Movie Night: Smile 2 (2024)

A stellar sequel that effectively tackles trauma with ferocity and realism, “Smile 2” is a worthy successor to 2022’s surprise hit.

We need more movies about how trauma manifests and is then ignored. Many films explore the portrayal of trauma but do not seem to portray how, often, the signs are ignored. Smile 2 explores this concept and does it exceptionally well. 

The film begins with Joel, the police officer from Smile. He attempts to pass on the “curse” after Rose commits suicide in front of him. He is successful in passing it on to drug dealer Lewis Fregoli but dies shortly thereafter as he flees. 

In New York City, we are introduced to Skye Riley, a pop star who is announcing a comeback tour after surviving a horrible accident that left her boyfriend at the time, Paul, deceased. She is freshly sober and “relearning how to appreciate life sober.”

However, Skye is experiencing extreme PTSD from the accident, complete with visual and auditory hallucinations, flashbacks, anxiety, and paranoia.

Because of her drug use in the past, she is not permitted by her doctors to have “anything more than Tylenol” despite being in severe pain from the accident. She then decides to make a questionable move: texting her old dealer, Lewis Fregoli, for pain meds. 

When she arrives at his apartment, he is manic and tweaking. Skye is frightened but desperate for relief. Lewis leaves the room for a few minutes too long and returns with a smile, followed by a brutal scene where he passes the curse on to her.

On top of dealing with this “curse,” Skye is still suffering from PTSD and is unsure of what is real and what is a hallucination.

At one point, she even sees evidence that a super fan is hiding in her apartment, which is a terrifying scene. Her horror and despair are truly felt throughout the film because the audience is also not sure what is real and what is not. 

PTSD is characterized by multiple symptoms; Skye exhibits almost all of them, even the unsightly ones that aren’t usually talked about.

She experiences intrusive thoughts, difficulties concentrating and sleeping, and major avoidance. She argues with her mother that she cannot go on tour because she is unwell, but her concerns are ignored.

She flashes back to the accident with Paul (played by Ray Nicholson), and it is revealed that she was just as much at fault for the accident as Paul was. She has vivid and terrifying nightmares and even complains about not sleeping multiple times in the film. She also has a self-harm problem, tearing out her hair in patches in response to stress.

The character development is swift and extensive for all main characters.

Paul’s character is barely seen throughout the two-hour run time, but he still develops in small but important scenes. Skye and her mother both develop into opposing forces—her mother wants to push her forward back into the spotlight, and Skye just wants to relax and figure out what is going on with her and why everyone is smiling so lifelessly at her. 

The cinematography is also something to note in this film. It is tense and sleek but also empty and creepy. The scenes inside Skye’s apartment are very isolating and uncomfortable. Finn does an amazing job of making the audience feel Skye’s struggle and how lonely she feels, which is very hard to do.

Naomi Scott gives us an amazing performance as Skye, with some of the best acting I’ve seen in years.

Ray Nicholson’s short performance is also noteworthy, as he is intense and frightening in his own way, perfectly finished with a noteworthy Kubrick Stare. 

The only real complaints I have are very minimal. The story of Morris, an ER nurse who lost his brother to this curse, could have easily been eliminated from the two-hour run time. It doesn’t add much to Skye’s storyline, even if it is a good excuse to show the audience another brutal suicide. The CGI details are a little rough in some parts, specifically in a later scene in the film that contains a spoiler. Thus, I won’t go into detail here.

However, most of the CGI is pretty good, and one hiccup shouldn’t affect the film’s overall opinion. 

The ending has me torn. I wanted to see more, but I understand why that did not happen. However, the monster confronting Skye near the film’s end gave me chills. The dialogue is so creepy. 

PTSD isolates, it hurts, it lingers, and it all happens inside the mind. Finn does an amazing job portraying this pain. 

All in all, Smile 2 is an effective, terrifying peek into the pain of trauma.