Fresh off the critical and box office success of Terrifier 3, horror fans will continue to eat very well this weekend with the release of Smile 2. The first film, released in 2022, was a surprise box office hit that also scored with critics, and now its sequel, so far, is exceeding the critical expectations of its predecessor.
As of this writing, Smile 2 has a Rotten Tomatoes score worth smiling about at 86 percent with a total of 36 reviews counted. For comparison’s sake, Smile was certified fresh at 80 percent, with 197 reviews tallied. There is still room for Smile 2 to go up or down, but when a movie starts high, it’s usually encouraging for its final score on the site. Given the positive reactions that have been popping up all over social media before the official review embargo was lifted this morning, there is a soild chance that the sequel may end up being more critically lauded than the first film.
Some of the reviews pointed to the movie being a step up from the first film, with Eric Goldman of YouTube saying, “It’s better than the first one, doing what you want a sequel to do by taking the things about the first movie that worked and expanding upon them. It’s more dreamlike and trippy and Naomi Scott gives a really impressive performance.” Speaking of Naomi Scott, she is earning near-universal praise for her portrayal of pop star Skye Riley in the film, with Aaron Neuwirth of We Live Entertainment saying the film is “Held together by confident filmmaking and a demanding yet effective lead performance from Naomi Scott,” while Jim Schembri said, “Naomi Scott is outstanding in a demanding lead role; convincing and increasingly frantic, she pushes matters far beyond the limits of the standard scream queen.” Other reviews, such as FandomWire’s, echo the sentiments of a few others on the site by saying, “Smile 2 not only proves to be the best horror movie of 2024, but it also stands out as one of the best horror sequels in recent years.”
Smile Became the Surprise Horror Hit of 2022
Written and directed by Parker Finn, 2022’s Smile kind of came out of nowhere to become an unexpected horror hit. Based on Finn’s short film Laura Hasn’t Slept, the movie was originally intended to be released on Paramount+ but these plans were shifted after positive test screenings. That being said, the film did receive a September release date, sometimes viewed as a dumping ground, but a month that can be solid for horror if the film turns out to be good.
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Smile did turn out to be good, and it also turned into a true word-of-mouth hit. After opening to $22.6 million, the movie legged it out to a domestic total of $105.9 million and added another $111.5 million from overseas markets to ultimately gross $217.4 million worldwide on a $17 million budget. Thanks in large part to a smart viral marketing campaign, Smile was able to turn into the biggest global horror movie of 2022, making a sequel inevitable.
In the first film, a therapist (Sosie Bacon) witnesses the suicide of a patient, which leads to her experiencing increasingly bizarre disturbances that make her believe she is being followed by a supernatural entity. The sequel raises the stakes by focusing on a pop star named Skye Riley (Scott), who experiences similar disturbing events after witnessing the death of a former high school classmate before she embarks on a world tour. In addition to this, Skye is fighting a dark past that also appears to be coming back to haunt her. The film also stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Guiterez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Dylan Gelua, Ray Nicholson, and Kyle Gallner, reprising his role from the previous film.
About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi 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.