Smile 2

Director: Parker Finn
Starring: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, Raúl Castillo, Kyle Gallner
Running Time: 127 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)  

At the very least, Smile 2 deserves credit for not taking the predictable route in sequeling 2022's sleeper horror hit. And even while going through the paces required in continuing its concept, writer/director Parker Finn still crafts an ambitious follow-up uninterested in rehashing familiar ground. That the same filmmaker is attached comes as a surprise since this is a far slower burn, more absorbed in exploring the psychological ramifications of its premise. But maybe the bigger question is how an admittedly tremendous lead performance would be received if this wasn't a horror sequel, or at least not marketed as one.

Playing a major celebrity pushed into the public eye like a money making wind-up doll as she battles addiction and PTSD, Charlie's Angels and Aladdin actress Naomi Scott is the reason to see this. In humanizing a singer who should seem out of reach to even her most obsessed fans, the character's fractured psyche becomes a disturbingly uncomfortable place to reside, with Finn visually and narratively upping his game with this entry. There's still this feeling that if the first film didn't exist and certain supernatural tropes were discarded, it might play better, but not by much. Once we get past its wild and messy third act, even the prospect of a third installment suddenly doesn't seem like such a bad idea.

Six days after being infected by the Smile curse by a now deceased Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), police officer Joel (Kyle Gallner) frantically tries to pass it on, targeting a lowlife criminal. But when drug dealer Lewis Fregoli (Lukas Gage) unexpectedly bares witness to the murder, he's infected with the Entity before getting a visit from pop star Skye Riley (Scott). In search of Vicodin for lingering pain caused by a car crash that killed her actor boyfriend Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson, channeling his dad's iconic grin), she finds a violently uncontrollable Lewis, from whom she contracts the parasite.

Skye's infected just as she embarks on a comeback tour orchestrated by her controlling manager mom Elizabeth (Rosemarie DeWitt). Struggling to stay sober after a very public battle with substance abuse, her mental health further spirals as she's plagued by nightmarish visions, sinisterly smiling strangers and an inability to distinguish dreams from reality. With only estranged friend Gemma (Dylan Gelula) to rely on, Skye's running out of time, until a mysterious man contacts her claiming he has a plan to stop the curse. The problem is whether she can survive it. 

After a gripping opening that picks up directly where the last film left off and shares some stylistic similarities with this year's Longlegs, we're immersed in Skye's troubled world, which is about to be turned upside down. But not before the first entry's central premise of passing the curse is reinforced with devastating results. That she's at her dealer's apartment is bad enough, but what she catches there is worse, especially since her mental stability is shaky enough that those closest to her can easily write these scary symptoms off as another relapse. 

Still harboring guilt over her boyfriend's death and coming off surgery and a stint in rehab, Skye's run into the ground by domineering, money hungry mom Elizabeth, who refuses to cancel the tour regardless of the harm it's causing. In early scenes, we see the mental and physical toll this takes on Skye as she soldiers through the pain during rehearsal, constantly guzzling bottles of Voss water to calm her nerves. It barely works, especially when creepy looking fans start showing up and hallucinations take over, the most unnerving of which involves a stalker who invades her apartment. 

Skye's fragile state prevents her from distinguishing reality from illusion, and after a while, neither can we. It's a clever approach, raising the stakes of the original, but feeling different enough to bare little resemblance at all. Scott carries this, shatteringly believable as both a huge star and recovering addict at the end of her rope. There's just an authenticity to how she acts, looks, sings and even moves that's layers beyond what we usually get from actors portraying fictitious celebrities. 

With the Entity taking hold and outside pressure on Skye ramping up, Scott's grueling performance really shifts into overdrive. Her character's appearance at a charity event stands as the film's centerpiece, resulting in the parasite's most damaging, publicly humiliating takeover yet. When it becomes clear her frigid stage mom's primary concern will always be dollar signs, Skye turns to ex-friend Gemma, but even that relationship isn't what it seems anymore.

