The First Reactions To Smile 2 Are Here – Is The Horror Sequel Worth Your Time?

You didn't think the Joker would be the only one putting a twisted smile on your face this spooky season, did you? Todd Phillips, Joaquin Phoenix, and Lady Gaga had no choice but to watch as their version of the Clown Prince of Crime dropped the ball with the critical and box office disaster of "Joker: Folie à Deux," but maybe a more modest sequel to another horror hit could pick up the slack in a big way. In 2022, "Smile" scared the living daylights out of audiences on its way to generally positive reviews and a total of well over $200 million worldwide — both key ingredients to greenlighting an inevitable sequel. Fast forward a couple of years later, and "Smile 2" is already staring down the barrel of a much-needed opening weekend success. And those prospects just increased significantly now that early reactions have just begun to hit social media. Spoiler alert: They're all overwhelmingly positive.

Although it doesn't have a French subtitle to throw audiences off, "Smile 2" does have the talents of leading woman Naomi Scott going for it. The sequel comes from returning writer/director Parker Finn and stars a mostly new cast of characters – other than Kyle Gallner's Joel from the first film, a fun detail that a recent trailer already gave away. The rest of the ensemble includes Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, and Ray Nicholson. Scott plays pop star Skye Riley who, according to the official synopsis, "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."

According to the early word, "Smile 2" more than lives up to the hype. Check out the reactions below!

It's one thing to get lightning to strike twice, but it's quite another to do so while upping the ante considerably. By all accounts, that's precisely what director Parkin Finn and his creative team have pulled off with "Smile 2." Look no further than the glowing reactions from critics who were able to catch an early screening of the sequel. We'll start with The Wrap critic (and co-host of the eminently enjoyable "Mission: Impossible"-centric podcast "Light the Fuse") Drew Taylor, who posted on X (the social media platform formerly and still popularly known as Twitter) that, "['Smile 2'] is such a welcome surprise. It's funnier, stranger, bigger and most importantly scarier than the original film, expanding the world without ever betraying what made the first film so special. Also the dance/musical numbers are really killer. Parker Finn is the real deal." Look out, Lady Raven, it seems like M. Night Shyamalan's "Trap" has some competition in that department.

As if that wasn't convincing enough, Rachel Shatto of Pride.com posted that the film left her "shaken" and called it the "scariest movie of the year by a mile." She went on to praise the acting of Naomi Scott in particular, saying, "Just pure unfettered horror that ups the ante in every way. Gory, mean, and heartbreaking. Oh, and Naomi Scott is coming for Toni Collette's gig. I said what I said." Given the high bar set (and reset) by Collette numerous times in horror flicks like "The Sixth Sense" and especially "Hereditary," that's saying a lot.

If any skeptics were hoping for a dissenting opinion among this group of critics, sorry to disappoint. "Smile 2" seems to have earned the benefit of the doubt and then some, if these next few reactions are anything to go by. Collider's Perri Nemiroff has nothing but glowing things to say about the sequel, praising the film's ambition, Parker Finn's direction and scares, and the filmmaking itself (including, apparently, one heck of a one-take sequence):

"['Smile 2'] goes HARD ... SO HARD, and I absolutely loved it.

I had faith in Parker Finn after the first film, but the sequel basically plays like a director saying, 'You thought you knew what I was capable of? You ain't seen nothing yet!' He ups his game in so many respects. A top-tier oner, a slew of extremely effective scare set pieces and body horror galore, all captured with style."

Still not sold? Nemiroff goes even further in a second tweet (er, xeet?) where she shines a particular spotlight on the musical aspect of the sequel and the choice to follow a pop star main character. As she put it, "And yes, as hoped, setting the sequel in the world of a pop star opens the door to a wealth of wonderful new storytelling opportunities, and Finn makes the most of them. This is also instantly my favorite Naomi Scott performance. The movie demands she take it to an 11, nearly from start to finish, and she delivers BIG every single step of the way."

And then there's The Direct critic Russ Milheim, who explains that fans will come away with nothing but optimism for where this series may take things next. "True to the expectations set by the first film, ['Smile 2'] is an insanely unsettling, nerve-wracking experience. Naomi Scott is incredible. The film really shines in its opening and final acts, where it paints an intriguing image of the franchise's future."

So put a smile on that face and prepare to head over to a theater near you, because it sure seems like this is one horror sequel that has the goods. "Smile 2" hits multiplexes on October 18, 2024.