Director Parker Finn’s feature film debut Smile was a surprise hit upon release in 2022 with a strong premise — what if suicides were like a virus that infected everyone they touched — and solid jump scares (justice for Mustache!). Home studio Paramount, no surprise, immediately wanted a sequel and thus we get the forthcoming Smile 2, a bold, ambitious follow-up that sees Finn attempt to plus everything up a thousand-fold when it never actually called for it. What started out as an inventive little horror feature transforms into a boring, generic drama with a runtime so bloated you’ll start to wonder if everyone just forgot what kind of film they were making.

Like the first film our heroine is another young woman with mental health problems, albeit it it’s international pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott). Skye is struggling in the wake of addiction and a devastating car accident that ended in the death of her boyfriend. With a large world tour coming up, Skye is being pushed by everyone, including her stage mom Elizabeth (Rosemarie DeWitt) to be on her best behavior. But in a moment of weakness Skye ends up in the home of an old friend and witnesses him his suicide, sparking a chain of events that threaten her life.

What immediately stands out about Smile 2 is its overarching story. Skye Riley is the poor little pop princess forced into a comeback tour she doesn’t want to do by an overambitious parent who doesn’t care about her at all. It’s surprising the opening credits aren’t tuned to Britney Spears’ “Lucky,” it’s that formulaic.

We’ve seen all the beats of Skye’s story, even without the smiling horror that’s to come, immediately undercutting any sense of suspense or unpredictability this story could have. An amazingly choreographed dance sequence that goes off the rails? Just watch the only good episode (ep 2) of “The Idol.” A pop star drug into terrifying events? Lady Raven did it better in Trap. A stage mom giving a speech on her daughter being ungrateful? Gypsy’s the same runtime and far more engaging. And while there are unique moments of color and choreography that give off a Gaga meets Neon Demon mien to them they all prop up a wafer-thin story that could have been in any generic horror movie.

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Before it gets to the heroine audiences will spend the next 127 minutes of their life with, the film has to conclude the cliffhanger the first Smile left off on. Kyle Gallner, for the briefest of moments, returns as Joel, the man left to witness the events of the first film, and hopes to pass on the virus to a person who actually deserves it. This ends up backfiring in one of the film’s few moments of levity as Gallner, no doubt, was already off filming Strange Darling by this point. It does set up the gore level to a 13.

And that’s not hyperbole, the level of gore and intensity of the violence feels far more extensive and unrelenting than the first feature. Characters smash in their faces with the camera, in close-up, watching them slowly drop the object and do it again. Smash, see the grue, again. Coupled with the loud sound design the horror is an endurance test and, yet, it doesn’t actually feel like it’s there for the story but more to get people talking about how disgusting it is. (If you have to see one overly long, gory movie about a woman in the public eye, go see The Substance.)

Naomi Scott goes for broke as the beleaguered Skye, but she’s strictly defined by her addiction and the car accident she survived. She’s hinted at having self-loathing, potential anxiety, and body image problems but these are all shooed away with Skye screaming “You don’t know what’s inside my head!” No, girl, we don’t. Would have loved a few minutes to know. Instead, we’re treated to near constant close-ups of Scott’s face as if they got a discount on them. The poor girl certainly taxes the foley artist with the amount of panting, snorting/sniffling, and guzzling we hear. But Skye never feels like a character, but a receptacle for trauma, as any good pop star girlie is apparently.

As far as other characters, they’re all one note. Skye’s “ride or die” bestie Gemma (Dylan Gelula) is a deadpan bestie always asking what’s going on. While Ray Nicholson, who is actually on the poster, has about five lines of dialogue in the entire movie.

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The lack of characterization puts everything on the plot which doesn’t particularly know where to go. The first 40-50 minutes sets up Skye’s world of pop songs and performances, with the introduction of her friend Lewis (Lukas Gage in 2 scenes) and the eventual face-smashing. From there it’s back to the stage and random quick scenes of Skye seeing strange things. There are some intriguing paths that don’t get followed, such as a fan’s seeming obsession with her and her team’s lack of interest in protecting her. Another moment where the Smile gang, as her background dancers, do a slow, interpretive dance/chase also yields something interesting to see but mostly it’s those close-ups, noises and chronic (seriously, constant) reminders to drink Voss water! Seriously, Voss funded this movie, right?

If someone said this script started out as an original idea and was turned into a Smile movie you could believe it as the desire to bring in all the elements of the Smile world feel like afterthoughts. The original film treated suicide as a virus but here it’s a stock stand-in for everything from addiction to anxiety which, again, doesn’t feel particularly specific or interesting. And with the power of the Smile demon retconned to literally craft whole people, events, and manipulate reality to an Inception-level extent, what little plot is there is left in doubt. There’s a whole character whose existence is in doubt by the end leaving you to think the Smile demon has all the power to create life as Elsa did to make Olaf.

Smile 2 is an insufferably bloated sequel that cribs from far more interesting conceits and movies over the last two years. Naomi Scott isn’t at fault and carries this movie on her back. But everything you liked about the first Smile isn’t here and, if anything, it’s sequel might just make you question whether the original was any good at all.

Grade: D

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