The final act flies off the rails in ways both good and bad since Finn can only blur reality for so long until repetitiveness kicks in. Skye must confront her own past head-on, taking part in a dangerous, last ditch effort to rid herself of the curse. That the closing sequence draws comparisons to the vastly superior The Substance is just unfortunate timing, but Smile 2 earns its stripes by giving us an intriguing character study to accompany the thrills. And despite an unfair tendency to dismiss genre turns like these, it's hard to ignore Naomi Scott's emotionally exhausting turn as a pop star on the brink of a breakdown.                                                    

Strange Darling

Director: JT Mollner
Starring: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, Ed Begley Jr., Madisen Beaty, Bianca Santos, Eugenia Kuzmina, Steven Michael Quezada, Denise Grayson, Sheri Foster, Jason Patric, Giovanni Ribisi
Running Time:  96 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

While there's a jarring reversal that occurs midway through writer/director JT Mollner's excitingly original horror thriller Strange Darling, it's almost unfair to categorize it as a "twist." Just the very word falsely implies a gotcha gimmick intended to sacrifice story for shock when the truth's hiding in plain sight the entire time. It's the story's structure that throws us, but what's most surprising is how a concept this clever hasn't yet been explored to the extent Mollner does here.

Those looking for profoundly complex theories about consent, misogyny or gender issues would be barking up the wrong tree since this isn't trying to tell us anything we don't already know. Instead, Mollner implies we often choose to look the other way, falling into some of the same traps his characters do. The impact comes not from what the film says or even how, but that it even bothers to ask. Structurally, there's a lot to take in, but the pieces fit together, eventually reaching a crucial juncture where it grabs hold and doesn't let go.

Introduced as a dramatization of an infamous serial killer's murder spree that climaxes in rural Oregon, we see a bloody and injured woman called the "Lady" (Willa Fitzgerald) running out of the woods in  red hospital scrubs. It turns out she's being chased by a mustachioed, shotgun wielding man credited as the "Demon" (Kyle Gallner) who follows her to the farmhouse of aging hippie wilderness couple Frederik (Ed Begley Jr.) and Genevieve (Barbara Hershey). 

When the Lady seeks refuge at their residence, the Demon closes in, with the film flashing back to the pair's one-night stand at a local hotel that led to this. But the shocks are provided by what happens in between, their feud now culminating in a volatile encounter that will transform this cat-and-mouse game into a grueling, high stakes battle for their lives.

Kicking off with a barrage of title cards that would make Tarantino proud and a Texas Chainsaw-inspired voice over provided by Jason Patric, Mollner has us questioning early whether what we're seeing is based on real life events. In this era of true crime obsession it's easy to believe certain details could have been, as his six nonlinear chapters lay the groundwork for surprising developments that will have many clamoring for a rewatch in its chronologically accurate order. 

The picture was shot on 35 mm film and you can tell, with first time cinematographer Giovanni Ribisi (yes, him) giving this a beautifully washed-out look that perfectly aligns with Mollner's retro aesthetic. Though events take place in 2022, the year could just as easily be 1972, save for the presence of iPhones and few other contemporary details. And a haunting soundtrack from Z Berg prominently features an iconic Keith Carradine assisted cover of "Love Hurts," along with a variety of other acoustic AM radio ballads that further convey its throwback sensibility. 

As a chilling 24-hour account of a serial killer's rampage, it's fascinating and darkly humorous, with many narrative detours evoking a more heightened response than if the timeline was traditionally presented. Subverting expectations to this level just wouldn't work without Mollner's jumbled storytelling device, which the studio inexplicably wanted to scrap before cameras rolled.  

Reacher actress Willa Fitzgerald's breakthrough performance as the Lady constantly challenges viewer's notions of how other characters read her, as an already toxic sexual encounter spirals dangerously out of control. The Demon isn't exactly all he appears to be either, with Gallner playing on certain assumptions of male loners before twisting and turning them beyond recognition with his best big screen outing yet. Hershey and Begley Jr. are a welcome presence, bringing some much needed levity to their smaller roles while also partaking in one of more impressive breakfasts you'll ever see.  

The film's hypnotizing opening and closing shots can't be viewed in a vacuum since their full context will eventually reveal more than our perceptions trick us into believing. What unfolds between the two characters only scratches the surface of this oddly compelling disasterpiece told from a different, unexplored perspective. Violent, unsettling and emotionally charged, you'd be hard pressed to find another recent thriller that takes the daring risks this does, with most of them paying off in disturbingly brilliant ways.

