Smile was spookier, creepier and the bleak atmosphere was SOOO much better. It got under my skin and had me thinking about it for days after. Smile 2 was more fun, thrilling and had me on edge but I quickly forgot about it. Naomi Scott’s performance is the main reason why many people claim it’s better than the first.
So, just to set tone, I absolutely LOVED this movie. SMILE 2 was an easy 9/10 for me. That said, I completely understand some of the criticisms. I think the main takeaway I am getting, based on those criticisms, is this movie suffers a little from middle-of-the-story-itis. To my eyes, there were several big swings made where the ramp-up from the first film was obvious. But, to your point, didn't necessarilly bring anything "new" to the table, save one bit of dialog and accompanying sequence (which actually results in 2 new things, really). And, it feels like that is intentional. Obviously I would have no way to confirm, but through my experience in knowing writers and artists, and being one myself, I'd have to imagine Parker Finn likely has at LEAST an outline of what a trilogy would look like, at least on paper, if 2 does well enough for a green light on pt 3. Mr. Finn's enthusiasm in interviews about the films kinda confirms it for me. If this is true, then 2 was built intentionally to hold back some of the bigger reveals (ie: new stuff) for pt 3 and the likely resolution. ***SPOILERS BELOW*** ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... The dialog and sequence I refer to is where the demon tells Skye, "I loved walking around in your skin." which comes during the resolution of the restaurant freezer scene. Then the reveal Skye is actually on stage for the big performance she has been training for, only to realize this is actual reality. What I see a lot of Critics missing is the fact, during the "dance troupe" scene in her apartment, the demon climbs into her right then before she "passes out." Which tells me It has been walking around in real life for who really knows how long, interacting with her mother and everyone else, which IS new. That is not something the demon was ever shown to have done in the previous film, and Joel had gone back and found at least 20 previous links in the death-chain. And now, with the added bonus the demon has likely "procreated" by proliferating through Skye's audience, yet another "new" thing that the demon has done (and, the story, for that matter).
@@MetFreak42 that’s not new. The demon has been shown to take over the body of the host for who knows how long. We know this because in the first, the demon takes over the MC to kill her cat and then wrap it in a present. Also the demon dying in front of thousands was an obvious goal just like in ‘late night with the devil’. A copy paste of the first one with simply more gore can’t possible be a 9/10 unless you’re rating the first one 10/10.
These "sequel is good" comments and reviews has to be part of the marketing strategy of Smile 2's producers .... its a bad sequel with no new ideas to offer at all. All the hallucinations are just fillers because there is no plot at all to the movie except to rehash whats been done in the original and multiply by 10. I got bored already in the middle of the movie but I finished it hoping for something different but left disappointed having wasted my time ....
I enjoyed it too but what I think she’s saying in this video is that it shows us nothing new/further into this creature. From its from. The history and/or can it be killed or stopped. It pretty much did what it does to the main character just like the last one from the first film…I recommend this movie but its leaves alot of unanswered questions
@@AnnaF33 yes i have. I have seen The original Exorcist and it is only scary for the story and few images here and there and it only caused me one sleepless night. Jeepers Creepers 1 caused me one sleepless night also. Hereditary also was scary, caused me 2 night terrors. Evil dead remake caused me 1 night. The first smile movie caused me 1 night. Smile 2 caused me 4 nights.
Totally agree, Smile 1 other than being far more authentic, was actually less violent bu way scarier than the sequel. I also felt like the was actually a lot more substance storywise in the first one while the sequel mostly felt like ot was recycling scenes and trying to be shocking.
In my opinion it's better becouse its not only just a horror movie, it's about addiction and fame. Nothing deep but it takes chance to tell something more.
You said everything I was thinking! Naomi Scott was amazing, there were some good themes with mental health, great scares and overall intrigue…and yet it captured me less than the first movie. I wanted there to be more tension, more chances to root for Skye, or more information about the entity. But it did Smile 2 mainly amped up the horror rather than the story.
FINALLY a good and realistic view about Smile 2. Everywhere I go I see critics being waaay too laudatory towards this movie, as if it is one of the best horror movies of all times, considering it even better than the first one. I know what I'm about to say is just my opinion (well, like it's the case of any other person), but to me, nothing could be far from the truth. I so wish have liked this movie, specially because Naomi Scott's acting was superb, but it turns out that Smile 2 was a big disappointment. The movie almost has no plot, and the little that it has is TOO predictable: who didn't thought way before the end that it would end the way that it did? Indeed, the entirety of Smile 2 seems to have been written backwards just to fit that predictable ending. Furthermore, it adds absolutely NOTHING to the lore from the first movie and executes the curse way worse in this one. It takes so long to get going and when it does get going none of it is actually real! I guess they thought it would be cool that the ending reveal entirely nulls out about half of the movie. "Oh, wow! She was hallucinating this whole time? What was real? Was anything real?" It really gives all the pseudointellectuals something to hold on to. But I think anyone who likes good writing and more than gore and jump scares probably felt frustrated while watching this, with hallucinations going way way overboard and rules thrown out the window. This movie was dumbed down big time to please the dumbed down masses. And to top it off, NONE of the characters were likeable or relatable. Specially the protagonist, who's not only a very rich celebrity, but an egocentric and spoiled one. Because of that, I couldn't empathize or feel for her. Although, as I said, I think Naomi Scott was really good in this (considering what was given to her), the writing of her character was atrocious. It's a shame, cause this movie has a very good production and good acting, if the writing was also good, this probably would became a cult classic. But the way it is, it's just a forgettable entertainment.
At first all the fake outs were annoying me, but at the very end I kind of liked how they did it. :SPOILERS: The way I look at it after the end is that the curse worked overtime to trick her more intensely than the first to ensure she showed up on the stage at the end so it could put the curse into thousands of people, I mean when is it going to have this chance again.
Yeah, I agree with you in some parts, but I felt very dissatisfied with how they handled the third act, the fake out was so long it completely changed the momentum of the movie, like you said. Having everything that happened in the wellness center and Staten Island as a fake out just to have her back at the stage in the final moment was lazy writing in my opinion.
