Smile 2 (2024)

"I can't believe I might fucking die in the freezer of a Pizza Hut." 

Disclaimer: I did not see the original movie. 
Only three-and-a-half stars for the movie itself, but absolutely five stars for Naomi Scott's performance. I wasn't all too interested in seeing this one, but after hearing the reviews of Naomi's performance and how she should win an Oscar for it, I had to see; and I must agree. She absolutely nailed this performance, from feeling the pain of her desperation to feeling like her audiences that don't believe her and think she's "crazy." 

The film itself is kind of corny, but in a good way? I found myself entertained, while also anxious; I don't think that "scared" is the right word. I was scared, but for the wrong reasons, and not in the right way. Let me explain. 

The film is full of jumpscares that are as about traditional as I can imagine; around corners, from deadpans, but also some jumpscares that genuinely are sudden and unanticipated. I screamed in the theater about twice, I believe, and not even from the actual jumpscares that wanted to get you, but from one of the ones that I don't believe would fall into the "traditional" category. I think that the shock-value was what got me opposed to the creepy, smiling people that would pop up out of nowhere. 

While it did a good job of making me anxious and uneasy, I think the scariest part was Skye Riley struggling with substance abuse and the situation that she was put in with the smiling entity. When you're in the spotlight like Skye Riley, it can be hard deciding what to say and what not to say, especially when you've already had a public controversy. I saw some critics of how Skye Riley didn't really do much compared to the original character in the first movie who tried to figure out what was going on, but I actually loved that detail — when you're a celebrity, you can't just say things or try to figure things out. Skye was put into a very hard situation where people wanted to blame what she was saying on other things, which can be so hard, in any context, when you're not being believed. 

The plot twists throughout the film are quite fascinating and did a good job of keeping my attention. While I think that the plot could be stronger and it could be a stronger story, I don't necessarily think that this is a horror movie that was going for getting the audience involved in the plot — it's main goal was to scare you, which it did. I also liked some of the comedy relief, including the major sponsoring that VOSS water did for the film. 

I'm really glad to see Naomi Scott on the big screen, knowing her from Lemonade Mouth and the live-action Aladdin. The film itself was mediocre, scary enough to make me jump and anxious, but Naomi's performance was what really made this movie worth watching. I hope to see her in more upcoming films and hope that, if not, we see her on tour.