Director/writer Parker Finn’s Smile 2 is the follow up to 2022’s surprise hit Smile. The sequel is here to turn audiences’ frowns upside down.

The premise for the Smile franchise is very simple and effective. The malevolent spirit acts like a virus using trauma to pass from host to host. Its ability to manipulate time and reality allows for a lot of creative scares and gruesome kills.

Smile 2 follows pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott). Skye is rehearsing for a comeback tour after being away from music following a tragic car accident and her battles with addiction. When Skye tries to buy Vicodin for her back from her former drug dealer Lewis (Lukas Gage), he’s acting very paranoid and afraid. Before she can get her drugs, Lewis bashes his head in with a 45lb weight.

After witnessing his grisly death, Skye is haunted by the shape-shifting time/reality bending spirit. The spirit harasses Skye with nightmares, visions, and lapses of time. The spirit begins slowly unraveling the Skye’s reality to a breaking point and forces her to meet with a man named Morris (Peter Jacobson) who has a plan to break the curse.

2022’s Smile introduced a new terror to horror fans. That film felt like you’re trapped in someone’s nightmare and couldn’t escape. However, Smile 2 has the same nightmare fuel but manages to be a lot more entertaining and fun. That’s mostly a result of Naomi Scott’s performance, the main character being a pop star, and Parker Finn’s mix of horror and comedy.

Naomi Scott is fantastic as Skye Riley. She’s driving the horror and comedy of the film. Her character being a recovering addict is the perfect set up for the people around her believing what’s happening to her is part of a relapse. The more Skye says she’s not on drugs and not crazy, the more she looks like a crazy person on drugs. Finn mixes in the reality of a pop star lifestyle and how the stress and fame can wear on you. Riley’s momager (played by Rosemarie DeWitt) is pressuring her to continue with the tour when she’s clearly not well and ignoring her cries for help. There is a scene with the crazed stalker at Skye’s meet-and-greet. They could be the evil spirits projection or a crazed fan. It’s up to the audience to decide if they believe what they’re seeing.

What makes the Smile franchise so entertaining are its main characters being unreliable. You’re watching the story through their eyes as the malevolent spirit toys with their reality. The third act puts Riley and the audience in the middle of an insane tornado of murder, fear, and uncertainty. Both the audience and Riley are having a hard time figuring out what’s real. Finn uses the uncertainty and fear to create some tense sequences and a few really good kills.

Smile 2 didn’t provide the eerie feeling the first one had but I has plenty of great jump scares and gruesome kills. It trades some of the unease for a few more laughs and a lot of entertaining sequences. The opening scene is one of the best opening sequences to a horror film in years and a great set-up for the rest of the film. There’s even a sequence involving a group of people at Skye’s apartment that’s as well choreographed as it is terrifying. The film may not deliver all the scares but it delivers so much fun that it’s worth your time. I can’t wait for Smile 3.

Grade: B