'Smile 2' Review: Naomi Scott is a great pop star with a demon problem

In an early scene in “Smile 2,” fictional pop superstar Skye Riley is in her drug dealer's apartment. “Do you believe in strange things?” he asks her while he drinks cocaine.

You certainly will after this horror spectacle – the second film from writer-director Parker Finn, which suddenly opens the franchise with the promise of multiple future directions. Not for this drug dealer, though: He's soon smiling demonically at her while repeatedly slamming a 35-pound gym weight into his head, turning it into a hamburger.

“Smile 2” ends with unsettling grins on pumpkins and politicians alike as we approach Halloween and Election Day, and the psychotic, overly fictional protagonists “Joker: Folie à Deux” have put on a brave face in the face of their terrible box office returns.

So it's the perfect time for a sequel “Smile” from 2020 which bridged the gap in between elevated art horror And straight-forward, uncompromising slasher. Finn achieves fame this time, which is more tonally fitting than the generational trauma of the first. It's a meditation on public meltdowns, with a side dish of body horror.

We begin six days after the last film, but they're barely connected – a single character for a few minutes – as we watch a demon force his victims to smile before meeting a gruesome end and making his way into the subordinate drug game.

The evil entity will eventually set its sights on our heroine Skye, a fictional Grammy-winning pop superstar, much like if Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus had a baby. We meet her a year after a horrific car accident that killed her famous boyfriend and left her with a Vicodin addiction and rumors about whether she had something to do with it. This drug dealer has now infected Skye, but she has no idea what's coming (or the great work of Cristobal Tapia de Veer).

One thing to really smile about is the leading lady Naomi Scott Full commitment, full of snot, covered in blood and wide-eyed, full of fear. Scott manages to bring her humanity to the role – diva, whimpering, defiant, tense, panicked. She even sings on the soundtrack – songs that are credible hits.

The Smile Demon collides with Skye just as she's about to embark on a comeback tour and the pressure is on. Finn is at his best here, scoffing at confessional TV interviews – a cameo from Drew Barrymore, a nice touch – full of self-work and apologies: “I let you down and I promise it will never happen again.” Her management demands that she “smile and read from the teleprompter.” Skye's mother – who's on the payroll – isn't much help: “You need to stay hydrated,” she tells her after Skye is visibly distressed.

Finn has become a much more confident filmmaker and uses humor so well here, from nasty gangsters enjoying pumpkin Frappuccinos to our heroine googling “Does vomit have DNA?” He still loves jump scares, splattering blood and hideous tricks, like a body being dragged by a truck until it's just a smear of guts. In a delightful moment, Skye is chased by demonic backup dancers, a Bob Fosse-meets-“Thriller” sequence.

Finn also enjoys putting his heroines in frightening situations. In the first film, a murdered cat was packed into a child's birthday present. In this case it was a spontaneous speech to representatives of the music industry that went horribly out of control. He has a deeper goal: How do we silence the voices in our heads that say we're no good?

Finn's script sometimes lags as he searches for an ending to “Smile 2,” seemingly in two minds before essentially delivering both, setting off dream sequences and alternate timelines like an octopus pumping out ink to cover its tracks . In the end, more than two hours is too long.

But he found a great satirical target, easily brought a third film to life, and presented another rising star to watch. That's a reason to smile about it.

“Smile 2,” a Paramount Pictures release in theaters Friday, is rated R for “strong, bloody violent content, grisly images, language throughout and drug use.” Running time: 127 minutes. Three out of four stars.