@@CleomarMaraga I disagree. They needed to show how powerful the entity had gotten that it was able to make Skye think she killed her own mother when she actually didn’t. It has never been able to do that before. The Staten Island scene needed to happen to give viewers false hope that Skye would finally be able to defeat the entity by stopping her heart. However, by that time it was too late because it was all a hallucination and the entity already took over her mind too much. If Skye had done it that night when she met up with Morris, I have a feeling it would’ve worked.
@@CleomarMaraga No, on the contrary, it's an excellent twist when it says to her “break a leg” you understand that it was all fake and it creates the same confusion that she herself has on screen (by the look in her face u got she doesn even know) and at the end you have to figure out at what point she lost her sense of reality. It is very very effective.
@@CleomarMaraga I agree with you cleo, I think that basically we've been watching almost an entire half of a movie that DIDN'T HAPPEN, we've been watching a vision that she has and it's just feels cheap and boring because if everything that happened was just a vision then what was the point of us even watching it?
@@nigeldavis8771 And that is exclusive, because the writer knows that you are counting on that hope and that is creating expectation. Within the story the entity understands the potential that this victim has and makes a game that engages her completely (and you as an expectator although the clues of such a lie are there, but you let them pass)... simply excellent writing unlike the first one that had a more commercial handling. Here they know the basics and use and twist them in order to create a very good game.
I’m watching this, it’s almost over. My immediate takeaway is WHO is Naomi Scott? I’ve never seen a better performance from a first time horror actress. Just weird how good she is.
The thing I loved the most about this movie is that it was purely from Naomi’s perspective, it didn’t bother showing social media reactions from fans cellphones
I haven't seen the first one but went crazy over this sequel! And I've been led to believe that, by not seeing the 1st one, the sequel is much more enjoyable.
That makes sense, because Smile 2 is just Smile 1, but with a diva pop as protagonist. Structurally, it IS the same movie, with practically nothing new.
They could've done so much more with it. Killing off Joel at the beginning I think was a mistake. the main character being a popstar is just not scary. They could've done a lot more with the Morris character, he shows up and disappears. The first 1 was a lot creepier and enjoyable so I agree with your review.
The one thing I hoped for being bigger was what happened at the ending, but as an inciting incident or in act 3, as it followed, showing it grow Luke a pandemic. But I honestly was mostly disappointed by the writing throughout. It kind if felt too much like a "girl film" meaning all the focus just on Skye. In the 1st film we had other characters actually involved. The creature is getting stronger, I get it, but now who is there to fight it?! We have no heroes.
I didn't feel second hand embarrassment for anyone except the people who didn't stop to help her. No one said anything when she walked out on stage with smeared lipstick and then let her falter for ever on stage. Then again, what was even real in this movie is my biggest question. Maybe nothing and everything I guess, and still goes to show that no one was compassionate enough to see her struggling and help her. I agree with you on the fakeouts and the no new ground covered being a let down. It almost comes off as cheap, but I did like the movie and like you said, Naomi gave an amazing performance.
I left the theater feeling disappointed. Sure, the technical aspects and the performances were great, there's no denying in that, the movie is beautiful. However, the predictable jumpscares, the lack of new information regarding the curse and specially the fake outs didn't work for me. [Mild spoilers ahead] I may be missing something from the movie or a better explanation for why they did that, but almost the entirety of the third act was a fake out...gosh, there are even fake outs inside the fake outs. I predicted the way it was going to end halfway through the movie, but as it progressed and her mental condition worsened it wouldn't be possible to end the movie like that...and then... everything was a fake out and they finished in a grandiose but predictable way. Honestly, it felt like lazy writing to me.
100 % with you. I even started laughing at some places of the scene cause i am sorry but this movie in my perspective was bad. This could've been 10 times more better. But anyways im still confused of why every movie is musicals
Honestly, i thought this particular sequel didn't really do much of anything better than the original. The forst one felt like a more intimate character piece, and the posession (or what you'd call it) was less relevant than how the characters interacted under that presure. In this one, it just felt like the same thing but bigger, louder and dumber. Also it was like at least 30 minutes longer than it needed to be. The first one i really liked, this one was decent enough but not at all as memorable. Typical bad sequel imo where we just see the same thing one more time with the production values pumped up a few notches, but lacking the creativity and originality the first one had. Sure, it had some great performances, but so did the first one while still managing to be a lot more interesting as a movie.
It is amazing and it didnt add anything new??? The protagonist is a pop star! 😂 the ending happens in front of 20,000 fans, this is the first scary movie that's ever did this! The film is amazing ! Definitely worth paying the movie ticket!
Love your video as always. I was totally taken with this movie but for some people, the fake outs will be too much, but for me the mind bending nature of the film is what keeps it exciting and horrifying. I think I have an actual fear of being stuck in a waking nightmare like this. On top of that, I just think every element of the film such as directing, cast, soundtrack, sound, costumes, and gore/makeup, are top notch. The thing that most stunned me with this movie, though, is Naomi Scott's performance. She gave a next level performance that I didn't expect and it absolutely floored me. I would watch this merely for her performance alone, and show it to others for that reason. Can't wait to see where Smile goes from here.
I loved it right up until the third act where I felt the story lost its momentum and tried to tackle more than it could handle narratively. But that being said, I was really engrossed throughout with some great set pieces and it is a recommendation from me. Also, if Naomi Scott's exact performance was in a drama about a pop star battling personal demons, an Oscar nomination would be almost guaranteed, but just because the genre of this movie is horror, the Academy will most probably ignore her excellent performance.
I loved this. Scary? Not overly and the CG wasn't super convincing; however, the performance of Naomi Scott propels this forward in such an engaging full throttle way. Could have had more scares but this felt like old Brian De Palma.. more thriller/horror. There's one scene involving incredible choreography (balletic almost?) and a piano. Sooo creepy and creative. Wildly more developed than the first.
