Smile 2 (2024)

If I could describe this movie in one word, it's intense. Naomi Scott turns in a raw, star-making performance as Skye Riley, a troubled pop star who becomes heir to the "trauma" that has been passed down from the last movie. This time, the mental illness is showcased on a larger stage, as everyone is watching and judging her every move, magnifying her crisis on a global scale. Like the original, it completely pulls you into the mind of the main character, so you experience everything along with her. It feels like the equivalent of watching someone go through a nervous breakdown in real time. I almost felt like I was dissociating while watching it, so it worked on a whole other level for me. I may have even suffered a psychological break during this movie, I'm still not sure. 

This one ratchets up the creepy visuals with some legitimately frightening moments that will shake you down to the core. It's a good thing I was wearing my brown pants.

3½ clumps of hair out of 5

Smile (2022)

This film is the gift that keeps on giving. A therapist is confronted with a "sickness" that appears to attach itself from one person to another, spreading through trauma and affliction. This concept is very easy to mock until you come face to face with some grinning lunatic who won't break eye contact with you. The truth is, this is one of the few horror movies in recent memory to actually rattle me to the point of paranoia. The story goes a lot more than skin deep and exploits society's underlying stigma of mental illness: How lonely and isolating it is when no one will believe what you know to be true. I love how it pulls you into scenes and doesn't give you an easy way out, leaving you unsettled and with a nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach, just like how they describe that smile. It's a sickness that takes hold and will have you questioning your own sanity, which is the mark of a very effective horror film. 

Follows neatly in the tradition of Ringu/The Ring and It Follows. Make sure to check your underoos later for a crescent-shaped surprise.

3½ ruined birthday parties out of 5