: Gory pop star horror sequel sings a familiar tune (5-min read)
IndieWire: Parker Finn’s bigger, messier and superior sequel is a blueprint for a very elastic horror franchise (4-min read)
Is there a trailer for Smile 2?
Released in June, the first teaser trailer for Smile 2 introduced us to Skye Riley, a pop star whose world is turned upside down when she witnesses the death of a friend by a mysterious force. Sadly things don’t get much better for Riley from there on out, as she finds herself haunted by hoards of people each with the same rictus grin plastered across their faces. Watch the trailer below:
The full-length trailer for Smile 2 saw the curse continue. With grinning people following her and the death toll mounting, Skye must figure out how to put an end to this deadly threat before it ends her first. Watch the trailer below:
What happens in Smile 2?
Exploring a new narrative that picks up six days after the first movie, Smile 2 takes its demonic smiling ‘Entity’ and places it into a public setting.
In it, we follow Riley, a singer at the top of her game who has her plans for a new world tour upended when she starts seeing the same smiling face among her ever-present group of fans. Before long, she starts to suspect that it’s not just a coincidence and something supernatural might be going on — something that might have links back to her late friend whose death she witnessed.
“About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events,” says the movie’s official synopsis.
“Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control. linked back to the recent death of her friend which she witnessed.”
Who is in the Smile 2 cast?
Aladdin’s Naomi Scott plays Riley, the popstar at the centre of Smile 2 who has released her own EP, despite being completely fictional. Kyle Gallner reprises his role as Joel, a police officer who finds himself on the wrong end of the Smile curse, while Drew Barrymore makes a cameo as herself.
The Smile 2 cast also includes Ray Nicholson, the son of The Shining legend Jack Nicholson, as Riley’s boyfriend Paul. He’s joined by The White Lotus star Lukas Gage, La La Land’s Rosemarie DeWitt, Dream Scenario actor Dylan Gelula, House’s Peter Jacobson, and Miles Gutierrez-Riley from new Marvel show Agatha All Along.
Smile 2 is out in cinemas now