I understand why you felt this way regarding this movie, Marianna. I know I enjoyed most of the film, loved Naomi Scott's performance, love the practical effects, especially those creepy-ass smiles. Now, I have to admit I didn't see that ending coming so, I have to give Parker Finn credit. I also believe that when he's ready, Parker will give a backstory regarding the Smile Demon and his origins.
I enjoyed it and the performance of Naomi was really good, also loved the choreography elements on this one BUT I don't think it was scary or better than the original. The original really creeped me out, on this one I was just on edge, but not scared. That being said, it was a fun time and the cinema during spooky season with friends.
“Fake outs” sounds like the newer IT movies. Pennywise’s antics rang hollow because all he ever did was tease the main cast. They should’ve added way more side characters to those movies so he could actually KILL more people than he did. Since they didn’t, halfway through the first movie, there was no reason to keep worrying about him.
Naomi Scott was absolutely Oscar-worthy in this movie. Sadly, because the academy doesn’t like horror for some reason, which is bullshit, she won’t even be considered😞
I went in blind to the first Smile and watched the trailer after I saw it. So many things would've been ruined. Haven't watched a trailer since. The opening scene in Smile 2 was great and I'm hoping they keep making these. Also these are the only movies where I don't really mind jump scares being in them. They're done very effectively here
I hate that people won’t be honest about this movie. It was a let down imo, the first 20 mins where okay then they just wasted time. They didn’t try to expand the knowledge on the Entity at all. They also Didn’t try to keep the settings creepy likethe first movie did it so well it’s just flashing lights which imo don’t mesh with the tone of the movie. And the CGI monster was horrendous 🤦🏾♂️ how do you go from a actual monster suit to a cartoon looking CGI monster??? Idc what anyone says the First one blows this out the water
@@cobracommander8133 ppl have a very very general understanding of whats good and what isnt. Thats why 'good' things are popular. Its an undeniable fact that they havent expanded on the entity at all.
@@galaxycraftings "It’s an undeniable fact that they haven’t expanded on the entity." - And? Even if that is true, so what? In your view, that makes the movie ‘not good’? Fair enough-you don’t have to like it. But how does that make my view-that the film is good-dishonest? That’s what the OP claimed-that the film was a "let down" and people who like the film aren’t being honest. Nothing in your reply or the OP’s substantiates that claim.
Unlike the original with Riley Keough, I was not familiar with Naomi Scott prior to seeing this. Hope she gets additional roles (horror and otherwise). Have no problem with the jump scares. But agree with you about the hallucinations being overdone. The main problem with hallucinations is that when things actually do happen to the character, they do not have the same impact because you question if they are really happening.
The trailers of this & the original film were so dumb i thought the original was going to suck but to my surprise despite how ridiculously the smiling actors look like the tone, themes of depression & very dark ending of the original was actually pretty damn good. Looking forward to see what this sequel does.
I got to see Smile 2 as part of a double bill with Smile last Wednesday (which I never saw before) I really enjoyed Smile 2 more than the original, Naomi Scott’s performance is amazing, the songs (from someone who doesn’t listen to modern pop) are good and the effects are surprisingly mind blowing
I refused to believe the murder scene (in the wellness centre) was real, even when the movie was trying to make it seem that way. Namely because the demon has never taken control of someone specifically to make them perform violent actions against someone else, so it seemed very out of character for the demon. So i was just like "wake up, bish!" ... but no, she kept spiraling. And then it was no surprise when the ending movie scene came about and a certain someone was there in the audience.
Regardless if you love or hate it, you can’t deny Cristobal Tapia De Veer’s work with the audio and sound design. Never heard such intense spine tingling sounds in a movie before.
I didn't like it at all, have to be honest. There are maybe three scenes in total I appreciated. This was a huge mess, where I feel like someone said, let's just throw everything at it, that will do 🤷🏻♀️ Too much senseless gore, too on the nose, too exaggerated in every way. I was quite bored through the first and second act, I started looking at my phone already. With the original Smile, I loved Sosie Bacon's vibe, I loved everything. It had depth, despite being a silly horror movie. This franchise is essentially about processing grief and mental health. But Smile 2 has ruined it for me. I won't be watching a third installment and I hope it's not even planned. It was terrible. Trap was far superior this year
@@CleomarMaraga I just think it ruined the possibility of a franchise and it should end here. Parts of it were quite obnoxious to be fair, so no it wasn't just you. The reviews are way too high as well
I don't think it ruined the possibility of a franchise! On the contrary, I think they set up another sequel with that ending, and if it continues holding strong at the box office we will probably see a "Smile 3" relatively soon.
@@ImpressionBlend Sure, but just because yet another sequel could be made, doesn't necessarily mean it should. It risks becoming a diluted cash grab. At some point they'll have to....stop forcing a smile perhaps
They showed us so much more info about the entity in the sequel. If you can’t see that or think the whole movie was pointless, then I recommend you rewatch it. It’s actually brilliant the direction they took the movie to set up the third installment. Sucks that you failed to grasp all the important details and nuances.
1st one was much better, creepier, and more sinister, the scenes in the 2nd one didn't feel like a horror more like a thriller. They added too many people in the 'scary scenes' which took away from the spooky aspect
Saw it last night. It's fine like you said. Didn't add to the mythos and wasn't as creative as what the first did. I don't think I'll rewatch it again and I've already seen Smile three times.
Yea, I might rewatch it the next time I rewatch the original, just to get more, but I don't think it's going to have the staying power for me like "Smile" does
I actually liked that she was a pop star because it shines a light on the music industry. Look at singers like Amy Winehouse, Elvis Presley, Micheal Jackson, etc. It's quite tragic how, even though they get sooo much attention, they're getting the wrong type of attention. Real or not, it was pretty obvious that Skye felt like her career was being cared for more than she herself was. The hallucinations and everything could be some sort of symbolism of another drug addiction, or some sort of mental health issue. Which, in retrospect, the whole smile monster is just a big metaphor for PTSD/mental health🤷♂️ Idk if you've seen Amy Winehouse's last performance but it's absolutely heartbreaking and the fact that Skye's mother wanted her to "go on" and "keep up the tour" is relatively the same. A hurt human being pushed out on a stage for what? Money? Fame? It's utterly ridiculous. On Skye you could outwardly see the injuries and yet they were still being ignored/ covered up. Meaning that no matter how obviously they're hurting, they won't care until it's too late. Idk what I'm saying anymore, I'm ranting, bye! Good video btw, keep up the good work 👏
i also thought of amy and her last performance while watching the film in theaters… i do like how the movie took this perspective on fame, but im also glad im not the only one with this exact thought ❤️🩹
Smile 2 was fantastic! The first one i did not really like, quite forgettable. But this one did everything right. Putting a popstar in the centre made sense and personally i think it is quite brilliant. Seeing it again this weekend and def worth the purchase on physical media👌🏻 Naomi Scott….what a performance!
