Smile 2

Of all the films that didn’t need a sequel, this one didn't need one the most. But here we are talking about Smile 2. A sequel to a film that literally could have been one of the most brilliant horror movies of the decade if it just didn’t keep going. It fell off hard at the end of the 3rd act which leads me into this movie with skepticism. I was wildly disappointed by the first one, it was sufficiently creepy and it almost had something to say but it just kept talking. So let’s see if the second one can do what the first one didn't.

Naomi Scott was such an amazing choice for this. I feel like she hasn’t had a lot of roles that really challenge her sting skills. We know that she can sing so having her play a pop star was truly the perfect role for her.

So right off the bat I can see how the purpose of this movie is highlighting the pressures and pitfalls of fame. You can sit here and talk about famous people's privileges all day but the reality is that they are still people whose careers are incredibly unstable, and yes they make more money in a month than most of us do in a year, but they also live with no privacy, stalkers and their everyday is inherently more dangerous.

This generation doesn’t really have scream queens like the 80s did and that’s disappointing. I really think that Mia Goth and Naomi Scott are changing things, Naomi is phenomenal and I hope she continues to get roles that show off how talented she is.

I will say that already this film is doing a better job than the first one at building tension. There is a richer story and the lead character is so much more interesting. The first one really focused on creep factor and this one is far more narrative focused.

She keeps pulling her hair out and it is sending me into a deep anxiety. It's gross and it's stressing me out.

The cinematography in this movie is doing great. They have a lot of upside down angles and distorted shots to highlight Skye losing her mind. The extreme closeups are doing a great job of letting Naomi use her facial expressions to show her spiraling out of her mind.

Momagers are always a bad idea, mom is actively ignoring the fact that her daughter is spiraling. She doesn’t actually care about her daughter or what she needs, she is only concerned about the money that her daughter can make for her. It's the really upsetting reality of a lot of pop stars though. The people around them suck them dry.

Also a good commentary on how when people are in severe mental distress it can cause them to ruin relationships in their spirals. The film also makes it very clear that even through mental illness you are the only one responsible for your actions. And that only you can change your circumstances.

Naomi nailed this role, if the academy was actually judging performances and not restricting themselves to certain genres she would absolutely be in the running for an Oscar. I really wish that horror films got more attention from awards shows. There was a time where we awarded romantic comedies and scary movies the same as any other genre and I am not sure when exactly it stopped but we need to return to actually analysing films equally regardless of genre. The academy hasn't been accurate in their awards in actual decades. Smile 2 gets a solid 9/10. It loses a point because just like the first one it just kept going. It had made some really great commentary that would have held up if they had just stopped talking 10 minutes earlier.