- Date of Release: 18 October 2024
- Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
- Language: English
Smile 2
Introduction
In an early scene from the new English film Smile 2, you see the protagonist Skye (a splendid Naomi Scott) suffering from a past trauma and physical pain, visit her friend and drug dealer for a few nerve-relieving pills. Yet immediately at the beginning of the scene, there is a spur of tension accompanying the narrative. The behavior of the drug dealer is hellish almost in a hyper manner before smiling away to glory later on, and absolutely disfiguring his face with a piece of weight in what was a face-mashing violence of the highest order. Clearly the curse that found its voice in the first film, is here to stay! When it does come to horror as a genre, the riding factor is often either psychological or physical in nature. Yet, Smile is that franchise that has the unique distinction of combining the two facets of horror pretty well. And to the film’s benefit, Smile 2 scores heavily over the indie setup of the first film through its series of killings that are bone-chilling and several notches higher than the gore of the first film. But, it doesn’t lose sight of the psychological angle in the film that offers a sense of groundedness to the drama, particularly in terms of the two protagonists in the first two films of the franchise.
Story & Screenplay
The interesting facets of the Smile franchise has always been the characterization of its protagonists, under whose lens the entire drama unfolds. So if the protagonist was a psychiatrist in Smile, you are introduced to a pop singer Skye in Smile 2. The common streak for both the characters is that each of them have experienced trauma in the past, and are undergoing a severe bout of depression. This particularly becomes interesting in the case of Skye whose ‘job demand’ is always to put up a happy face which makes the title of the franchise more in sync with the drama at hand, while simultaneously offering a contrast or more specifically a dichotomy for the character. It is early on that you witness Skye in a round of her ‘comeback’ interview wherein she does put up a brave front whereas the reality of the trauma and her journey paints a totally different picture. Interestingly, the curse finds a voice with only those characters of this universe who are under a severe clout of depression, a searing symbol of the status of the mind that begins to act against you in such phases (yep, been there….done that).
Smile 2 essentially picks up from the same point where the first film had ended, and it was heartening to see an effort made in linking the events between the two films. The opening sequence of Smile 2 will have to be one of the most terrifyingly exciting sequences of the year featuring Inspector Joel (from the first film) trying to put an end to the curse by killing a couple of the drug peddlers, only to get run over by the end of it, in one of the most gruesome and sudden deaths that lures you wonderfully into the drama. This, while navigating the story to Skye who slowly begins to have multiple meltdowns following the transfer of the curse, something that systematically derails her life while being in the public eye.
The drama while being a psychological horror, offers some terrifying moments that double up to contribute towards a fascinating character study. Given that Skye is in depression, almost the entire turn of events unfold through her gaze that give an account of the kind of suffering and hallucinations that she is being subjected to. There are moments wherein you see her fighting back to take control of the mind, but at every instance, she is reminded that the ‘curse’ is here to stay, and that the same would slowly begin to deteriorate her mind while offering no respite. An interesting thing to make note of is the reactions of the people around her – while you find Skye lonely for most parts of the runtime with barely a known person with whom she could actually share her trauma (things are even more difficult given that she is an artist on top of the popularity chart given that the higher you are in hierarchy, the more lonely you are), you are privy to a handful of people around her including her manager and her mother, who are oblivious to her deteriorating condition while always been focused on the work life of Skye, casually pressurizing her for frequent public appearances.
The horror element of the drama is essentially through the hallucinations which are steadily intensified with every passing scene, although I did feel that the length of the film could easily have been shortened by 10 minutes, to avoid being repetitive at a few junctures. Nevertheless, the dark world that the writing lures you into, makes you empathetic towards Skye while also piquing your curiosity on what lies ahead for her, in terms of the solutions. And this makes me want to applaud the brave ending of the drama, featuring a sequence of events that essentially act as a labyrinth of sorts while offering a small glimmer of hope, only to make a complete U-Turn at the end. It was almost like a stark reminder of seeking for help while being under depression early on, so as not to let the monster grow before it is too late. As they say, only a handful survive to tell a tale (and I am thankful for that). The screenplay here is quite well written with the right amounts of horror that are terrifyingly entertaining while offering a stark reminder on the larger psychological issue.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are grounded while enunciating the underlying layer of emotions really well, that always keep you engaged throughout the course of the drama. There is a certain rhythm to the BGM that arguably maintains the pace of the drama with a steady buildup in some of the most terrifying scenes, while interjecting the notes with silence only to end with a certain splash of sounds, all of which maimtains the levels of tension in the drama. The cinematography is excellent, contributing to the gore in a rather unabashed manner while completely going all out with the violence. As a result, you begin to relish the killings (oddly enough) while always being a silent partner to the antics of the protagonist represented through some closeup frames. The camerawork is pretty good here. The editing is prettu good too although a little lag at a few instances in the drama could have been ironed out. Having said that, the transition sequences between the past and the present, and the real and the surreal portions of the drama are well edited, to ensure the transfer of emotions and tension from one scene to another. Director Parker Finn does a wonderful job in enhancing his skills from the first part, and offering a far more polished drama in terms of the technicalities in store. Also, the focus on the characterization that is essentially a fuel for her antics, was really well executed even while maintaining a firm grip on the drama through and through. The direction is superb here.
Performances
The performances are pretty good by the members of the cast. Lukas Gage as Lewis is terrific in that one scene featuring him, and he really maintains the levels of tension through his character. Dylan Gelula as Gemma has her moments to shine. Rosemarie DeWitt as Elizabeth is wonderful to witness as well despite a limited screen time. But the show undoubtedly belongs to Naomi Scott who is magnificent as Skye. She had quite a complex character to pull-off, given that most emotions of her character are internalized while reaching the surface in spurts and jerks. Additionally, there was a streak of madness that ran through her characters, at times in subdued form too. Clearly, the character had a lot of virtues to understand and balance out, while having the need to integrate bouts of physicality. And Naomi does such a tremendous job in ticking all boxes while delivering a towering performance to study and cherish.
Conclusion
Smile 2 is a searing account of trauma and depression packaged in a chilling psychological body horror that makes for a brilliant watch while doubling up as a fascinating character study.
