Smile was initially conceived as a self-contained story and writer-director Parker Finn admits that while making the first film, he never could have anticipated that he would have the opportunity to create a second one. “But I knew that if I was going to approach the sequel, I needed to find a character I could fall in love with all over again and something thematic and emotional to explore,” shares the filmmaker. “The trick to unlocking it was discovering the character of Skye Riley.”
Smile 2 continues the twisted and terrifying story that began in breakout hit Smile, the highest grossing horror film of 2022 – taking in $200 million at the worldwide box office – and quickly becoming a beloved addition to the genre for critics and global audiences alike. Smile 2 delivers even bigger and more intense scares, relentless tension, and unnerving surprises. The captivating and mind-bending sequel is written and directed by Parker Finn who made his feature film debut with Smile and reunites the original filmmaking team.
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Filmmaker Parker Finn is one of the most innovative and striking new voices in the horror space. Finn wrote, directed, and produced the breakout hit Smile, based on Finn’s award-winning short Laura Hasn’t Slept. The film was intended to be released exclusively on demand, but given its overwhelmingly positive reception, it was released theatrically and became a massive box-office success. It opened to number one and received both critical and audience acclaim. Following the release of Smile, Finn entered a multi-year first-look deal with Paramount Pictures. Upcoming, Finn will adapt, direct, and produce under his Bad Feeling banner, the remake of the cult classic 80’s horror film Possession.
Smile centered on Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), a dedicated psychiatrist at a public hospital whose mission was to ensure her troubled patients get the help they need. But when a malevolent evil entered Rose’s life, the tables turned and she found herself struggling to convince her friends and family that the surreal nightmare she was experiencing was real. Giving the audience a potent experience of a relentless descent into madness, Smile not only heralded the exciting arrival of a new filmmaking talent, but also created a pop culture phenomenon with its primal and devastating concept.
“Between Parker’s terrifying vision and Sosie’s incredible performance we knew we had something truly special with Smile and it was so gratifying to see it catch fire,” says producer Marty Bowen.
Fueled by the overwhelming response to Smile, the filmmaking team sought out on a mission to explore the haunting continuation of the first installment. “Taking in the incredible audience response to Smile, we couldn’t stop thinking about what it would look like to take all of the elements of the movie we loved and push them even farther. Could we make a movie that’s even scarier, funnier, more shocking, and with a character journey that’s even more unhinged?” notes producer Isaac Klausner.
So as a new Smile film promises to keep audiences on the edge of their seats for a brand new, highly visceral thrill ride, Finn reflects on how much he continues to enjoy making horror films for viewers. “It’s such a terrific way to hold a mirror up to what we’re all feeling as a society,” he says. “It’s a great vehicle to explore what it is to be human in this world and all the ways that it’s terrifying. Smile 2 is immediately a Smile film. But it also 100% has its own identity, its own metabolism.”
“In the sequel, audiences will experience an unflinching dive into the dark side of fame and trauma with even more unsettling, haunting smiles that captivated the audiences of its predecessor—this time taken to a whole new level of terror,” adds producer Robert Salerno.
Filmmakers also reflect on the evolution of the Smile universe, emphasizing that Smile 2 continues the same twisted and terrifying narrative while raising the stakes to an even more devastating level. “Parker designed Smile to be experienced entirely through Rose’s point of view. As a result, every element of the look and feel of the film stemmed directly from that character. Smile 2 takes a similar approach but with a troubled, world-famous pop star in Skye at the center, it’s all turned up to 11,” notes Wyck Godfrey. They’re excited to reveal that this sequel promises to be bigger and better, pushing the boundaries of psychological tension and palpable dread. According to Bowen, “The demon at the heart of Smile loves to toy with its victims, and it finds terrifying new ways to play with Skye.”
“Never in a million years would I have imagined the journey that Smile has taken me on,” says Finn. “We designed Smile 2 to play on the big screen, from the visuals to the score to the Skye Riley music to the crunch of bones and the sloshing of blood. It’s all about the communal experience of watching horror in a dark room with other like-minded moviegoers. There’s something really special that happens when everybody is screaming or laughing or jumping or groaning at the same time – a magic that can’t be replicated anywhere else. I love these movies, and I’ve poured my blood, sweat and tears into them. It’s so wonderful to get to share them with the world.”
Smile was initially conceived as a self-contained story and Finn admits that while making the first film, he never could have anticipated that he would have the opportunity to create a second one. “But I knew that if I was going to approach the sequel, I needed to find a character I could fall in love with all over again and something thematic and emotional to explore,” shares the filmmaker. “The trick to unlocking it was discovering the character of Skye Riley.”
