3 takeaways after watching Smile 2

*Spoilers below*

On Friday, I watched the second installment of the Smile franchise, and it did not disappoint. The new film featured a much creepier vibe and introduced the world to pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott).

Below are my three takeaways from a movie I enjoyed way more than the original.

Naomi Scott delivers an incredible performance as Skye Riley

Although this is not the first horror movie to base its premise on concerts or music. Cue with Lady Raven. Naomi Scott plays the role of Skye Riley to perfection. Throughout the film, we see Scott as a famous pop star who becomes the host of a demon after witnessing the death of her drug dealer, who was also infected.

As a result, we see her battle both the entity that takes over her mind and her addictions and struggles. Scott brings this character to life with screams, cries, and on-stage performances.

A much darker theme

Overall, this film had a much darker theme than the original movie. The second one dials up the intensity right off the bat, as we see the lone returner from the last film, Joel (Kyle Gallner), who is in a race against time to pass the entity after witnessing the suicide of Rose six days ago. His plans go array as he meets his demise while also accidentally passing the demon to Skye's drug dealer in the process, Lewis Fregoli (Lukas Gage), who ultimately passes it on to her through his eventual death.

The rest of the film features a lot of other dark moments, with the replaying of a car crash scene in Skye's mind being the most intense. In the flashback, we see a heated argument between her and her husband, Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson), while driving. The confrontation would have tragic proportions as they get in a crash, with Paul dying and Skye left with emotional and physical damage.

The film sets franchise up for a third installment

As the film enters the final stages, Skye agrees to see a nurse, Morris (Peter Jacobson), who seeks to help her defeat the entity by stopping her heart temporarily. However, as she visits the Pizza Hut location, where the two agreed to conduct the procedure, she encounters the entity when he leaves the room. Then, as the lights turn off, it is revealed that Skye is actually at the concert venue, where we see the monster's true form.

However, the audience is unable to see what is occurring, and the demon prompts her to smash her head with the microphone she is holding. The suicide resulted in everyone who was in attendance being potentially infected by the entity, as that is how it finds a new host. The cliffhanger, of course, raises questions about a sequel.