Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. What, too clichéd? Of all the original horror movies to break big at the box office in recent years, “Smile” might be one of the most interesting cases. Fueled in part by a genuinely creative viral marketing campaign and the novelty factor of its killer premise (what if the most basic and positive of facial expressions was BAD???), the 2022 film went on to become the year’s highest-grossing original horror movie. And since smiles tend to be contagious — well, that and the desire to make money — it was only a matter of time before Paramount gave the green light for a sequel. Earlier this year, the “Smile 2” trailer gave us our first look at the upcoming movie and set the stage for another grisly affair. With September now upon us (and, with it, the unofficial start of spooky season), the marketing is ramping up ahead of the movie’s October release.
Call it the M. Night Shyamalan effect! After “Trap” revolved around a serial killer at a pop star’s concert, “Smile 2” stars Naomi Scott as “global pop sensation” Skye Riley who, wouldn’t you know it, gets caught up in that insidious curse when she becomes a firsthand witness of a horrific death by suicide … accompanied by one of those eerily smiling faces, of course. Written and directed by returning filmmaker Parker Finn, the sequel also stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, Raúl Castillo, and Kyle Gallner. Check out the trailer by clicking the video above!
Smile 2 hits theaters just in time for Halloween
Would it kill you to smile? The answer, apparently, is a resounding yes. The parasitic curse from the original “Smile” is back and as traumatic as ever, this time setting its sights on pop star Skye Riley (Naomie Scott) as she’s embarking on a world tour that could make or break her rapidly-rising career. But as we saw in the original movie, some entities are harder to kill than others. In the newest trailer released by Paramount, the only solution (according to one of Skye’s confidants) is, well, “We need to kill you first.” What could possibly go wrong?!
“Smile 2” comes from writer and director (and producer) Parker Finn. The footage gives it away pretty early on that the character played by Lukas Gage, Lewis, is a total goner … but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. In addition to Naomi Scott, who certainly looks like she’s giving what could be the horror performance of the year, the sequel stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Gallner, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, Ray Nicholson, and, for at least one fun scene, none other than scream queen Drew Barrymore herself. Yeah, this looks like a blast. “Smile 2” hits theaters October 18, 2024.
About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.