Yessss Naomi Scott is amazing! I will say, I initially thought “Smile” was meh, but loved it on a rewatch - almost everything just worked for me. I wonder if this is something that might happen with “Smile 2” for me as well.
Great review! Agreed heavily with a lot of it even though I enjoyed it more than you did I still agree with its staleness already. They were going somewhere new in the ending and then said fuck that and made it all be in her head which was the worst route. Like Terrifier 3 they need to go back to the drawing board and start mixing it up lore wise.
Smile 2 is what constantly happens in horror, when a low budget movie make a lot of money, the studio want sequels as fast as possible, so the makers throw anything at the screen, as long as it gets out as soon as possible. This feels like a drama of a pop star script they threw the Smile lore in. They did it a lot with Hellraiser. Take any script and threw pinhead in there
A completely wrongheaded take. Of course the studio wanted a sequel, but Parker Finn has clearly gone out of his way to expand the story and go in a different direction. It’s a superior sequel.
@@vaporwave4880 uuh expand how? superior how? adding more blood and dead bodies dosent instantly make a film better. Im confused on what expansion youre talking about beecause we dont know any more about the entity as we did in the first movie.
@@galaxycraftings it expands by changing up the protagonist from the usual ‘psychologist/doctor investigates’ . It explores ‘what if this scenario happened to a pop star?’. And ultimately it expands the reach of the entity by exploiting the cult of celebrity. So it goes beyond the scope of the original story rather than simply repeating it. Hope that helps.
@ it dosent since the exact same scenario happens. It isn’t an ‘expansion’ no new information is gained it’s just that the exact same thing happens with zero chance of her escaping. The demon doing so in a stage with millions was also insanely predictable even without seeing ‘late night with the devil’. When the third one is outwhat if this exact same thing happened… but in JAPAN!? And the fourth happens to a soccer player, then the 5th happens to the president. Would you eat it all up saying it’s an expansion since it’s happening to someone new? Expansions would be new ways of seeing the demon, new ways of escaping, origins, maybe even multiple protags who were all affected idk something unique this isn’t an expansion.
L take. The reuse of most things in the first movie is fair. Lost me on the stakeout rant. Makes sense in the context of the movie and kinda is the point
The first film was highly derivative in the first place, taking ideas from other movies, especially It Follows (which was better in that it could at least be treated as a cautionary tale about STD etc. while here it was not sure was the entity was really after). You can't really expect something really new for the 2nd film or any sequels following, since it is certain you would see more and more people being "passed on" and at the end the "entity" would win so that that can be more sequels. It would be like watching the 7 or 8 films of Final Destination. Seriously, what really could the audience expect to see?
Smile was spookier, creepier and the bleak atmosphere was SOOO much better. It got under my skin and had me thinking about it for days after.
Smile 2 was more fun, thrilling and had me on edge but I quickly forgot about it. Naomi Scott’s performance is the main reason why many people claim it’s better than the first.
The first movie was way better
I totally agree with U
Yes, Naomi Scott's performance was fantastic.
So, just to set tone, I absolutely LOVED this movie. SMILE 2 was an easy 9/10 for me. That said, I completely understand some of the criticisms. I think the main takeaway I am getting, based on those criticisms, is this movie suffers a little from middle-of-the-story-itis. To my eyes, there were several big swings made where the ramp-up from the first film was obvious. But, to your point, didn't necessarilly bring anything "new" to the table, save one bit of dialog and accompanying sequence (which actually results in 2 new things, really). And, it feels like that is intentional. Obviously I would have no way to confirm, but through my experience in knowing writers and artists, and being one myself, I'd have to imagine Parker Finn likely has at LEAST an outline of what a trilogy would look like, at least on paper, if 2 does well enough for a green light on pt 3. Mr. Finn's enthusiasm in interviews about the films kinda confirms it for me. If this is true, then 2 was built intentionally to hold back some of the bigger reveals (ie: new stuff) for pt 3 and the likely resolution.
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The dialog and sequence I refer to is where the demon tells Skye, "I loved walking around in your skin." which comes during the resolution of the restaurant freezer scene. Then the reveal Skye is actually on stage for the big performance she has been training for, only to realize this is actual reality. What I see a lot of Critics missing is the fact, during the "dance troupe" scene in her apartment, the demon climbs into her right then before she "passes out." Which tells me It has been walking around in real life for who really knows how long, interacting with her mother and everyone else, which IS new. That is not something the demon was ever shown to have done in the previous film, and Joel had gone back and found at least 20 previous links in the death-chain. And now, with the added bonus the demon has likely "procreated" by proliferating through Skye's audience, yet another "new" thing that the demon has done (and, the story, for that matter).
@@MetFreak42 that’s not new. The demon has been shown to take over the body of the host for who knows how long. We know this because in the first, the demon takes over the MC to kill her cat and then wrap it in a present. Also the demon dying in front of thousands was an obvious goal just like in ‘late night with the devil’. A copy paste of the first one with simply more gore can’t possible be a 9/10 unless you’re rating the first one 10/10.
These "sequel is good" comments and reviews has to be part of the marketing strategy of Smile 2's producers .... its a bad sequel with no new ideas to offer at all.
All the hallucinations are just fillers because there is no plot at all to the movie except to rehash whats been done in the original and multiply by 10. I got bored already in the middle of the movie but I finished it hoping for something different but left disappointed having wasted my time ....
