Writer-director Parker Finn’s Smile 2 builds up considerable intrigue initially, with its novel premise of a malevolent entity possessing and manipulating a vulnerable host. Unlike the first Smile film, the victim here is not a normal person but rather a pop sensation named Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), which ups the stakes for the franchise. Riley has a tragic past and a substance abuse history, which starts to haunt her further after the Smile Entity takes over her. Consequently, her public life becomes a show for the audience even as it starts to unravel after she witnesses the tragic death of her drug supplier at the hands of the entity. The film effectively explores the duality of fame by contrasting Riley's glamorous public persona with her inner turmoil. Being famous blurs the lines between private and public life. Even as Riley grapples with the entity and the many forms in which it manifests itself, she has a career to take care of, and a public persona to maintain. One wrong move is likely to derail her career for good. There is constant pressure from the media, family, public, and the music industry.

Director: Parker Finn

Cast: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Dylan Gelula, Raul Castillo 2

Despite the semblance of a glamorous lifestyle, fame tends to contribute to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Riley's fame distances her from the people she cares about, which explains the strained relationship she shares with her mother-cum-manager Elizabeth Riley (Rosemarie DeWitt). In a scene, one fan who poses for a photograph with Riley tells her that he can sense her sadness deep inside, and another asks her about her well-being. The scene instantly reminds you of musicians with a tragic fate, such as Amy Winehouse and Liam Payne, and other public figures who often speak about the duality of celebrityhood. Riley is a person who finds the status of being a celebrity itself an ordeal, and Naomi Scott embodies the various shades of her character while delivering a compelling performance within a performance. It holds the film together, especially when Finn’s screenplay goes from fascinating to bizarre in the final few moments.

Not everything works in the film's favour. For instance, the body horror element takes away from the suspense of the film. It does not feel as earned as the central premise. Sometimes, Finn uses it just for shock value, such as in one scene where Riley has a disorienting vision of her concert viewers attacking her in her room. The metaphor for the invasion of her privacy is a bit too on the nose. Visually, too, the film is gratuitously grotesque. The close-up shots of random people wickedly winking and smiling at Riley are scary, as opposed to scenes where characters mutilate themselves (which are more shocking than frightening). The film's most disturbing moments are those that exploit Riley's vulnerability and fear. For all its novelty, the Smile Entity does not get under your skin, similar to some of the best horror villains in cinema history. It affects the protagonist mentally (and physically), not so much the audience. It scares you here and there but does not evoke a sense of visceral fear. It is a pity because it tries to and could do so with a better, more polished screenplay.

Unfortunately, Finn’s attempt to cater to the conventions of the genre holds the film back, leaving a minor impact on the storytelling. For example, a character telling Riley what is happening to her leads to mild exposition for an audience who is familiar with the bedrock of the Smile franchise. Further, there are too many scenes showing us what Riley feels and how her close ones perceive her situation. Riley feels that she is going insane, whereas her controlling mother reckons that she is relapsing and needs rehabilitation. The climax oscillates between wildly inventive and bewildering.

Despite these flaws, though, Smile 2 is a mostly novel horror film with enough psychological and jump scares for an unsettling cinematic experience. Naomi Scott delivers a truly internalised performance that often grounds the film in existential horror. She is a star (and a potential scream queen) in the making.