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*Spoiler Warning* Watched Smile 2 today and while I was optimistic entering the theater, I was ultimately left disappointed leaving. Smile was my favorite horror movie in 2022 and is one of my favorite of the decade. Smile 2 however left me wanting more from the overall story telling stand point. The jump scares while sometimes effective were always expected and obvious. The story does the same thing over and over with Sky seeing the demon, getting “chased” or freaked out, realizing it’s fake, and then drinking a bottle of water. Sky’s entire arc of her getting her friend killed to overcoming it and “taking control” ultimately leads nowhere with the ending. The opening with Joel while concluding the end of the 1st one that ends with him getting run over, ends up with a loop hole with him dying in a normal way and not the entity killing him in front of a witness to pass it on. The ending however I have mixed feelings on. The whole doctor trying to save her storyline goes nowhere, the demon basically saying the last hour and a half were all fake so it feels like a waste of time, and takes away Sky’s character growth. Although the buildup to the ending is bad the actual ending is awesome with Sky killing herself infront of thousands of her fans and spreading it to everyone which I like to think could possibly lead to the whole world. It’s rather unfortunate because the acting is incredible especially from lead actress Naomi Scott especially during her argument with her mom shortly before she apparently kills her. The gore, sound effects, and music were all fantastic with Cristobal Tapia de Veer creating a fantastic, heart racing, and edgy soundtrack. Overall I’ll give Smile 2 a 3/5 with it not being bad but not great. If you love the 1st Smile then I would definitely recommend this movie.