
This article contains mild spoilers for "Smile 2."
As I write this article, the third installment of the gore-laden "Terrifier" series is obliterating the competition at the box office, a win for independent film, extreme horror, and non-studio-owned IP everywhere. Lifelong horror fans are no strangers to films with the same levels of ultraviolence and blood-soaked mania on glorious display, but these scenes are overwhelmingly found in independent or underground horror movies. This isn’t to say that studio-backed horror films are incapable of bringing the pain, but even looking at something as notoriously grisly as the "Saw" series, the graphic depictions are stylized.
While "Smile 2" centers on pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), the relentlessly good sequel picks up six days after the end of the first film, with a now infected Joel (Kyle Gallner) doing his best to pass on the curse by killing some criminals. Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned and Joel inadvertently passes the Entity onto Lewis (Lukas Gage), a low-level drug dealer.
The sound of Lewis smashing his face with the weight plate is bound to spark a visceral reaction from viewers, but the camera refuses to pull away as he reveals the mangled mess of flesh, broken bones, and shattered teeth still forcing a megawatt smile. Writer/director Parker Finn kicking things up a notch for the sequel is totally understandable.
"Smile 2" is now playing in theaters everywhere.
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