40/44

The scar on Skye’s knee is shaped like a smile

Scenario

About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins to experience increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the mounting horrors and pressures of fame, Skye is forced to confront her past. In one scene, Skye places a VOSS water bottle on a stone/marble kitchen counter and a noise is heard that matches the sound of something plastic being placed down. VOSS water bottles are glass, something that is actually specifically highlighted in the film, so the audio does not match the action seen. Skye Riley: [to the Smile Entity] You’re not in control, I am! .

How wrong I was

Featured on The 7PM Project – October 17, 2024 episode (2024). I didn’t have high hopes for ‘Smile 2’. It seemed like a concept that involved a movie and nothing more. This movie took an above average horror movie in the original and said we’re going to make it better in every way. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s still popcorn horror, but it’s popcorn horror of the highest quality. Scares rarely get me off these days.

Her character was pretty well crafted though

This one had me jumping out of my chair several times. I should make a note on this though: these seemed like the loudest jump scares I’ve ever heard in a theater. Even when the scare didn’t work, the sheer noise could be pretty startling. I’m not entirely sure if it was just the volume of my theater or the sound mix. When we were introduced to the main character, and she was a pop star, I was worried that it was going to be hard to get on her side. Pop stars in real life haven’t exactly become the most likable people over the past few decades.

A good opening scene in a horror movie has become a lost art

She was flawed, but she was also very likable and easy to get along with. It has to be said that it helped that we got an excellent performance from Naomi Scott. It’s so important to hook your audience right from the start and set the standard. A lot of modern horror movies forget about this but this movie doesn’t. The opening scene was great and really started the movie off on the right note. This movie is pretty long for a horror movie, clocking in at over 2 hours.

However, it never did and it even kept the ending which I was really worried it wouldn’t achieve

It’s an ambitious ask to keep the quality up for so long and I wondered when it would all fall apart. I never thought I’d be writing this but ‘Smile 2’ is going to be a contender for one of the best horror movies of 2024. 9.5/10.