When in doubt, just plaster on a smile. Such is the haunting advice behind Parker Finn’s highly-anticipated sequel “Smile 2,” which centers on a pop star played by Naomi Scott who is slowly slipping into insanity.
Coupled with M. Night Shyamalan’s “Trap,” concert-centric horror films are becoming a trend.
The first “Smile” was a success — especially by indie standards — so the sequel got a star-studded cast and a bigger budget.
The “Smile” 2 synopsis reads: “About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Scott) begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.”
Rosemarie DeWitt, Ray Nicholson, Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, and Dylan Gelula co-star.
During a 2022 interview with IndieWire, writer/director Finn cited how “Smile” went “craft-focused” for a “unique” take on modern horror. The first film centered on the effects of trauma on a doctor at a mental hospital (Sosie Bacon) who watches a patient commit suicide; she is later haunted by an invisible being who occupies the bodies of people around her.
“I love horror as metaphor,” Finn told IndieWire in 2022. “But I think as a viewer, I get frustrated when it only goes as far as the metaphor and doesn’t commit to actually becoming something that is designed to scare the crap out of you.”
He added that “Smile” was a “character-driven story exploring the human condition, but was also going to make an audience jump out of their seat and scream a lot.”
“Some people will never love a jump scare, but I love a good jump scare,” he said. “I wanted to infuse the film with jump scares that felt earned and were designed in a way that would keep an audience on their toes, sort of ramping up and changing how it’s scaring you.”
The sequel is produced by Finn, Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, and Robert Salerno.
“Smile 2” premieres October 18 in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
