20/11

Skye Riley: [to the Smile Entity] You’re not in control, I am!

Chronology

About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins to experience increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the mounting horrors and pressures of fame, Skye is forced to confront her past. Kyle Gallner is the only actor to reprise his role from the first film so far. In one scene, Skye places a VOSS water bottle on a stone/marble kitchen counter and a noise is heard that matches the sound of something plastic being placed down. VOSS water bottles are glass, something that is actually specifically highlighted in the film, so the audio does not match the action seen. .

How wrong I was

Featured on The 7PM Project: October 17, 2024 episode (2024). I didn’t have high hopes for ‘Smile 2’. It seemed like a concept that included a movie and nothing more. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s still popcorn horror, but it’s popcorn horror of the highest quality. Scares rarely get anything out of me these days. This one had me jumping out of my chair a few times.

Her character was pretty well-crafted, though

I should make a note about this, though: these seemed like the loudest jump scares I’ve ever heard in a theater. Even when the scare didn’t work, the sheer noise could be pretty startling. I’m not entirely sure if it was just the volume of my theater or the sound mix. When we were introduced to the main character, and she was a pop star, I was worried that it was going to be hard to get on her side. Pop stars in real life haven’t exactly become the most likable people over the past couple of decades. She was flawed, but also very likable and easy to get along with.

A good opening scene in a horror movie has become a lost art

It has to be said that it helped that we got an excellent performance from Naomi Scott. It’s so important to hook your audience from the start and set the standard. A lot of modern horror movies forget about this, but this movie doesn’t. The opening scene was great and really started the movie off on the right note. This movie is pretty long for a horror movie, clocking in at over 2 hours. It’s an ambitious ask to maintain the quality for so long and I was wondering when it would all fall apart.

However, it never did and it even kept the ending which I was really worried it wouldn’t achieve

I never thought I’d be writing this, but ‘Smile 2’ is going to be a contender for one of the best horror movies of 2024. 9.5/1