This article contains spoilers for “Smile” and “Smile 2.”
The horror genre has seen a resurgence in psychological thrillers in recent years, becoming one of the most popular genres in theaters and streaming services. With everyone looking for a good scary movie to watch during the fall season, the release of “Smile 2” was a fantastic choice.
Despite the expectation that the first movie wouldn’t do so well, with its unique and creative marketing techniques and chilling trailers, “Smile” exceeded expectations, grossing over $200 million worldwide, and “Smile 2” followed suit with $105 million domestically and $217 million globally according to Variety.
“Smile” follows the main character Dr. Rose Cotter, as she battles her trauma and grief while trying to trace a curse back and break it in order to save herself. When affected with the curse in “Smile,” a character is tortured and scared for a few days before the curse works towards making sure they are killed in front of an innocent witness; passing the curse on to them.
The movie ends with Cotter dying as well, despite her efforts. As audiences braced for the sequel, the question arose: Can the second film capture the same unsettling atmosphere and deliver an equally profound horror experience, or will it fall into the trap of repetition and diminishing returns?
Smile 2 can easily be a standalone film. Despite a character from the first movie appearing and being killed off in the first 7 minutes, the movie has a completely different cast of characters and plot. This movie follows a famous pop star, Skye Riley, trying to heal after watching her drug dealer commit suicide in front of her. Similarly to the previous movie, the main character is battling trauma, grief, guilt and is extremely overworked and exhausted throughout the movie.
“Smile 2” had an extra $11 million dollars in the budget compared to the first movie, which was used on difficult-to-watch gore, and insane costume / stage design for the pop stars' false performances and practices.
Much like its predecessor, the sequel ends with a very fast and confusing ending. The entire movie warps your thoughts and belief in what you’re witnessing, and it leaves multiple different possibilities when it comes to what happened at the end.
Once again leaving spoilers, the movie ends with Riley killing herself in front of a huge concert hall of fans on her tour. This led Variety to question director Parker Finn in whether this meant that the curse is now passed onto every fan who witnessed this on her tour, with Finn ominously responding, “I think you’re asking the right question.”
Based on Finn’s response and that the main poster of this movie states, “it will never let go,” it’s safe to say this franchise has a lot more to add and to tell audiences.
The arts desk can be reached at arts@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