@@88feji how would it be the producers when a majority of the people who watched it liked the move lmfao??
SMILE 2 is a HORROR GEM! The first one was original and decent, but this one new, make it better! I was surprised! Totally a gem of a movie
Watch your back, that's a major reach
I enjoyed it too but what I think she’s saying in this video is that it shows us nothing new/further into this creature. From its from. The history and/or can it be killed or stopped. It pretty much did what it does to the main character just like the last one from the first film…I recommend this movie but its leaves alot of unanswered questions
@@oceanlawnlove8109its a great movie… both 1st and sequel are great in their own right. Thats a fact not an opinion
@@trollingboy9729clearly u didn’t saw to many horror movies😂
@@AnnaF33 yes i have. I have seen The original Exorcist and it is only scary for the story and few images here and there and it only caused me one sleepless night. Jeepers Creepers 1 caused me one sleepless night also. Hereditary also was scary, caused me 2 night terrors. Evil dead remake caused me 1 night. The first smile movie caused me 1 night. Smile 2 caused me 4 nights.
As much as I liked this one, I still prefer the first. This one wasn’t as sinister and definitely had a lighter tone
This is why I was wondering if the amount of humor they included was actually working against the film here
@@ImpressionBlend I’d say so! The first just had this unrelenting sense of dread & misery. This one was just more fun to watch
Totally agree, Smile 1 other than being far more authentic, was actually less violent bu way scarier than the sequel. I also felt like the was actually a lot more substance storywise in the first one while the sequel mostly felt like ot was recycling scenes and trying to be shocking.
In my opinion it's better becouse its not only just a horror movie, it's about addiction and fame. Nothing deep but it takes chance to tell something more.
Wow, Naomi Scott looks a lot different in real life than she does here.
I was surprised as well!
You said everything I was thinking! Naomi Scott was amazing, there were some good themes with mental health, great scares and overall intrigue…and yet it captured me less than the first movie. I wanted there to be more tension, more chances to root for Skye, or more information about the entity. But it did Smile 2 mainly amped up the horror rather than the story.
FINALLY a good and realistic view about Smile 2. Everywhere I go I see critics being waaay too laudatory towards this movie, as if it is one of the best horror movies of all times, considering it even better than the first one. I know what I'm about to say is just my opinion (well, like it's the case of any other person), but to me, nothing could be far from the truth. I so wish have liked this movie, specially because Naomi Scott's acting was superb, but it turns out that Smile 2 was a big disappointment.
The movie almost has no plot, and the little that it has is TOO predictable: who didn't thought way before the end that it would end the way that it did? Indeed, the entirety of Smile 2 seems to have been written backwards just to fit that predictable ending. Furthermore, it adds absolutely NOTHING to the lore from the first movie and executes the curse way worse in this one. It takes so long to get going and when it does get going none of it is actually real! I guess they thought it would be cool that the ending reveal entirely nulls out about half of the movie. "Oh, wow! She was hallucinating this whole time? What was real? Was anything real?" It really gives all the pseudointellectuals something to hold on to. But I think anyone who likes good writing and more than gore and jump scares probably felt frustrated while watching this, with hallucinations going way way overboard and rules thrown out the window. This movie was dumbed down big time to please the dumbed down masses. And to top it off, NONE of the characters were likeable or relatable. Specially the protagonist, who's not only a very rich celebrity, but an egocentric and spoiled one. Because of that, I couldn't empathize or feel for her. Although, as I said, I think Naomi Scott was really good in this (considering what was given to her), the writing of her character was atrocious.
It's a shame, cause this movie has a very good production and good acting, if the writing was also good, this probably would became a cult classic. But the way it is, it's just a forgettable entertainment.
That's a brutally honest take that I agree with 100%.
It was NOT a disappointment. You're being a biased hater.
I too missed the intimacy of Smile as well.
At first all the fake outs were annoying me, but at the very end I kind of liked how they did it. :SPOILERS: The way I look at it after the end is that the curse worked overtime to trick her more intensely than the first to ensure she showed up on the stage at the end so it could put the curse into thousands of people, I mean when is it going to have this chance again.
Yeah, I agree with you in some parts, but I felt very dissatisfied with how they handled the third act, the fake out was so long it completely changed the momentum of the movie, like you said. Having everything that happened in the wellness center and Staten Island as a fake out just to have her back at the stage in the final moment was lazy writing in my opinion.
@@CleomarMaraga I disagree. They needed to show how powerful the entity had gotten that it was able to make Skye think she killed her own mother when she actually didn’t. It has never been able to do that before.
The Staten Island scene needed to happen to give viewers false hope that Skye would finally be able to defeat the entity by stopping her heart. However, by that time it was too late because it was all a hallucination and the entity already took over her mind too much. If Skye had done it that night when she met up with Morris, I have a feeling it would’ve worked.
@@CleomarMaraga No, on the contrary, it's an excellent twist when it says to her “break a leg” you understand that it was all fake and it creates the same confusion that she herself has on screen (by the look in her face u got she doesn even know) and at the end you have to figure out at what point she lost her sense of reality. It is very very effective.
@@CleomarMaraga I agree with you cleo, I think that basically we've been watching almost an entire half of a movie that DIDN'T HAPPEN, we've been watching a vision that she has and it's just feels cheap and boring because if everything that happened was just a vision then what was the point of us even watching it?
@@nigeldavis8771 And that is exclusive, because the writer knows that you are counting on that hope and that is creating expectation. Within the story the entity understands the potential that this victim has and makes a game that engages her completely (and you as an expectator although the clues of such a lie are there, but you let them pass)... simply excellent writing unlike the first one that had a more commercial handling. Here they know the basics and use and twist them in order to create a very good game.
I’m watching this, it’s almost over. My immediate takeaway is WHO is Naomi Scott? I’ve never seen a better performance from a first time horror actress. Just weird how good she is.
@ that’s not what I said, weekend troll.
