The following article contains a description of violence, death and self-harm.
The following article contains spoilers for Smile 2, now playing in theatersSmile 2’sending is a heartbreaker on a personal level but sets up an even more terrifying sequel. Parker Finn’s sequel follows Skye Riley, a pop star on the verge of a major comeback. However, her entire life is derailed when a mysterious and malevolent Entity invades her mind. Directly tying the expansion toSmile’s endingallows the same vicious curse to infect an inherently larger-scale setting. Skye spends much of the film trying to find an escape from the chaos that is her perception of reality, even finding a potential way to kill the Entity.
However, that’s not what the filmmakers had in mind. Instead,Smile 2doubles down on the dark themes of the first film and expands upon them, showing the wider impact the curse can have on people. The dark fate ofSmile 2' charactersand the sheer scale of the sequel’s ending sets up a bigger potential sequel that could take the series in any direction.
Smile’s Big Twist Explained: How Much Was In Skye’s Head
Smile 2Was Almost Entirely In Skye’s Head
The big twist at the climax ofSmile 2throws much of the film’s plot into question, as it revealsthat the Smile Entity has been seemingly manipulating almost everything Skye has been experiencingthroughout almost the entire narrative. Skye steadily sees through some of the visions caused by the Entity over the film, even seeming to regain a sense of control. However, this all played into the Entity’s manipulations. It turns out that events like her mother’s death and the entire presence of her best friend Gemma in the plot are mere manipulations by the Entity.
As reported byScreen Rant, a monster similar to the Entity also appeared in the 2020 short film, “Laura Hasn’t Slept.”
The lack of backlash to Skye’s erratic actions and the presence of her mother at her concert suggestalmost none of the film’s events happened outside Skye’s head. This gives the film a particularly dark edge, as it suggests the Entity was able to distract Skye’s mind while manipulating her physically into the ideal location to kill her. Entire characters like Morris could be creations of the Entity. Only a few scenes in the film definitely took place in the real world, with the ending leaving the rest of the narrative chillingly ambiguous.
Skye’s Death In Smile 2 & What It Means For The Smile Curse
The Entity Could Infect The Entire World
Skye’s death inSmile 2closes out the film and gives the Smile Entity a massive victory that could change the landscape of the entire world. After realizing the Entity has brought her to her concert, Skye isn’t able to find a way to escape the curse’s grasp. Taking complete control of Skye,the Entity uses the singer’s mic to kill her, driving it into her skull. It does this in front of thousands of horrified fans, likely traumatizing them all. This is a horrifying prospect, as it means the Smile Curse may now be able to spread more effectively.
Smile 2’s Naomi Scott Tease Supports A Popular Theory About The Original Movie’s Big Twist
Smile 2’s trailer follows a pop star who falls under the original movie’s curse, but her profession may reveal more about the creepy smiling curse.
As established inSmileand reiterated inSmile 2, the Entity creates a chain between its victims. Although the chain can be shifted away from someone (as proven by Robert Talley in the first film), it carries on through trauma, infecting others and targeting them through their mind. The sheer number of people who were up front at the concert and saw Skye kill herselfwill likely allow the Entity to spread through them and subsequently into more people. This could potentially become a global catastrophe, an epidemic of the mind.
Would Skye’s Plan To Kill The Smile Curse Have Worked?
The Entity’s Weakness Could Be A Fake Out
Upon meeting Morris halfway throughSmile 2, Skye (and the audience) learns thatthere might be a way to end the curse.However, it may not be as useful as it appears. As explained by Morris, the chain continues when the Entity controls a person and kills them in front of someone else. This spreads the trauma that carries the Entity. If someone infected with the Entity was able to die by other means instead, this would presumably break the chain and potentially kill the Entity. They plan to render Skye medically deceased before reviving her with adrenaline.
While the plan is an interesting theory the Entity uses it as one last false hope for Skye. It even allows her to briefly think she’s won before pulling the rug out from under her. Coupled with the fact that Morris may be entirely within Skye’s mind, there’s a chance the entire planwas just another one of the cruel hallucinations that the Entity uses against her. While it could be the Entity’s weakness, it’s unlikely it would willingly divulge this to Skye if it could actually work, and the film never genuinely tests the theory.
What Really Happened In Skye’s Car Crash Explained
Skye’s Car Crash Is A Big Source Of Her Trauma
One of the big reveals late inSmile 2upends the audience’s perception of Skye and her tragic self-loathing. Her formerly party-heavy lifestyle eventually led to a car crash that seriously injured her and killed her boyfriend Paul. The trauma of that event weighs on Skye, but the truth behind that crash isn’t fully revealed at first. While tormenting Skye, the Entity forces her to relive the final moments of Paul’s life, when his mockery of Skye led her to lash out and grab the car’s wheel.
This caused the crash that killed him. The fact that Skye does have some sense of direct connection to Paul’s death gives her dark view of herself a more grounded reason beyond a surface-level doubt. It underscores her attempts to stay sober, as they take on a far more personal reason beyond a simple desire to grow.It makes both those points potent targets for the Entity to attack. It gives a deeper emotional core to her ultimately doomed attempts to escape and overcome the effects of the Entity on her mind.
How Smile 2’s Ending Sets Up Smile 3
The Curse Could Go Global
The ending ofSmile 2sets the stage for a far more expandedSmile 3, which could spread the curse to countless people around the world. Although the curse doesn’t seem to be spread through pictures or video, there were enough people at the concert that the Entity could conceivably move between any and all of them. This could allow the Entity to move along the chain and infect any of them, giving it plenty of targets. However, that’s only going by the idea that the Entity can target a single person at a single time.
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Smile 3
TBD (Confirmed to be in Development)
It’s entirely possible that the mysterious curse could be spread to more people and operate at the same time, creating more copies of the Entity within people and driving all of them to the brink simultaneously. If that’s the case, thenSmile 3could set up a psychic plague that can infect people all around the worldand cause them to destroy themselves. WithSmilecreator Parker Finnteasing a prospectiveSmile 3, the series could reach a whole new level and transform the Entity into a globally threatening scourge.
The Real Meaning Of Smile 2
Smile 2Builds On The Dark Themes Of The First Film
Smile 2builds upon the central themes ofSmileand expands them in impressive ways. The first film was a supernatural exploration of grief and trauma, highlighting how the darkest corners of someone’s mind can force them do to horrifying things to themselves and others.Smile 2takes this a step further by focusing on Skye, a beloved pop star who nevertheless feels a great sense of internal chaos and self-doubt. Even before she’s possessed by the Entity, Skye is shown to be checked out, capable of shifting into a charming public persona that means little to her real self.
The painful pressure Skye feels makes her a deeply relatable character. It repeats dark affirmations of Skye’s fears about herself. Notably,the ending ofSmile 2sees it take Skye’s form, whereasSmilesaw Rose brought down by a monstrous vision of her mother. Instead,Smile 2reinforces Skye’s dark thoughts about herself by giving the Entity her body just before it takes control of her.Smile 2highlights the power one’s dark feelings about themselves can manifest, and how the impact of that can spread out to family, friends, co-workers, and (especially) fans.
Smile 2
Cast
Smile 2 is the sequel to the 2022 psychological horror film by director Parker Finn that centers on a therapist who witnesses a patient’s suicide, leading to a series of terrifying supernatural events. The sequel will see the return of Finn as director, with Paramount continuing distribution.
