With Parker Finn’s originalSmilebecoming a surprise box office hit in 2022, it’s no wonder that the up-and-coming director had to look outside the box for inspiration when creating the sequel he never expected to exist. Now, withSmile 2on track to surpass its predecessor, Finn has finally revealed the film’s surprising origin story, which involves a deep dive into the darker side of the entertainment industry.
The horror genre has always been a vessel for social criticism — from the originalGodzillarepresenting fears of nuclear destruction to zombies becoming increasingly popular in a world rapidly overcome by terrorism — andSmile 2is no exception.Speaking withEntertainment Weekly, Finn discussed his efforts to push theSmileuniverse to the limit. “When I started thinking about ideas, early on, any of the ideas that started coming to me in the first month I was thinking about it, I threw them away,” he stated. “I wanted to push for something where people would be like, ‘I can’t believe this is whereSmilewent.'” Eventually, Finn’s research led him to the “27 Club”:a group of prominent figures in the entertainment industry who tragically passed away at age 27, including Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain, among others.
Smile 2’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Something To Smile About
The sequel to Smile, which became a surprise box office hit, is being called bigger, scarier, and gorier than its 2022 predecessor.
The plot ofSmile 2certainly reflects Finn’s research into the tragic downfalls of talented celebrities. In the film, Naomi Scott stars as Skye,a substance-abusing pop sensation who struggles to maintain her spotlight statusdue to unresolved emotional issues and a personal tragedy haunting her past. These stresses are only compounded by the influence of her mother/manager, a devil-on-the-shoulder type marvelously played by Rosemarie DeWitt, who continues to push Skye into the unrelenting public eye even as Skye’s world is crumbling around her. The result is a deadly, disturbing question at the heart of the film: as audiences become silent bystanders to Skye’s destruction, Finn asks simply, “Did we do this to Skye?”
By us coming back for aSmile 2, have we done this to her? Are we complicit in this?
Smile 2Isn’t the Only Horror Film Putting a Spotlight On Hollywood
Smile 2is an almost direct reference to the way Hollywood destroys its darlings with impossible expectations and overbearing fans. “Certainly, Amy Winehouse was on my mind. Britney Spears, of course,” Finn reflected. “Certainly those tragic stories, I was watching everything I could: documentaries, interviews, essays, articles, even Whitney Houston; there were a lot of women I was looking at who got destroyed by this process.” ButSmile 2isn’t alone in its attempt to spotlight the dismal and often deadly treatment of celebrities.Coralie Fargeat’sThe Substancehas become another unexpected box office success, taking on Hollywood beauty standards from a blunt and bloody perspective. Since horror trends typically reflect popular societal issues, it seems like more than a few people are concerned about the damaging effects of a media-centric world, and viewers might expect an influx of gory films with something to say about the way we treat celebrities.
It’s unlikely that Finn will repeat the same message fromSmile 2in future installments, however. After putting so much effort into makingSmile 2stand out from the original, Finn seems serious about continuing to keep the franchise fresh. But his trend of social criticism isn’t likely to go away, either, meaning that another Hollywood hot topic could be spotlighted in future films.
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.
