dreary, unsettling, and hopeless - everything a horror movie should be. phenomenal casting and an incredibly distressing atmosphere. it picks up some steam in the back half and loses some of it in the middle, and a lot of the horror relies on jumpscares, but they’re designed too well for me to need to complain. it was very nice to be able to walk out of the theater and realize none of it was real. great watch!

Absolutely exceeds the results of the first movie. Morris is an amazing character. I was genuinely scared during this movie, something that I can’t say about the first one.

This was both better and worse than the first one. I think the movie was trying to be a bit more "arty" than the first one, and it was very character driven with the focus on the main character's trauma and the mental health issues around that and drug addiction. I'm aware there was a level of trauma happening in the first movie too, but the first one felt more like a traditional horror to me. It didn't feel as heavily embedded with the main character's trauma as this one does. Or maybe it was, but it was handled differently? It feels different in any case. I think this movie works better than the first in terms of layers, but as a sequel I am not sure it works as well as it should have. Naomi Scott was amazing, and it was well directed and shot. Some of the scenes are very pretty. I especially liked the almost dancer like movement some of the "smile monsters" had at one point in the film, which I guess was kinda a reflection of the dance scenes we saw earlier in the movie.

Not as good as the first in terms of the dread factor and build-up for me, but I really appreciated the increased character focus. They really spent a lot of time on Skye's relationship with fame and her journey healing from trauma, and that was by far the best part of the movie. My major grip was just how much was all in her head. Her mom's fate absolutely should have stuck.. However, the ending was absolutely wild and I cannot wait to see what they do with the third movie.

it wasnt great tbh and does not compete with the first one, but the ending and the music bumped it up an extra half star

kkk

On a horror level, not as good as the first movie. This one's a lot more gory, has a lot more body horror. The CGI is meh. I'm not a fan of how much this fell back on "it's all in her head". It takes away a lot of the dread, and this movie didn't have as much of that as the first. It's also much flashier than the first movie, and in some ways that works, but in others it really doesn't. Naomi Scott is brilliant in this. I felt very sympathetic toward her character. Her performance is what really makes the movie for me, otherwise it's a very okay film.

<blockquote>"Fuck the tour!"</blockquote> Naomi Scott... I did not regonize your game. You acted your tushy off in this! The first Smile was a nice refreshing horror movie and this sequel does not disappoint. Hard to not to mention parts that would be spoilers, but there are some twists that made me want to watch this again just to make sure I didn't miss any details.

I loved the first movie, and I thought it was really clever how the second teased the idea of a character discovering a way to defeat the entity. It even reminded me of discussions my friends and I had while watching the original. Sadly, it turned out to be just another throwaway “you’re not in control, I am” dream or hallucination sequence. Overall, the second movie didn’t captivate me like the first. It just didn’t have the same impact.

While a fun sequel, the only pitfall in this for me was how long they took on the build-up, don't get me wrong, Naomi was fantastic from beginning-to-end, which is what made it worth watching, she really embraced the role and it showed. The last 35 minutes of this movie are truly the best, and make the entire thing worth it.

I gave it a polite 7 just because of Naomi Scott’s acting. I expected a bit more with the overall story.

THOSE GODDAMN JUMP SCARES ALMOST TOOK MY SOUL💀💀💀

So basically the whole movie was just her imagination?

Definitely a step up from the first Smile. Overall, I enjoyed it—some creative scenes and decent jump scares, but nothing groundbreaking. The car scene really stood out in terms of acting, but the CGI outside felt so off. It gave me flashbacks to old PS2 graphics, which totally broke the immersion. The ending, though, was strong. The 'monster' reveal was well-executed, even if it had limited screen time. This year has been good for monster flicks, with Alien: Romulus and The Substance, and Smile 2 delivered its own cool moment. I can see why some might be divided on the ending, but personally, I thought it wrapped things up nicely.