Smile 2 director Parker Finn explained the true meaning of the sequel's horrific ending.
The much-discussed horror movie follows a famous pop star named Skye Riley as she becomes the brutal victim of the Smile curse.
While experiencing a plethora of hallucinations, Smile 2 showcases her descent into madness even if she tries to fight off the brutal curse that already haunted many victims before her.
Smile 2 ends with Skye's death after succumbing to the curse, and it happens during her sold-out Madison Square Garden concert in front of thousands of her fans.
Smile 2 Ending Scene's Intended Meaning Explained by Director
Much of Smile 2 revolves around the effects of Skye Riley's popularity, showcasing how her fans interact with her and how she needs to maintain a certain image to please them and the studio that she's working for.
Smile 2 reveals many events that end up being fake, blurring the lines between what's real or not as Skye suffers from horrific hallucinations brought about by the entity.
All of this happens while Skye is being tormented by the demonic creature only known as the Entity after the curse is passed on to her by her friend, Lewis.
As Skye dies midway through her concert in a stacked arena, her fans look shocked and terrified, implying that the Smile curse has passed on to them.
Smile 2 director Parker Finn spoke with Slash Film to talk about the intended meaning of the sequel's ending.
When asked if Skye dying in front of her fans was always the ending he had in mind, Finn first revealed that it was, confirming that it was "inevitable" for the sequel to take her into that route:
"Yes. So, when I sit down to write... I don't write the script until I know the ending... For me, it felt like the inevitable place that we would take Skye's story and that it didn't matter if that thought occurred to people, because that journey of how we get there is going to be surprising, and effective, and the execution of that ending was hopefully going to blow out whatever anybody might've had in their mind to get there."
Finn then revealed that Smile 2's ending is intended to be a meta-commentary on celebrity-fan relationships and influencer culture, confirming what fans have suspected all along by saying that he "wanted to blur the lines between reality and fiction:"
"For me, it felt... I wanted to blur the lines between reality and fiction with this character of Skye, but also to have this meta commentary at the end about not only the audience [in the arena] staring through the screen at the audience in the movie theater... this idea that, are we somehow complicit in what's happened here by coming back for a 'Smile 2?' Have we done this to Skye?' Which feels very apropos to celebrity, and fandom, and parasocial relationships."
The horror filmmaker also said that it "felt very exciting" for him to show that a popular figure like Skye (who influences a lot of people in the movie) was the one who spread the curse into the world:
"And at the same time, on the other side of the coin, this idea of celebrities, and people with platforms, and their influence over large swaths of people. And it felt so deliciously Smile to sort of say, 'This influence, this person who's literally on stage, literally on a platform, and what she is spreading into the world,' that felt very exciting to me."
Many fans suspected this was the case, especially after noticing that Smile 2 is a reflection of the real world where celebrities tend to go with unhealthy coping mechanics which sometimes lead to suicide.
The Smile 2 director's comments aligned with what he told The Direct in an exclusive interview where he explained the "really interesting meta-commentary" of the movie's ending:
"It felt like a really interesting meta-commentary on the platform of not only celebrities but also how audiences and fandoms, and we, as the public, can be complicit in the downfall of somebody who's on the world stage."
How Smile 2's Ending Blurs Fiction and Reality
Throughout Smile 2's mind-breaking plot, a peek into the life of a rising pop star like Skye Riley is shown through the character's perspective.
After suffering from a tragic accident that killed her boyfriend, Skye has to recover rather quickly to restore her popularity, and she does so with unhealthy ways to forget the pain since she has a comeback concert coming up.
Her unhealthy coping mechanism only gets worse after the curse is passed on to her, and the Smiling Demon uses this as a way to further her descent into madness.
The sad part about this is that fans and followers have no idea what these celebrities and influencers are going through. They only want to see them in the limelight rather than seeing the truth that they are real people too that has feelings and unexplored trauma.
Skye's case is similar to the big celebrities in the real world. The only difference is that her trauma is elevated due to the Smile Curse, which ends with her tragic death.
Seeing her demise by fans is not just traumatic, but it allows a sense of reflection where they think that it could be their fault that Skye decided to kill herself midway into her concert.
All in all, this goes to show how scary Smile 2 really is since its ending wastes no time in setting up more future installments where the Entity is expected to showcase its might to the rest of the world, starting with Skye's concert attendees.
Smile 2 is now streaming on Paramount+.