Smile

Director: Parker Finn
Starring: Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Robin Weigert, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn, Rob Morgan, Judy Reyes, Gillian Zinser
Running Time: 115 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Playing fairly within the rules of its own horror universe, writer/director Parker Finn's debut feature, Smile, won't be accused of trailblazing originality, but it knows what it is and avoids insulting the audience's intelligence by aiming higher than it should. Recalling efficiently made 90's thrillers, it's moody, atmospheric and carefully paces out the steps of what's actually a pretty tight plot despite some occasional absurdity. In adapting his own 2020 short film, Laura Hasn't Slept, Finn takes a familiar concept in the genre and does right by it, stringing us along just enough to generate curiosity in the resolution without overstaying its welcome. 

Working with a premise not entirely different from that tackled in It Follows, The Ring and the Final Destination series, this manages to do enough in distinguishing itself that we're not distracted by those obvious similarities. Part of why is a lead performance that carries the story in every way, absorbing its baggage and emotionally grounding it with an authenticity that sometimes exceeds the film's quality. And while focusing on an already fragile character brought to the brink of insanity by something she can't understand or control, it's a credit to Finn's script that those around her react how you'd imagine they would under those circumstances. It's all neatly mapped out, leaving little room for surprises, but nonetheless following a reasonable trajectory to the somewhat predictable, though entirely satisfying conclusion.

Stressed out and overworked, psychiatrist Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) meets with a troubled patient, PhD student, Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey) who, traumatized by watching the suicide of her art history professor days earlier, screams to Rose about being stalked by smiling people telling her she's going to die. After grinning uncontrollably, Laura slits her own throat and commits suicide during the session.  Horrified by what she witnessed, Rose's behavior at work becomes increasingly erratic, forcing her concerned boss, Dr. Morgan Desai (Kal Penn) to become involved.

With Rose's hallucinations and wildly unhinged episodes worsening, fiancé Trevor (Jessie T. Usher) and sister Holly (Gillian Zinser) are seriously worried while Rose's former therapist, Dr. Northcott (Robin Weigert) attempts to draw a line back to the death of her mentally ill mother.  Soon, it's clear something far more sinister is happening, as she's seemingly afflicted with the same supernatural parasite that plagued Laura and those before her. Leaning on ex-boyfriend and police detective Joel (Kyle Gallner) for help, Rose needs answers and must prove to her family and friends she isn't crazy to avoid suffering the same fate as Laura. But with her days seemingly numbered, she's discovering just how hard it is to escape your own mind.   

One of the simpler, smarter aspects to the screenplay is that those who know Rose justifiably believe she's having a mental breakdown, as there's no reason to assume otherwise given her behavior. In this sense, much of the film's tension comes from Rose's fight to prove it isn't "all in her head," even while acting out and exhibiting psychotic tendencies. Initially, those closest express all the concern you'd expect, at least until it gets so bad that their worries become entangled in judgment and assumptions, with Rose hearing similar doubts from them that she expressed to Laura before the suicide. It doesn't take long for Rose to realize this is all going down the exact same road, as her visions of grinning, cackling people increase in frequency and intensity. 

Given Rose's already strained relationship with her older sister dating back to childhood, she's not much help, nor is fiancé Trevor, who tries to pass her off to the therapist. Since everyone's on the sidelines ogling in horror as she loses her mind, the film's heavy lifting falls on Sosie Bacon, who definitely doesn't disappoint in her first starring role. With a strong presence that may remind some of a younger Hilary Swank, she elevates what should be ridiculous jump scare scenes into deeper psychological territory as a woman victimized by both her own past and and this unknown curse. 

While essentially a plot function, Gallner's cop Joel is at least noteworthy compared to the rest, tuned in enough see the evidence for what it is and help her follow the trail backwards. The film milks a considerable amount of suspense from the metaphorical clock rapidly running down on Rose's life, and the more she fights, tries to solve the mystery, or even attempts to run, the closer she hurls toward the climactic showdown between her and this inexplicable demon force.  

It's tempting to label Smile as gimmicky or derivative, but it pulls off its tricks more skillfully than most, aided in no small part by Bacon's affecting turn. And Finn actually picks the right time to cut bait and get out, emblematic of the tricky line this manages to toe throughout, successfully juxtaposing the protagonist's mental trauma against some of the more visceral supernatural elements. This could have easily been laughable, but it holds steady, building tension and delivering an uncomfortably creepy trip that gives us some genuinely unsettling imagery and an emerging acting talent to keep a closer eye on.      