The thing I loved the most about this movie is that it was purely from Naomi’s perspective, it didn’t bother showing social media reactions from fans cellphones
Oh yea, social media scandal is definitely the last thing this movie needed
I haven't seen the first one but went crazy over this sequel! And I've been led to believe that, by not seeing the 1st one, the sequel is much more enjoyable.
That makes sense, because Smile 2 is just Smile 1, but with a diva pop as protagonist. Structurally, it IS the same movie, with practically nothing new.
They could've done so much more with it. Killing off Joel at the beginning I think was a mistake. the main character being a popstar is just not scary. They could've done a lot more with the Morris character, he shows up and disappears. The first 1 was a lot creepier and enjoyable so I agree with your review.
Idk if it was better or not but that Naomi Scott performance was fucking brilliant !!!!
The one thing I hoped for being bigger was what happened at the ending, but as an inciting incident or in act 3, as it followed, showing it grow Luke a pandemic. But I honestly was mostly disappointed by the writing throughout. It kind if felt too much like a "girl film" meaning all the focus just on Skye. In the 1st film we had other characters actually involved. The creature is getting stronger, I get it, but now who is there to fight it?! We have no heroes.
Bigger? Yes! Better? DEFINITELY!
I didn't feel second hand embarrassment for anyone except the people who didn't stop to help her. No one said anything when she walked out on stage with smeared lipstick and then let her falter for ever on stage. Then again, what was even real in this movie is my biggest question. Maybe nothing and everything I guess, and still goes to show that no one was compassionate enough to see her struggling and help her. I agree with you on the fakeouts and the no new ground covered being a let down. It almost comes off as cheap, but I did like the movie and like you said, Naomi gave an amazing performance.
The first one was scarier. Maybe because you didn't know what you were getting into. Smile 2 was very entertaining though.
I left the theater feeling disappointed. Sure, the technical aspects and the performances were great, there's no denying in that, the movie is beautiful. However, the predictable jumpscares, the lack of new information regarding the curse and specially the fake outs didn't work for me.
[Mild spoilers ahead]
I may be missing something from the movie or a better explanation for why they did that, but almost the entirety of the third act was a fake out...gosh, there are even fake outs inside the fake outs.
I predicted the way it was going to end halfway through the movie, but as it progressed and her mental condition worsened it wouldn't be possible to end the movie like that...and then... everything was a fake out and they finished in a grandiose but predictable way. Honestly, it felt like lazy writing to me.
100 % with you. I even started laughing at some places of the scene cause i am sorry but this movie in my perspective was bad. This could've been 10 times more better. But anyways im still confused of why every movie is musicals
Love Black Swan and mother! This sounds like a version of Ninja Gaiden on easy mode, but will still give Smile 2 a shot.
Will there be a happy ending in these Smile franchise movies? Becomes too predictable..
I will say, it was kind of a bummer watching it and being able to tell where it’s going
Honestly, i thought this particular sequel didn't really do much of anything better than the original. The forst one felt like a more intimate character piece, and the posession (or what you'd call it) was less relevant than how the characters interacted under that presure. In this one, it just felt like the same thing but bigger, louder and dumber. Also it was like at least 30 minutes longer than it needed to be.
The first one i really liked, this one was decent enough but not at all as memorable. Typical bad sequel imo where we just see the same thing one more time with the production values pumped up a few notches, but lacking the creativity and originality the first one had. Sure, it had some great performances, but so did the first one while still managing to be a lot more interesting as a movie.
It is amazing and it didnt add anything new??? The protagonist is a pop star! 😂 the ending happens in front of 20,000 fans, this is the first scary movie that's ever did this! The film is amazing ! Definitely worth paying the movie ticket!
Her performance was so intense. Naomi deserve an Oscar nomination.
Saying it got easier to tell when things were fake considering the massive twist at the end feels idk, undeserving
Love your video as always. I was totally taken with this movie but for some people, the fake outs will be too much, but for me the mind bending nature of the film is what keeps it exciting and horrifying. I think I have an actual fear of being stuck in a waking nightmare like this. On top of that, I just think every element of the film such as directing, cast, soundtrack, sound, costumes, and gore/makeup, are top notch. The thing that most stunned me with this movie, though, is Naomi Scott's performance. She gave a next level performance that I didn't expect and it absolutely floored me. I would watch this merely for her performance alone, and show it to others for that reason. Can't wait to see where Smile goes from here.
I loved it right up until the third act where I felt the story lost its momentum and tried to tackle more than it could handle narratively. But that being said, I was really engrossed throughout with some great set pieces and it is a recommendation from me. Also, if Naomi Scott's exact performance was in a drama about a pop star battling personal demons, an Oscar nomination would be almost guaranteed, but just because the genre of this movie is horror, the Academy will most probably ignore her excellent performance.
Oh, absolutely! Her performance is award-worthy, but Oscars hate horror
I loved this. Scary? Not overly and the CG wasn't super convincing; however, the performance of Naomi Scott propels this forward in such an engaging full throttle way. Could have had more scares but this felt like old Brian De Palma.. more thriller/horror. There's one scene involving incredible choreography (balletic almost?) and a piano. Sooo creepy and creative. Wildly more developed than the first.
That thumbnail on the left Must have studios considering another The Shining entry starring Jack Nicolsons son.
Don't even put that out into the Universe, noooo
@@ImpressionBlend 😂
I understand why you felt this way regarding this movie, Marianna. I know I enjoyed most of the film, loved Naomi Scott's performance, love the practical effects, especially those creepy-ass smiles. Now, I have to admit I didn't see that ending coming so, I have to give Parker Finn credit. I also believe that when he's ready, Parker will give a backstory regarding the Smile Demon and his origins.
I enjoyed it and the performance of Naomi was really good, also loved the choreography elements on this one BUT I don't think it was scary or better than the original.
The original really creeped me out, on this one I was just on edge, but not scared.
That being said, it was a fun time and the cinema during spooky season with friends.
That's pretty much how I felt as well. The original is absolutely chilling though!
