The cast of the first Smile movie already freaked us out introducing audiences to a sinister creepy grin. The second time around, Smile 2 is bringing those freaky grins on a pop singer’s world tour. Naomi Scott, who plays pop singer Skye Riley, gives some tips on how to pull off that creepy grin for those who are interested.
The terrifying grin we see in the Smile movies is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before in some of the best horror movies of all time. While movies like It Follows introduced the concept of an evil entity following you, the Smile franchise presents audiences with a stalker entity displaying a chilling grin that you can argue makes the person look like they’re frozen in pain. Naomi Scott, who plays the lead in the anticipated sequel, gives CBS Mornings some tips on how to pull off that creepy grin that’ll encourage you to try this at home:
It’s the stillness, you guys. That’s what makes it freaky. You know what I mean? When someone’s still and they’re staring at you that’s what makes it scary… Is the stoic, it’s a big smile, head tilted down a little bit, eyes wide. Those are the few tips that I give out.
Audiences who were brave enough to see the first Smile movie know exactly what Naomi Scott is talking about. This grin isn’t your everyday happy smile that looks adorable. It’s an evil, painstaking grin that reveals an evil entity is overtaking the person, and it’s only a matter of time until you’re the next victim. Correspondent Vladimir Duthiers, who apparently has a cameo in Smile 2, certainly pulled off the grin well during the interview following the British actress’s tips!
The gnarly trailer of Smile 2 absolutely displayed the franchise’s signature up close and personal grins that you don’t want to look at for too long. My favorite killer grin from the trailer was the one shown by one of the film’s actors, Ray Nicholson, who looked just like his dad, Jack Nicholson when he was in The Shining. With the anticipated sequel’s setting taking place during a world tour compared to the suburbs, I have a feeling the sinister smile population will double.
The creepy grins haven’t only been present in the Parker Finn movies. There’s been a viral marketing campaign where Paramount Pictures and TriplePlay Studios hired actors to be present at televised events that are guaranteed for a large audience like sporting events or morning shows.
For Smile 2‘s marketing campaign, we saw a woman give that creepy stare during an LL Cool J performance at the MTV VMAs that certainly did the trick of scaring social media users. We saw that same grin again at the playoff game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets (until the actor broke character seeing an incoming ball). Considering the viral marketing campaign worked the first time with spooky season boosting Smile at $217 million worldwide, I’m confident its sequel will achieve similar results. You can watch Naomi Scott’s interview in full below:
Now we know that to pull off Smile 2’s signature creepy grin, we need to follow Naomi Scott’s advice to be still with our heads tilted and eyes wide. I’m getting chills just thinking about the bizarre technique. For more scary grins to head your way, the 2024 movie release of Smile 2 is in theaters now.