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Director: Samuel Bayer
Starring: Jackie Earle Haley, Rooney Mara, Kyle Gallner, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker, Kellan Lutz, Connie Britton, Clancy Brown
Running Time: 95 min.
Rating: R

★★ 1/2 (out of ★★★★)

On the horror remake offensiveness scale, A Nightmare on Elm Street would probably fall somewhere in the middle, ranking below A Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween and Psycho but slightly above Friday the 13th in terms of how many fans a reboot will upset. While the 1984 original was an entertaining, well-made 80's slasher with an unusually original premise for its time, it wasn't scary and with each progressing sequel Freddy Krueger, much like Jason, became less an icon and more a parody. That seems to be reoccurring problem in the horror genre as these franchises continue long past their expiration date, losing all creative steam while the studios beat a dead horse trying to wring every last cent out of them. Saw is the latest victim, and though its seventh installment is being touted as the last, you can bet it'll eventually be back in some form or another. These movies always come back, and that's not necessarily such a bad thing since many love them with a passion so in that sense reviving a long-dormant franchise like Nightmare isn't the worst idea there is. Sure, it's a shameless cash grab, but at least there's a need for creative resuscitation here, unlike the recent remake of that same year's The Karate Kid, which raped a classic story solely for profit. Hardcore horror fans may feel the same way about this but they should at least be grateful the kids aren't pre-teens, it's rated "R," and there's a concerted effort to return the series to its darker, more serious roots. Unfortunately, for all the arguments you can come up with for this remake being somehow defensible, the filmmakers have gone out their way to make it FEEL as pointless and disposable as possible. The same problems that have plagued all the other Platinum Dunes-produced horror remakes like Chainsaw, Friday The 13th, The Amityville Horror and The Hitcher are again on display to a lesser extent, but this does have three big things going for it: A great concept and two very talented actors. The results are decidedly mixed, but better than expected. In the end though, it still doesn't work mainly because these horror remakes are all starting to feel and look the same, adding nothing to what was already there and ineffectively re-executing everything that was done well enough the first time around.

Much of the original story remains intact (save for a few changes) which is a good thing because this is one of the rare slashers powered by a concept so strong that even the 1984 film and its inferior sequels couldn't fully capitalize on it. In a small American suburb, high schoolers Nancy (Rooney Mara), Quentin (Kyle Gallner), Jess (Thomas Dekker), Kris (Katie Cassidy) and Dean (Kellan Lutz) are all having nightmarish visions featuring a severely burned man in a red and green striped sweater and a glove equipped with sharp knives. He attacks only in their dreams and if he kills them there, they die in real life. The key is to stay awake (whether that be with the aid of stimulants or just sheer force of will) so that doesn't happen but Freddy slices through the teens until only Nancy and Quentin are left to discover the truth of everyone's shared past with this man and attempt to defeat him for good. One of the more positive changes the updated script provides is the introduction of the idea of "micro-naps" in which the potential victims fall asleep for 10 or 15 minutes, making it even harder for them (and us as the viewer) to distinguish between what's real or not, which ups the suspense level considerably. There isn't anyone who hasn't dozed off for a few brief minutes or felt so tired that they haven't a clue where they are making so it's a clever twist on a familiar idea.

