We’re still two weeks away from Halloween, and there’s been plenty of options on the 2024 movie calendar to make horror movie fans smile. But, as we learned from a certain 2022 flick, that’s not always a good thing, and now, Parker Finn is back with the sequel Smile 2, which is set to hit theaters on October 18. The trailer promises gnarly deaths and plenty of ghastly grinning, but what do the critics think? We’re here to help you decide if you should make this part of your plans for the weekend.
The upcoming horror movie stars Naomi Scott as Skye Riley, a famous pop singer who begins to experience strange and disturbing events and is forced to confront her dark past to try to regain control of her life. Let’s see what the critics have to say, starting with our own Eric Eisenberg. In CinemaBlend’s review of Smile 2, he says Smile walked so its sequel could sprint. He gives the movie 4 out of 5 stars, writing:
The sequel ratchets up everything that is good about the original and independently delivers on whole new levels – delivering nerve-shattering jumps, haunting images, thoughtful characters and splendid cinematography. It has a great chance of going down as one of the year’s best genre surprises, and it’s certainly one of 2024’s scariest horror movies.
Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting would tend to agree, noting that Smile 2 goes bigger and scarier, and also rating it 4 out of 5 skulls. It’s not just the scares that are better either, as the critic praises Naomi Scott’s performance and Parker Finn’s direction in helping lift this franchise to new heights. Navarro continues:
As someone who found the first film solid yet ultimately familiar in its influences, Smile 2 makes for one of the year’s biggest horror surprises. Scott delivers a career-defining performance, tackling so many layers to her character and with seemingly effortless ease. The scale is grander, and the scares are far more visceral and violent. But Finn’s mounting confidence and ingenuity are what’s most exciting; this filmmaker has only honed his scare-crafting chops to the sharpest of edges and is having a blast doing it. It makes for a satisfying thrill ride of jaw-dropping horror and unrelenting dread; a perfect Halloween treat for those in need of a good scare — or twenty.
Chris Evangelista of SlashFilm admits that the sequel is not without its faults, which include a too-long runtime and easy-to-predict jumpscares. But it’s also got a “sensational” lead in Naomi Scott, humor that complements its horror and an ending that absolves it of any aforementioned issues. Evangelista rates the movie 7 out of 10 and says:
I had a lot of (twisted) fun with watching it all play out. I was taken with Scott’s go-for-broke performance, and the way she makes Skye feel like a real person going through absolute hell. I might’ve rolled my eyes around the third time Finn flipped the camera upside down to convey unease, but I’ll also admit he knows exactly how to build delightfully scary tension from scene to scene, expertly baiting us right before the hook stabs into our cheek. And then there’s that ending I talked about. I have a feeling you’re going to be able to predict it as you watch the movie, but that doesn’t make it any less effective. It’s pretty damn great. You might even walk out of the theater smiling.
William Bibbiani of The Wrap says Parker Finn had quite the task in using the same curse to try to recapture the magic of the first film, and you can tell he and the crew had a lot of fun trying to top themselves. They are mostly successful, too, with Smile 2 being just as scary as the first, as well as feistier and funnier. Bibbiani continues:
The injection of nervous laughter into the film’s nervous breakdown is a welcome relief, but it’s always short-lived; there’s another freakout around every corner. Finn never entirely justifies the film’s over two-hour running time but he keeps his story moving frenetically from one Lovecraftian mind-scramble to another, introducing a few new elements to the mythology, and culminating in a memorably disturbing finale. And it’s not done yet: The closing credits score by Cristobal Tapia de Veer is some of the best outro music in years, losing its sanity right along with the rest of us.
Pete Hammond of Deadline, meanwhile, isn’t quite as impressed as the other critics. While he admits that Naomi Scott makes the most of her leading role, ultimately the sequel is just more of the same. Hammond writes:
Finn does pull of [sic] a couple of effective jump scares, and his sound mixers certainly know how to ramp up the soundtrack with all the predictable tropes of this genre, but Smile 2 gets too bogged down with the travails of its lead woman under the influence. By the end we really are ready to get off this ride.
If you enjoyed the first Smile movie, it sounds like this might be one you want to check out, with many critics saying the sequel surpasses its predecessor in scares and story. Smile 2 will be available to view on the big screen starting Friday, October 18.