@@ImpressionBlend Loved your review btw! 💛
And yes the original completely creeped me out and thats not an easy thing to do as a horror fan 😅
“Fake outs” sounds like the newer IT movies. Pennywise’s antics rang hollow because all he ever did was tease the main cast. They should’ve added way more side characters to those movies so he could actually KILL more people than he did. Since they didn’t, halfway through the first movie, there was no reason to keep worrying about him.
"It wasn't as terrifying as the previous one. I prefer the first one; it had just the right amount of jump scares."
Naomi Scott was absolutely Oscar-worthy in this movie. Sadly, because the academy doesn’t like horror for some reason, which is bullshit, she won’t even be considered😞
I went in blind to the first Smile and watched the trailer after I saw it. So many things would've been ruined. Haven't watched a trailer since. The opening scene in Smile 2 was great and I'm hoping they keep making these. Also these are the only movies where I don't really mind jump scares being in them. They're done very effectively here
I hate that people won’t be honest about this movie. It was a let down imo, the first 20 mins where okay then they just wasted time. They didn’t try to expand the knowledge on the Entity at all. They also Didn’t try to keep the settings creepy likethe first movie did it so well it’s just flashing lights which imo don’t mesh with the tone of the movie. And the CGI monster was horrendous 🤦🏾♂️ how do you go from a actual monster suit to a cartoon looking CGI monster??? Idc what anyone says the First one blows this out the water
not seeing this enough, I agree
Won’t be honest? You think just people people don’t share your opinion they’re lying? Or not being honest?
The first one was way better
@@cobracommander8133 ppl have a very very general understanding of whats good and what isnt. Thats why 'good' things are popular. Its an undeniable fact that they havent expanded on the entity at all.
@@galaxycraftings "It’s an undeniable fact that they haven’t expanded on the entity." - And? Even if that is true, so what? In your view, that makes the movie ‘not good’? Fair enough-you don’t have to like it. But how does that make my view-that the film is good-dishonest? That’s what the OP claimed-that the film was a "let down" and people who like the film aren’t being honest. Nothing in your reply or the OP’s substantiates that claim.
Unlike the original with Riley Keough, I was not familiar with Naomi Scott prior to seeing this. Hope she gets additional roles (horror and otherwise). Have no problem with the jump scares. But agree with you about the hallucinations being overdone. The main problem with hallucinations is that when things actually do happen to the character, they do not have the same impact because you question if they are really happening.
The trailers of this & the original film were so dumb i thought the original was going to suck but to my surprise despite how ridiculously the smiling actors look like the tone, themes of depression & very dark ending of the original was actually pretty damn good.
Looking forward to see what this sequel does.
I got to see Smile 2 as part of a double bill with Smile last Wednesday (which I never saw before) I really enjoyed Smile 2 more than the original, Naomi Scott’s performance is amazing, the songs (from someone who doesn’t listen to modern pop) are good and the effects are surprisingly mind blowing
I have a lot of the same criticisms, but I think I like this movie more than the first purely for the entertainment value.
I refused to believe the murder scene (in the wellness centre) was real, even when the movie was trying to make it seem that way. Namely because the demon has never taken control of someone specifically to make them perform violent actions against someone else, so it seemed very out of character for the demon. So i was just like "wake up, bish!" ... but no, she kept spiraling. And then it was no surprise when the ending movie scene came about and a certain someone was there in the audience.
Regardless if you love or hate it, you can’t deny Cristobal Tapia De Veer’s work with the audio and sound design. Never heard such intense spine tingling sounds in a movie before.
Very true!
I didn't like it at all, have to be honest. There are maybe three scenes in total I appreciated. This was a huge mess, where I feel like someone said, let's just throw everything at it, that will do 🤷🏻♀️ Too much senseless gore, too on the nose, too exaggerated in every way. I was quite bored through the first and second act, I started looking at my phone already. With the original Smile, I loved Sosie Bacon's vibe, I loved everything. It had depth, despite being a silly horror movie. This franchise is essentially about processing grief and mental health. But Smile 2 has ruined it for me. I won't be watching a third installment and I hope it's not even planned. It was terrible. Trap was far superior this year
I didn't hate it as much as you did, but it's nice to see that me and my friends weren't the only ones to dislike this movie.
@@CleomarMaraga I just think it ruined the possibility of a franchise and it should end here. Parts of it were quite obnoxious to be fair, so no it wasn't just you. The reviews are way too high as well
I don't think it ruined the possibility of a franchise! On the contrary, I think they set up another sequel with that ending, and if it continues holding strong at the box office we will probably see a "Smile 3" relatively soon.
@@ImpressionBlend Sure, but just because yet another sequel could be made, doesn't necessarily mean it should. It risks becoming a diluted cash grab. At some point they'll have to....stop forcing a smile perhaps
They showed us so much more info about the entity in the sequel. If you can’t see that or think the whole movie was pointless, then I recommend you rewatch it. It’s actually brilliant the direction they took the movie to set up the third installment. Sucks that you failed to grasp all the important details and nuances.
1000% agree @8:00 1st act was fresh and masterclass then fell off
This is why I'm cautiously optimistic but also a little worried regarding the sequel to It Follows. 🤔
I don't know if I'm even cautiously optimistic about that one...
@@ImpressionBlend 😐
I loved this. I kinda disagree with the “nothing new” comment because the climax sets us up well for Smile 3 and the acting was much much better.
can you please tell us which of the fake outs were fake and which ones were real
It's the original turned up to 11 basically. Much more gore, more intense, better acting but (sadly) many more jumpscares! :)
I think it was more fun but not scarier
I think certain things were more intense, like the gore, but overall I would agree
1st one was much better, creepier, and more sinister, the scenes in the 2nd one didn't feel like a horror more like a thriller. They added too many people in the 'scary scenes' which took away from the spooky aspect
Saw it last night. It's fine like you said. Didn't add to the mythos and wasn't as creative as what the first did. I don't think I'll rewatch it again and I've already seen Smile three times.
Yea, I might rewatch it the next time I rewatch the original, just to get more, but I don't think it's going to have the staying power for me like "Smile" does
I actually liked that she was a pop star because it shines a light on the music industry.
Look at singers like Amy Winehouse, Elvis Presley, Micheal Jackson, etc.