Giving us as much back story on school caretaker and accused child molester Fred Krueger as possible (even going so far as to come up with with an origin story for his sweater) isn't necessarily a bad idea in theory since he isn't one of those horror villains where the more you know or see of him, the less scary he becomes. He simply isn't scary at all to begin with so no harm done there. But you do have to question the logic of showing and spelling out information what was subtly, but effectively implied in the original films. This can't either but it makes little sense attempting to recreate key scenes, moments and plot points from the original, only with cutting edge computer generated effects. Re-tracing the original film's steps beat for beat but with higher production value is a silly idea that only helps make this feel like the latest inferior sequel in the franchise. This is a problem similar to the one marring the final act of Rob Zombie's 2007 Halloween remake, in which he attempted to faithfully reconstruct and jam John Carpenter's original film into the last third of his, but with more overt brutality. It's almost as if all these filmmakers want to have their cake and eat it too by teasing a new direction only to fall back on recreating scenes from the original (in some cases rather poorly) as some kind of misguided tribute or an attempt to throw a bone at hardcore fans. Last year, Zombie rebounded strongly with the gutsy, unrelenting Halloween II when he strayed as far as possible from the source material, finally breaking free from the genre conventions holding these remakes back. That's a template this could have followed in place of the typical sequel/reboot mish-mash route that was chosen instead. It's also interchangeable with a lot of other recent horror remakes with its slick music video style approach to the material, which diminishes the sense of dread and urgency in favor of making everything look dirty, but high budget dirty.  In other words, it's too polished. Maybe not coincidentally, this was directed by Samuel Bayer, who's first ever directing gig was Nirvana's classic 1991 "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video. Say what you want about Zombie's efforts but at least he captured the visual feel of trashy, low budget midnight drive-in movies.

The biggest hurdle cleared is the casting of Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger, who steps into the role made famous by Robert Englund after online fans pushed to have him cast. They were right on target, and as much as this will upset loyalists, he's no worse at it than his predecessor. Not necessarily better mind you, but different in a way that's appropriate for the liberties taken with the source material. Whether that more realistic approach (facially looking very much like an actual burn victim) is the right one considering this is supposed to be a horror/fantasy character may be up for debate, but Haley's the right guy for the job considering Freddy is supposed to be more frightening than entertaining. His small stature is a minor issue (he's nowhere near the physical presence Englund was) and there aren't as many clever one-liners for him to deliver, but that's not what's really called for here anyway. Unfortunately the character he's given isn't all that interesting and the flashback backstory, despite playing to all of his strengths as an actor, isn't really developed enough since doing that would mean the writers would have to stray from the predictable horror rules suffocating the picture.

My (and seemingly everyone else's) new favorite actress of the moment, Rooney Mara, gives us a Nancy that's a far cry from Heather Langenkamp's appropriately superficial incarnation over 25 years ago. Sullen, morose, and shy, she's the most withdrawn female protagonist we've seen in a horror movie in some time and pensively looks and acts like she's suffered some great tragedy, maybe one outside of what's actually happening in this story. And whatever that tragedy is I can practically guarantee you it would have made for a better movie than we got here. As an actress, Mara has this interesting look and expression to her face that's inscrutably intelligent, making you think she knows something you don't and if you stare long enough you might be able to figure out what. It was evident in just her few sensational, Oscar-worthy scenes in The Social Network and it's only a little bit of a surprise that the quiet intensity that made her performance there so memorable carry over into this. It's unlikely any studio decision makers completely knew at the time of her casting just how much they got or what would happen with her career so it's unfortunate that she's contractually locked (as is Haley) into appearing in a sequel should it occur. And judging from the final scene, it's a safe bet it will. That this doesn't seem like the worst news in the world for her (at least no worse than Robert Downey Jr. spending the rest of his career in Iron Man purgatory) is a credit to how much she brings to a project that doesn't deserve her talents. Until she takes over the film, Katie Cassidy does a surprisingly credible job early on with a one-note scream queen character and Kyle Gallner seems right at home as the weirdo, emo co-lead opposite Mara. Friday Night Lights' Connie Britton and gifted character actor Clancy Brown are wasted in the obligatory adult roles, as is too often the case in these types of films.

Sadly, the acting all-around is actually better than the original and it doesn't seem to help one bit since no one could decide whether they wanted to make a slasher with cheesy acting faithful to the original or an updated version that takes itself seriously. The result ends up being a fake cheesy slasher taking itself too seriously and I'm wondering if removing some of the goofier horror elements and playing it as a straight psychological drama would have been wiser. With a premise this strong and the acting clearly there to support it, a gripping story could have been constructed centering on dreams and reality as these teens come to grips with a buried childhood tragedy. NOES 2010 feels like it should have ambition beyond just covering the original and if a more realistic approach was the game plan they should have had the guts to go all the way with it since there was real potential to do something interesting here. This near-miss exposes the biggest problem with remakes in that there's always a cause to worry that studios will continue to casually resurrect a beloved title or franchise without seriously considering how.