Smile 2 director on bigger, bloodier sequel to viral horror hit

Smile 2Now playing in theaters, hit harder than its predecessor on many levels - and its final moments more than set the stage for yet another sequel from writer-director Finn Parker. While the new film maintains the psychological horror of the first, it offers new heights when it comes to gore and lore. Rather than a direct sequel that follows the last seven days following the smiling curse of Joel (starring actor Kyle Gallner), Smile 2 Starts with his final moments and makes his way to singing sensation Skye Riley (Aladdins Naomi Scott).

A year after a tragic car crash took her boyfriend's life and scarred her sobriety, Skye is on the verge of a comeback with a brand new album and hotly anticipated stadium tour. But her demons literally begin to haunt her when a fateful encounter with high school friend Lewis (Lucas Gage) turns her into the next bearer of the curse, and Finn uses Smile 2 As an exciting metaphor for both the knife of stardom, as well as the potentially infinite power of the demonic being behind the smile. The movie also features Rosemarie DeWitt as Skye's mom and manager, Dylan Gelula as her best friend, and Miles Gutierrez-Riley as her loyal assistant.

Screen Rant Interviewed Finn about his decision to set Smile 2 In the music industry, a world known to be almost like an assumption like smiles evil entity is. The writer-director revealed how he collaborated with star Naomi Scott to create the pop persona of Skye Riley, as well as how far his vision for the future smile Kino reaches.

Parker Finn felt that the pop music scene was the perfect setting for Smile 2

"I wanted to do something that really had Smile running through its DNA, but also had its own identity."

Screen Rant: The first one smile Really spoke to me as a metaphor for suppressed trauma and how it affects those around us. Smile 2 Takes that and adds the exploited pop star element. Can you talk about why you wanted to take it to that setting?

Parker Finn: I knew that if I was going to approach a sequel, I didn't want to do any obvious continuation or a retread of the first one. I wanted to do something that really had Smile running through its DNA, but also had its own identity, its own metabolism, and offered some audience something new and fresh and exciting.

That's really how I landed on the character of Skye Riley, the mega pop star, and the world that felt so far from the world of the first one. And also, I think from what we expect from horror in the first place, it just felt so powerful and mature.

Screen Rant: Speaking of Skye, Naomi's amazing, the songs are popping, and even the choreography adds to the story itself. How closely did you work with her and the creative team to get it all right?

Parker Finn: It's such an incredible collaboration, and there was a lot of work early on. Two days after I cast Naomi, we took her into the studio to do pre-records and work with her and our songwriters and music producers, as well as our choreographer.

It was such a collective effort, but it was this really deep undertaking; This crazy challenge to do in the middle of also doing a really intense horror film. It was a lot, but Naomi is so talented and really handled it all so gracefully. She was a dream to work with.

Smile 2 goes bigger with its gore - and with its sequel possibilities

"I think that there could be a really interesting future for Smile."

Screen Rant: One thing that really stood out to me is how much bigger the gore is in this. Is it pretty much all about having a bigger sandbox to play in, or did you want to approach it that way for a specific reason?

Parker Finn: I wanted to make sure that if we came back, there was more for the audience to sink their teeth into. More fear, more anxiety, bigger violence and gore - all the nasty stuff. All the supernatural elements come back in a way that is both familiar and surprising, and how they will scare you. It was really important to me to offer something that felt like a really exciting experience for an audience to come back to.

Screen Rant: The end of Smile 2 Really kicks the door open for any number of possible sequels. I know the first one was written as a standalone, but for this one, you have Smile 3 in mind?

Parker Finn: I think there are so many exciting places Smile could go. For me, it's still always about wanting to do something thematically rich that's centered on character stories. I love where the film is going, and now I'm excited for audiences to see Smile 2. Hopefully, if they embrace it, I think there could be a really interesting future for Smile.

Screen Rant: Who has the most names to get the perfect smile?

Parker Finn: Everyone was really good at providing their smile in the film. I would say that because of the technical intensity of it, [it was] Lukas Gage - who I think has one of the best smiles in the entire film. It needs to be so specific and so dialed in in such a deep way that we really have to really hone in and get it there. But Lucas' smile is amazing.

More about Smile 2 (2024)

About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins to experience 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.

Check out our others Smile 2 Interview here:

Source: Screen Rant Plus