As a long-time music enthusiast and someone who has witnessed the rise and fall of many pop stars, I must say that “Smile 2” is a refreshing take on the genre. Parker Finn manages to portray the chaotic world of stardom with an uncanny precision, capturing the highs and lows, the glamour and the madness that come with being in the spotlight.
In the world of cinema, portraying the life of a popular pop star authentically can be quite challenging due to the numerous real-life counterparts. However, some filmmakers have managed to come close. For instance, Brady Corbet and Natalie Portman came about halfway there with “Vox Lux.” Lady Gaga, while incorporating aspects of her own fame yet smartly playing a character distinct from herself in “A Star Is Born,” created an enduring icon. More recently, M. Night Shyamalan’s “Trap” seemed to be primarily designed to showcase his daughter Saleka Shyamalan as a pop singer – she excelled in live performances but appeared less convincing during the backstage scenes. So when you learn that “Smile 2,” Parker Finn’s sequel to his chilling horror film, focuses on a pop star, you might not anticipate a profound exploration of the pop music world.
In essence, “Smile” is a film where characters are taken over by a peculiar demon, leading to mental breakdowns throughout the span of a week. This possession culminates in the character displaying a chilling, malevolent grin towards another person, followed immediately by their suicide right in front of the witness. The demon then transfers into the body of the onlooker. Although the concept behind “Smile” is logical, tracing back to its predecessors such as “It Follows” and the ’80s film “The Hidden,” the movie itself often appears more focused on depicting graphic self-harm scenes and haunting smiles rather than telling a coherent story.
Title “Smile 2” sets itself apart. It maintains the same elements, but it’s a horror movie that aims to establish a genuine emotional core. This is due to its focus on a pop star character – a dance icon named Skye Riley (portrayed convincingly by British actor and singer Naomi Scott). From the outset, Skye is grappling with demons that are distressingly human. A year ago, under the influence of drugs, Skye was severely injured in a car crash that claimed the life of her movie-star partner. Since then, she’s been on a journey towards recovery (in various aspects), preparing for a comeback tour. The film opens with Skye making her reappearance to the public through an appearance on “Drew” (with Drew Barrymore playing herself). Here, she showcases her new Edie Sedgwick hairstyle along with her polished demeanor of humbled arrogance.
The movie closely follows Skye’s perspective, guiding us through various aspects of her life – rehearsals, costume changes, her constant consumption of high-end Voss water, her contentious relationship with her overly protective and needy manager mother (Rosemarie DeWitt), her escalating struggle with trichotillomania, a condition where she pulls out her own hair, and the endless line of fans eager for their chance to snap “badass” selfies with her. Nearly every scene in “Smile 2” reflects the understanding that being a pop star in the modern era is essentially running a corporation, a continuous endeavor focused on managing one’s corporate image.
Occasionally, gazing upon figures such as Ariana Grande or Olivia Rodrigo, it’s clear to see the fragile individual hiding beneath their polished celebrity exterior. In “Smile 2,” Naomi Scott presents this dichotomy perfectly. As Skye battles a malevolent force that has infiltrated her and recalls the traumatic car accident memories, as well as dealing with the wreckage of her self-centered actions (the demon thrives on internal turmoil), her life and career spiral out of control. To those around her who can’t perceive the demon, it seems like she’s losing her grip. In a sense, perhaps she is. “Smile 2” is a horror parable told through quick cuts, but the message it conveys is that stardom in the pop world can drive you mad. The film may not be subtle, but Parker Finn has developed into a skilled enough director to make real life feel like a dream and dreams seem like reality.
In this story, a smile can appear unexpectedly, such as from a teenager with braces in a crowd of fans, but it frequently emerges from someone who’s close to the character Skye. This can be just as startling as a sudden scream in a horror movie. The terror begins when she visits Lewis (played by Lukas Gage), an old schoolmate who has transformed into a high-end drug dealer, fueled by cocaine. His erratic behavior leads him to take his own life brutally, using a heavy workout weight. Despite the graphic nature of this event, Skye later reconnects with Gemma (Dylan Gelula), her long-lost best friend she neglected during her intense drug phase. This heartwarming reunion in Skye’s apartment pulls us in, so we’re not prepared for the unsettling moment when Gemma flashes a chilling smile. One of the film’s most suspenseful moments is when Skye encounters her backup dancers in a scene that would delight Bob Fosse even from beyond the grave.
At a charity event for children, Skye is tasked with reading from a Teleprompter, an experience that turns into a nightmarish reality. This pushes her to lose control. The peak of this scene arrives when Skye’s late boyfriend appears on stage, displaying the famous smile that Ray Nicholson, Jack Nicholson’s son, carries genetically. In a moment of comedic awkwardness, Skye reacts angrily towards this illusion by pushing the incorrect person off the stage.
What stands out most about “Smile 2” is its ability to keep viewers on edge, particularly through the eerie electronic soundtrack by Cristobal Tapia de Veer that creates an unsettling atmosphere. The narrative of Skye is filled with hidden traps leading into her suppressed truth, skillfully portrayed by Naomi Scott. Unlike a typical horror movie victim, we empathize with Skye’s predicament as she feels increasingly isolated amidst her handlers. By the point where she meets Morris (Peter Jacobson), who proposes a strategy to vanquish the demon by halting her heart for two minutes, encounters with obsessed fans seeking to bond with her on TikTok feel just as terrifying as anything in the film.
Yet by the time Skye finds herself in the freezer of an abandoned Pizza Hut to follow through on Morris’s plan, the film has become too fractious and extended for its own good. The ending is destined to leave the audience scratching its collective head, and that’s because Parker Finn, now in love with the “Smile” mythology he created, gets grandiose about it. The film climaxes with a body-horror maximalism coupled with a minimum of logic. Until then, though, it wrings honest jolts out of the unnerving hothouse of unreality that is pop stardom.
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2024-10-16 16:17