Review movie Smile 2, pushes your limits with a nerve-racking ride of horror.

The box office hasn’t been friendly as of late, but October is the horror genre’s department, and Parker Finn’s Smile 2 bears the proper instruments of its’ successful predecessor to change the tune this season. The second full-length feature from the writer and director seizes you from jump and does not relinquish. A close up of a face full of torment is our introduction before the camera pulls back, revealing dreary, snow-filled scenery. Finn doesn’t hesitate with the intensity, showcasing an action laced tracking shot, dropping you in the eye of the storm. The tasteful opening credits, simple red lettering over the white, winter landscape, allows viewers to catch their breath before meeting our soon-to-be punished protagonist.

Naomi Scott (Charlie’s Angels) is strained pop-music star Skye Riley, who’s preparing a career bounce-back with a world tour after recovering from a car-accident that claimed the life of her actor-boyfriend, Paul, (Ray Nicholson, Licorice Pizza) and left her to seek sobriety. Shaken and self-conscious, Scott shows us a vulnerable luminary, contrasting the facades of celebrities often presented. Challenged by the demands and expectations from her fans, label, and manager-mom Elizabeth (Rosemarie DeWitt, La La Land), Skye reaches out to her former drug-dealer Lewis for something to quell her back pain.

What she finds at his apartment is a nonsensical mad man fueled by a strange paranoia. Possessed by Smile’s parasitic being that drives its’ hosts to fatal insanity leading to gruesome suicide before infecting anyone who bears witness, Lewis’ demise before Skye’s eyes rips her into the haunting drama to follow.  The film is loud throughout. Very loud at times. Finn uses the audio as a weapon to deliver the entities’ terrifying nature, disrupting near-silent scenes with abrupt and imposing noisy moments. While the film uses visual elements to create suspense, sound is Smile 2’s trusted tool. From every shard of glass breaking, to each hair being ripped from a scalp, the sound direction is crafted delicately, even if the volume is aggressive on the ears. 

It's not long before Skye is tortured by painful flashbacks and frightful visions, as her capacity to tell reality from her imagination deteriorates. Those around her grow concerned, beginning to question her sobriety. Unable to make anyone understand what she’s experiencing, we watch Skye feel more isolated, amplifying her fear and stress. The picture implores the tried and true, yet rehashed horror movie trope of a character feeling even more crazy as no one believes them. 

It takes the film a while before it offers any explanation as to what this thing is that has overcome Skye. She is tracked down by Morris ((Peter Jacobson, House), a nurse who lost a family member to this very being. His explanation of this spirit that feeds of its’ host’s trauma until they self-destruct, is brief, lacking depth. He shares his risky plan to terminate this destructive cycle and save her.

The unsettling smile the creature sports is a guise under which to wreak havoc. Skye finds herself having to put on a smile of sorts too, attempting to mask everything in the face of her upcoming tour. Morris’ possible solution seems worth the shot, as Skye’s conditions worsen. Her mother selfishly reminds her what she is jeopardizing by missing the next performance, fearing the golden goose might stop laying eggs.

 In a scene that’s too comical, with a gun, Skye hijacks her own SUV to rendezvous with Morris. He hopes to perform the procedure, but the parasite appears in a violent confrontation stretching the energy to the limits. One could question if the scary parts were truly scary, or you were just frightened by the sudden loud eruptions. The picture teeters on the edge of trauma-porn, testing how long you can watch a character unravel. But with a surprisingly satisfying climax capping off a fresher take on the beloved style of film, Smile 2 may spawn the right suspense and thrill needed this fall. 

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