If you’re expecting to be home for the holidays and want to take a break from the cheery malls and festivities, consider watching the Smile movies.
On October 18th, Smile 2 was released in theaters just in time for Halloween. This horror movie was in a touchy spot due to the success of its predecessor and it had some expectations to live up to. So the question is, did it?
Well, when reviewing a sequel, particularly a horror movie, there are a few things to think about. For starters, the amount of scare. A horror movie is supposed to be scary, and while fear is subjective, it’s obvious when something is supposed to be unnerving or when there’s a jumpscare. Also, the plot is vital. If the plot of a horror movie doesn’t make sense or is flat, then the whole movie can fail. Finally, the gore factor. If a horror movie is super gory, but not scary, then it isn’t well-received, and vise-versa. So, did Smile 2 live up to Smile?
Atmosphere/Jumpscares
Overall, Smile 2 was more toned-down. There are a few well-done jumpscares, and it did feel as horrific as the last one. However, as far as the atmosphere of the movie was concerned, it was less scary. This could be due to the fact that it’s centered around a popstar, which is hard to make dark and eerie. In all fairness, they did a good job in making it feel like a horror movie, but there were a few moments when it was easy to forget this was horror. This was due to the fact that the movie surrounded a popstar and focused on her life drama a bit. Therefore, scenes lacked in horror and focused more on drama.
The jumpscares were more likely to hit, however. In Smile, the jumpscares were often easy to predict, but in Smile 2, they weren’t. Oftentimes, you’d be led on, expecting a specific type of jumpscare, and instead would be surprised by something that wasn’t coming from where you expected.
Plot/Storyline
The plot of Smile 2 is different enough from the previous movie that it does feel like a different story, but it still follows the same premise of its predecessor, making the two stories flow nicely without feeling repetitive. You don’t necessarily need to watch the original to understand the second, but it’s more enjoyable to watch if you do.
It was a good idea to make the main character in the first movie a psychiatrist, and the main character in the second a popstar, which draws a clear line between the two. Keeping this spoiler free, the direction the writers went in with this plot, while slightly different, was really well done. They hint at it in the first movie and really carry it out well, without anything not making sense (at least, when it should make sense).
Gore
A big factor in the Smile series is character death. However, because of the premise, it can be difficult to come up with different ways each character dies without it being repetitive. In this film, any and all deaths do feel unique and non-repetitive. Not to mention, each death does feel horrific and gory, and is really well-done. They don’t look fake, and they are mildly sickening.
Overall, Smile 2 was also decently received by critics, with an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 6.8/10 by IMBD, and a 67% on Metacritic. It was also well-received by audiences, with predominantly 5-star reviews on the creativity and twist in the story, as well as raising the stakes by making the main character a pop star.
Based on the average audience rating, and critics, Smile 2 definitely lived up to its predecessor and is worth the watch, even if you’re not one for horror.
