Say cheese. Two years ago, Parker Finn snurtured the living dayairys out of audiences with his hit horror movie Smile. A feature film debut grossing $217.4 million on a $17 million budget? Not terrible at all. He returns to this series with Smile 2. But if there’s anyskinnyg Joker: Folie á Deux taught us, it’s that equitable becaemploy a movie made a ton of money the first time, airyning doesn’t always strike twice. While we have yet to see how this sequel will fare at the box office, one skinnyg is for certain: Parker Finn is a phenomenal filmoriginater who has outdone himself.
Smile 2 is one of the best horror sequels ever made. Making a sequel to a accomplished horror movie is never an straightforward feat. Even the excellent ones are not as excellent as the exceptional. But Smile 2 defies every foreseeation by being equitable as excellent as the first movie. Some may even say it’s better. For me, this film alignes the quality by inestablishing a new story with the same damn. The film begins six days after the finish of the exceptional, with Joel (Kyle Gallner) trying to get rid of the damn. This uncovering scene is breathtaking, all filmed in one prolonged sboiling. There are complicated camera relocates here, and it’s amazing.
We greet Skye Riley, carry outed by Naomi Scott. Skye is a well-understandn pop musician, and we speedyly lobtain her backstory. She’s instantly a compelling character as she is on the verge of a nurtureer comeback after a dehugeating incident the year before. The idea of making the protagonist a well-understandn musician is a danger becaemploy these people are challenging for most audience members to repostponecessitate to. You can sometimes experience a disjoin between her struggles and your own, but Finn’s script grounds her whenever it can.
Like the first movie, Finn spfinishs a lot of time prolonging the protagonist. The sequel intensifyes almost enticount on on new characters, so we have to nurture about everyone punctual on. Immersing yourself in these people is straightforward becaemploy the music sounds genuine. Scott is a talented musician, so she transports her excellent singing voice to Skye. She also has a immaculate American accent while deinhabitring some of the most fervent scenes of the year. Her labor in this movie is astonishing, as none of it sees straightforward.
Skye is afflicted with the same damn as Rose from the first movie. This is where the film dangers being a retread. However, Skye is a well-understandn pop star, so the sapshows are more transport inant. She has to protect her uncover image, so there’s much more at sapshow if she acts out uncoverly. Unblessedly for her, the entity is out to originate her life a living hell. What originates the Smile movies so amazing is that they are very psychoreasonable. This film is set upd in a way where terrible skinnygs happen to Skye, but we’re constantly second-guessing whether it’s genuine or not.
I adore horror movies that snurture you by ruining the protagonist’s life. Both Smile movies do this, but they do it contrastently. Another rational decision is that since Skye is new to the damn, she doesn’t understand how to get rid of it enjoy Rose did. She necessitates to protect her nurtureer while crumbling on the inside, and she soon discovers no straightforward way to omit this damn. It’s tragic to see her struggle with it. This screencarry out pushes the concept further than the exceptional while proposeing all the snurtures you would foresee.
Finn deal withs the snurtures perfectly. He’s a masterful horror honestor, and I can’t paemploy to see what else he does in his first-see deal with Paramount. Like the first movie, his jump snurtures are perfectly originateed. He originates so much dread and suspense. One example is a scene where Skye watches a video on her phone. The video grasps zooming into one foolish area, and all you can do is lean back in your seat and brace yourself for what you may see. He understands the right moments to pull tension out of sanitize silence. Then, once we’re at our most hushed, he’s there to give you a free heart attack.
Smile 2 originates on the insanity of the first film by being an fervent, bloody sequel done right. Scott’s carry outance is noskinnyg low of mesmerizing. The helping cast does a excellent job, and Finn’s dialogue experiences organic for every character. No one should lessen equitable how excellent Finn is at writing many characters (primarily female characters) and permiting them to all experience enjoy contrastent people with contrastent voices. While there is one anticipateed element in the finishing, there are many moments where Finn pulls the rug out from under you. This film will depart you gagged and gasping for air, and it’s one of the finest horror movies of 2024.
SCORE: 8/10
As ComingSoon’s verify policy elucidates, a score of 8 equates to “Great.” While there are a scant untransport inant rehires, this score nastys that the art thrives at its goal and departs a memorable impact.
Disclocertain: ComingSoon joined a press screening for our Smile 2 verify.