Skye Riley – portrayed by British singer and actor Naomi Scott – is a global pop sensation. However, the young artist is still healing physically and spiritually from a horrific car accident involving her actor boyfriend, Paul (Ray Nicholson). With an international tour for her new album, “Too Much For One Heart,” looming, the pressure sends the vulnerable Skye to visit a former classmate, Lewis (Lukas Gage). This seemingly random encounter launches her on a profoundly terrifying and isolating journey that makes her doubt whether she can trust her mother/manager (Rosemarie DeWitt), assistant (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), best friend, Gemma (Dylan Gelula), or even herself.
From Page To Screen – A New Chapter
In the first Smile film, Bacon gave a wonderfully vulnerable performance as Rose, a woman struggling with trauma and wondering if she is losing her sanity. For Smile 2, the lead actor needed to be able to personify the emotional fragility of someone grappling with the madness brought on by the curse, but additionally, have the charisma and musical ability of a global pop star.
Smile 2 begins with a direct connection to the first film through the character of Joel, played by Kyle Gallner. At the conclusion of Smile, while attempting to help protagonist Rose escape the curse, Joel inherits it. So in Smile 2, Joel understands his fate all too well when he is infected with the demon. The film opens with him attempting to “ethically” distribute the curse. However, his plan soon goes awry, and a thrilling opening set piece leaves a macabre souvenir.
It was this ability to dial into emotion and intensity, vacillating between extremes, that particularly impressed Finn. “Naomi is so unbelievably talented,” he says. “She can do everything. There are moments where she needs to be able to play a very elegant Grace Kelly-type in her public persona, and other moments where we see her at absolute rock bottom, at her worst. And Naomi did both with aplomb.”
Finn was thrilled to bring Gallner back as the connective thread between the first and second installments of the Smile universe and praises his performance in the tense opening scenes. “Kyle is such a joy to shoot with,” says the filmmaker. “He’s an incredible actor, and I can’t wait for people to see what he did.”
Gallner admits that playing a man consumed by an insidious force can be haunting. “There’s nothing scarier than the possibility of not being able to escape your own mind or be able to trust what you’re seeing and trust that it’s real,” says the actor. “You can’t escape yourself, and I think that’s a really frightening place to be.”
For the role of Elizabeth, Skye’s “momager” whose dual responsibilities of parent and business manager operate in moral opposition, Finn felt incredibly fortunate to land Rosemarie DeWitt for the part. “I’ve been such a fan for a long time,” he shares. “Rosemarie has always brought it in everything she’s ever done.”
DeWitt was elated to take on a role that explores a complex mother-daughter relationship but admits that her fear of horror films had kept her from watching the original Smile film. However, when Finn approached her about playing Elizabeth, she immediately loved the filmmaker’s clear vision and nuanced interpretation of this specific dynamic. “I was excited to play Elizabeth because I’m always very curious about the mothers of big stars,” she says. “Was this a parent pushing or is the parent wanting to live vicariously through the child?”
The dynamic of a Hollywood stage mother and her daughter/client can itself be unsettling, and DeWitt notes that Elizabeth is always shifting between emotional frameworks. In one moment, she’s a mother worried about her child’s mental health and drug use; in another, she’s a manager focused on Skye Riley’s brand and the bottom line. “It was a fun exercise because there was sometimes a coldness when I was in manager mode that I think really works for the genre,” says DeWitt.
Smile 2 certainly keeps you guessing about Elizabeth. Skye is unsure whether she can fully trust her mother and is left to question her motivations at any given moment. “Skye is trying to give her mom so many opportunities to be a mom and to love her without conditions,” reflects Scott. “But her mom can’t seem to rise to the occasion. Her mother knows her so well and they’ve been doing this together for a long time so there is such intimacy there, but there is also a lack of emotional intimacy, safety and vulnerability. I loved working with Rosemarie on this relationship. She’s fantastic in the film.”
Feeling untethered, Skye seeks comfort by reaching out to her estranged friend Gemma, played by Dylan Gelula. Gemma was Skye’s childhood confidant who transitioned into being a member of her professional entourage, before falling out of her orbit altogether. As she dove into the role, Gelula spoke at length with Finn about Gemma and Skye’s broken relationship, and how their friendship has evolved as Skye’s star has risen and fallen. The film finds Gemma returning to Skye’s life and navigating the waters of rebuilding trust.
