SMILE 2

Pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is embarking on a world tour. She had to put this tour on hold for a year due to an accident she survived and has been dealing with both mentally and physically ever since. She goes to the apartment of a high school friend Lewis (Lukas Gage) when she encounters what I'll call "the entity," which forces Lewis to kill himself in front of her. Now being "infected" and having a troubled past, Skye begins to question whether she can handle the pressure that comes with being a celebrity or if she's slowly losing her mind. Originally, I was against a sequel as I loved the first one too much (it was actually my second favorite film of 2022). However, I am very happy to report that I'll gladly eat my words as writer/director Parker Finn has done it again! This was a wonderful follow up to a great film and I take my hat off to Naomi Scott as she was amazing in this! From the dancing, to the singing, to her performance to make Skye such a dynamic, rich, and detailed character. The film is scarier in my opinion as well as the scares are legit and not cheap jump scares. I was also glad to see Kyle Gallner come back as Joel as I love continuity within a franchise. It ends on a fantastic note and I'm onboard for SMILE 3 if/when it gets made. I have a feeling this should play well with audiences. Horror has had a great year at the theater IMO and with TERRIFIER 3 and now SMILE 2 battling each other, the fans are the real winners! 7.5/10