For those looking to relive or hear about them for the first time, The Direct has a full breakdown of the horrors of Smile 2.
The Smile franchise has again taken the world by storm with a 2024 sequel that explores the decline and demonic possession of pop star Skye Riley.
The horror franchise's 2022 debut ended as the main protagonist, Rose Cotter, succumbed to the Smile curse and killed herself in a swarm of flames.
What Happens in Smile 2?
Smile 2's Opening Links to the First Movie
The opening to Smile 2 brings back a major character from the 2022 original with Joel, the police officer ex-boyfriend to the first movie's main protagonist, Rose Cotter.
As Smile ends with Joel witnessing Rose's death to the curse, he must now pass it by having another witness his death. While his chosen target for such is a duo of drug-dealing brothers, unfortunately, the intended witnesses to his death are killed in a shootout, throwing his original plan out the window.
Evading another group of criminals, Joel was ultimately hit by an oncoming pickup truck, leading to his death and passing the curse onto Lewis Fregoli.
A Global Superstar Inherits the Curse
Switching focus to New York City, Smile 2 introduces its protagonist, Skye Riley. The Grammy-winning pop star is preparing for her comeback tour after struggling with drug use and a car crash that killed her actor boyfriend, Paul Hudson.
While Skye lives under the watchful supervision of her mother, manager Elizabeth, and assistant Joshua, she still sneaks away to buy Vicodin from Lewis Fregoli to treat her back pain.
Upon arrival, Lewis is clearly in a manic state, unbeknownst to Skye, due to the Smile entity's influence. After some time, Lewis delivers the franchise's iconic terrifying smile before killing himself with a weight plate.
And thus, the curse passes to global superstar Skye Riley.
Skye's Mental State Declines
Due to her fame and fear of the PR disaster that would emerge from her presence at the death of a drug dealer, Skye flees the scene and doesn't contact the police.
Having become host to the monstrous entity, Skye now begins hallucinating and seeing people creepily smiling at her, prompting a decline in her mental health.
For one, the pop star holds a meet-and-greet, where she sees a young fangirl smiling at her and is grabbed by the terrifyingly obsessed fan Alfredo.
Fast forward to her apartment, Skye reaches out to her estranged best friend, Gemma. This comes before Skye is seemingly attacked in her apartment by a naked Alfredo, only to be interrupted by Gemma's arrival at the door.
These hallucinations only continue when Skye sees Gemma smiling at her in bed, injures herself during a rehearsal after catching a vision of the deceased Paul Hudson, and enters her dressing room to find it trashed.
On an invite from her manager, Darius, the declining singer attends a charity event as a special guest. But things don't go to plan when the teleprompter stalls, and she sees Paul approaching her, leading her to lash out and push a woman off stage.
Throughout Skye's mental decline, Smile 2 raises questions of what is real and fake, something which largely is left up to speculation from moviegoers.
An End to the Smile Entity?
Heading back to her home, Skye continues receiving texts from an unknown number who appears to know her ongoing demonic situation.
Meeting the mysterious contact in disguise at a bar, Skye is introduced to Morris, a nurse whose brother tore his jaw off with a crowbar due to the Smile curse. Morris claims to have a way to kill the demon.
Morris proposes to stop Skye's heart and kill her before resuscitating her, thus briefly leaving the demon without a host and unable to finish her off.
The Truth About Paul Hudson's Car Crash Death
Quickly shutting down the outrageous suggestion, Skye returns to her apartment, where she is encircled by The Entity disguised as a group of dancers who chase, corner, and attack her.
After blacking out, Skye flashes back to the night of her car accident and Paul Hudson's tragic death. The couple are both high on cocaine when an argument breaks out, leading Skye to grab the wheel and steer them off the road.
Awaking from the crash, Skye finds herself injured in the destroyed car with Paul's corpse beside her.
Smile 2's Ending Explained
Beginning the climax of Smile 2, Skye wakes up in a wellness retreat with her mother, Elizabeth, present. The mother-daughter moment takes a twisted turn when Elizabeth punches a mirror and repeatedly stabs herself with a shard of glass.
Running to the door to escape the room, Skye realizes she is covered in her mother's blood, seemingly indicating she had killed Elizabeth under the influence of the Smile entity.
As those at the wellness retreat became aware of what Skye had seemingly done, she grabbed a guard's gun to escape. Outside, she meets Gemma, with whom she steals a vehicle at gunpoint and prepares to meet Morris to kill The Entity.
But while in the car, Skye receives a call from Gemma—her first real call from her estranged best friend. Smile 2 reveals she was never there, and The Entity has been posing as Gemma for the entire movie.
Eventually, Skye meets Morris at an abandoned Pizza Hut, where they go to the walk-in freezer. The cold of the freezer is intended to prevent permanent brain damage, allowing more time to kill and resuscitate Skye.
However, as Morris leaves the freezer, The Entity appears disguised as Skye on the night of the accident. The two enter a brutal fight before Skye injects herself with the syringe intended to stop her heart.
That said, this isn't enough to stop the demon as it becomes clear this, too, is a hallucination, and Skye is onstage at the tour's first show.
[ Read more about the ending of Smile 2 from the director ]
Amongst the crowd are Darius, Joshua, and Elizabeth, confirming Skye's mother's death was similarly just another demonic ruse to torment her.
On stage in front of thousands, Skye begins to choke as the demon gruesomely enters her body, leading her to finally stand up, smile, and bash her head in with a microphone in an act of suicide.
And thus, the Smile curse passes on, perhaps to an entire audience full of Skye Riley fans.
Smile 2 is playing in theaters worldwide (but the movie is expected to make its digital and streaming debut soon).
