Smile 2 was a movie I initially planned to avoid. I enjoyed the first film—or more accurately, I enjoyed the last 25 minutes of it. The first two acts felt like standard studio fare, but the final act really stuck with me. I was a bit disappointed that writer/director Parker Finn chose to make a sequel instead of creating something fresh and original, especially since the plot of Smile is somewhat derivative of films like The Ring.
Fortunately, Smile 2 is much closer to the back half of its predecessor and is, in fact, a far superior film. While many horror enthusiasts criticize jump scares as a cheap way to manipulate the audience, I don’t mind them if they’re done well—and this movie sets a new standard for that. What truly sets Finn apart, though, is his ability to lock the viewer into a scene and take them on a tense ride, knowing full well the chaos that's about to unfold. He stretches it out so much that when the crescendo finally hits, it’s almost a relief. I didn’t think he could top the final act of the original Smile, but I was wrong. The sequel is rarely equal —this one fully surpasses.
And the film really shouldn’t work. The characters are unlikeable and unrelatable, and the story doesn’t hold up to close scrutiny. But instead of wasting time trying to establish the "rules of the game," Finn embraces full insanity—and the film is better for it. He seems to understand the trap many horror films fall into: over-explaining.
I could go on, but I’ll just add that Naomi Scott delivers a truly noteworthy performance. The trailers and the somewhat hokey "smilers" marketing campaign don’t do the film justice. Smile 2 is a much more compelling experience than I expected.