It's quite tragic how, even though they get sooo much attention, they're getting the wrong type of attention. Real or not, it was pretty obvious that Skye felt like her career was being cared for more than she herself was.
The hallucinations and everything could be some sort of symbolism of another drug addiction, or some sort of mental health issue.
Which, in retrospect, the whole smile monster is just a big metaphor for PTSD/mental health🤷♂️
Idk if you've seen Amy Winehouse's last performance but it's absolutely heartbreaking and the fact that Skye's mother wanted her to "go on" and "keep up the tour" is relatively the same. A hurt human being pushed out on a stage for what? Money? Fame? It's utterly ridiculous.
On Skye you could outwardly see the injuries and yet they were still being ignored/ covered up. Meaning that no matter how obviously they're hurting, they won't care until it's too late.
Idk what I'm saying anymore, I'm ranting, bye! Good video btw, keep up the good work 👏
@@C0bblers yeah understandable. I personally enjoy movies with underlying meanings but not everyone does and that’s fine!
@@C0bblers It really would be:) Have a good day/night!
i also thought of amy and her last performance while watching the film in theaters… i do like how the movie took this perspective on fame, but im also glad im not the only one with this exact thought ❤️🩹
Spot on review!
Excellent review - I think I’ll skip this one, though I might check out the first film.
Definitely check out the original!
Thank you for your honest review. I felt the same.
Smile 2 is a masterpiece no doubt but smile 1 connects on a deeper level. Personally I love smile 1
Movie was garbage. Its cool if you liked it, but i thought it was boring as hell and had some lazy writing that felt cheap and hack
Not much to smile about this in this retread of the really good original.
Smile 2 was fantastic! The first one i did not really like, quite forgettable. But this one did everything right. Putting a popstar in the centre made sense and personally i think it is quite brilliant. Seeing it again this weekend and def worth the purchase on physical media👌🏻 Naomi Scott….what a performance!
Yessss Naomi Scott is amazing! I will say, I initially thought “Smile” was meh, but loved it on a rewatch - almost everything just worked for me. I wonder if this is something that might happen with “Smile 2” for me as well.
I completely agree about the fake outs and they were too obvious
I was thoroughly entertained by both Smile and Smile 2.
... I dig your evil smile in the thumbnail :)
I loved it.based on the acting alone. I think the end was good but confusing
'confuse the demon' 💙
well, has anyone tried it?
Great review! Agreed heavily with a lot of it even though I enjoyed it more than you did I still agree with its staleness already. They were going somewhere new in the ending and then said fuck that and made it all be in her head which was the worst route. Like Terrifier 3 they need to go back to the drawing board and start mixing it up lore wise.
Can't get into it, I'll stick to Aphex Twin.
Agree with the fake outs, but what makes this movie work is Naomi Scott's acting, its amazing. She deserves an Oscar nomination.
Marianna! Thanks!
Smile 2 is what constantly happens in horror, when a low budget movie make a lot of money, the studio want sequels as fast as possible, so the makers throw anything at the screen, as long as it gets out as soon as possible. This feels like a drama of a pop star script they threw the Smile lore in. They did it a lot with Hellraiser. Take any script and threw pinhead in there
A completely wrongheaded take. Of course the studio wanted a sequel, but Parker Finn has clearly gone out of his way to expand the story and go in a different direction. It’s a superior sequel.
@@vaporwave4880 uuh expand how? superior how? adding more blood and dead bodies dosent instantly make a film better. Im confused on what expansion youre talking about beecause we dont know any more about the entity as we did in the first movie.
@@galaxycraftings it expands by changing up the protagonist from the usual ‘psychologist/doctor investigates’ . It explores ‘what if this scenario happened to a pop star?’. And ultimately it expands the reach of the entity by exploiting the cult of celebrity. So it goes beyond the scope of the original story rather than simply repeating it. Hope that helps.
@ it dosent since the exact same scenario happens. It isn’t an ‘expansion’ no new information is gained it’s just that the exact same thing happens with zero chance of her escaping. The demon doing so in a stage with millions was also insanely predictable even without seeing ‘late night with the devil’. When the third one is outwhat if this exact same thing happened… but in JAPAN!? And the fourth happens to a soccer player, then the 5th happens to the president. Would you eat it all up saying it’s an expansion since it’s happening to someone new? Expansions would be new ways of seeing the demon, new ways of escaping, origins, maybe even multiple protags who were all affected idk something unique this isn’t an expansion.
@@vaporwave4880 my comment got deleted. You’re wrong I’ll just leave it at that
JUST WATCHED. MOVIE WAS AMAZING 🤩
WAY better than the first movie.
Ohhh no I had high hopes for this one
L take. The reuse of most things in the first movie is fair. Lost me on the stakeout rant. Makes sense in the context of the movie and kinda is the point
You have a beautiful smile
Best horror movie of the year. Every scene got more intense. Loved the big swing they took here
Good evening
It's ok but first one is better. This one was meh!!!
😃
The first film was highly derivative in the first place, taking ideas from other movies, especially It Follows (which was better in that it could at least be treated as a cautionary tale about STD etc. while here it was not sure was the entity was really after). You can't really expect something really new for the 2nd film or any sequels following, since it is certain you would see more and more people being "passed on" and at the end the "entity" would win so that that can be more sequels. It would be like watching the 7 or 8 films of Final Destination. Seriously, what really could the audience expect to see?
Its not
This movie was awful i left 45 min in
i disagree big time, thanks anyway!
Smile 2 is getting a lot of positive buzz but you have a different opinion
The first movie was trash
Im so extremely tired and bored of ppl putting their own disturbing smiles on the thumbnails! Dislike
Hey, thanks for engaging with the video! Really helps the algorithm out!
Eek I hated this movie. It was boring, too long, very confusing and not scary. I can’t get that 2 hours back. Music was the best part.
AMAZING movie.
You’ve got that crazy look in your eye, Marianna! 🫣
😈😈
WTH? Film reviewers have never been this cute. I’m baffled 🥴🥰🫠 (starts video over)