“I had several conversations with Parker about the nature of Gemma and Skye’s fractured relationship and the depth of its issues,” says Gelula. “We discussed how essential it is to have someone who knew you before fame, especially for someone as famous as Skye. The power dynamics between them—how they influence each other—are so interesting.”
“Dylan is so perfectly cast because she has just the right energy for Gemma,” says Scott of her on-screen best friend. “What you see is a lot of Dylan bringing herself to the character.”
© 2024 PARAMOUNT PICTURES / Photo Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Lukas Gage, plays Lewis, Skye’s former classmate, a young man who is floundering after his high school party boy days and is now dealing drugs. His poor lifestyle choices take a fatal turn when he becomes the bridge for the curse to pass from Joel to Skye. Gage was a huge fan of the first Smile film and reached out to Finn to share his admiration. “I thought Smile was incredible,” says the actor. “It was so smart and the perfect balance of psychological thriller and horror.” He notes that upon reading the script for the second installment, he was impressed by how the story levels up, emphasizing that the world “still lives in the same tone, but it’s so different and it’s bigger. The scale of it is scarier.”
“When I wrote the role of Lewis, I really only had one person in mind to play the role,” recalls Finn. “Lukas Gage is absolutely fantastic and he’s so magnetic on screen.”
Riddled with the curse, Lewis ends up gruesomely killing himself with his workout equipment. The creative team designed Lewis’ death to be incredibly bloody and strikingly different from the deaths in Smile. “We had done a lot of things with sharp objects in the first film,” Finn explains. “So I wanted to go the opposite way and use the dullest, heaviest, most blunt force thing I could in this film.”
Using prosthetics and special effects makeup, Lewis’ death is a brutal progression of self-mutilation that transforms his face into a bloody, pulpy mess. The sequence culminates in a flap of skin falling away from his shattered jaw. “The sound of that piece of his face falling off was something we wanted to call back to later in the film to announce Lewis’ presence around Skye,” Finn explains. The extreme violence of this scene is jarring but also infused with a healthy amount of wit. “It’s morbid, but it is also kind of funny,” laughs Gage, noting how much he enjoys films where humor and horror are intertwined. “What I remembered from the first movie is how the audience was laughing one minute and then genuinely screaming from a jump scare the next.”
© 2024 PARAMOUNT PICTURES / Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Ray Nicholson plays Skye’s charismatic actor boyfriend, Paul, who he describes as “a charlatan.” From the beginning, Finn knew he had to find a unique performer for the part. “It needed somebody who instantly had that movie star quality to them, while also being able to play the nuances of a character who is both undeniably magnetic but also venomous. Ray fit the character like a glove. He is a total wild man, but he has this natural magnetism to him.”
Scott agrees, recalling how she immediately sensed that special quality. “From the moment I met Ray, I knew we were going to have fun playing together,” she says. “The chemistry between these two characters is palpable but it’s a relationship with a lot of toxicity. I’m sure that when they met, there were fireworks, but not necessarily for the right reasons.”
Wherever possible, Parker Finn reassembled his core creative team from the first Smile film including production designer Lester Cohen, costume designer Alexis Forte, and cinematographer Charlie Sarroff, all of whom were eager to return to this world.“As I read this script, I knew Parker was upping the ante tremendously and that was really inspiring to me,” says Cohen. “It’s Smileon steroids! It’s much bigger, the stakes are higher, the monster is more powerful, and it’s elevated to a much more global level. We all built on top of each other’s enthusiasm to create images that scare people. There’s a perverse pleasure in that.”
The art department created environments within the film that reinforced the relentlessness of Skye’s battle with her demons and her psychological unease. Throughout the film, Skye never seems to have a safe space or comfortable home base. “For her story, it was important that she doesn’t have a refuge,” Cohen says of her apartment. “Even though she’s got all the comforts, there’s still no comfort there.”
In the Smile universe, the entity or curse transfers from one victim to another by taking control of the current host and compelling them to end their own life in front of a witness. That witness then becomes the next victim, the next host for the entity. Once inside, the entity infiltrates the crevices of the victim’s mind, weaponizing their thoughts against them and gradually exerting greater control over their reality, manipulating their perceptions and actions. “We watched that happen in the first film, and I wanted to find new ways to gaslight and trick both Skye and the audience in the new film,” says Finn of his starting point for the film’s haunting effects.
Finn has a passion for incorporating realism and practical effects into his projects wherever possible, so he collaborated closely with Special Effects Supervisor Johann Kunz and Visual Effects Supervisor Robert Bock on Smile 2’s impressive array of special and visual effects.
