SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Smile 2,” now in theaters.
Parker Finn, the writer and director of the 2022 horror hit “Smile” and the recently released “Smile 2,” has taken some of the most well-known horror concepts of recent times and expanded them even further for the sequel. In this chapter, troubled pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins to question her reality as she is haunted by increasingly disturbing and violent photos. Finn spoke to Selection about making a movie about a music star, the scary ending and what the future sequels would be.
How did you come up with the concept for “Smile 2”? It’s a drastically different story from “Smile.”
I needed to see if I could catch the audience off guard with what we would do next. I wrote and directed that first film that existed in its own right. I had no plans for a sequel at that time and I think they are often made for inappropriate or cynical reasons. If I were to ask the audience to give me their time one more time, I would try to offer something unexpected and contemporary. That first month I was interested in ideas, something that came to mind I ended up throwing away, because I thought: “It’s going to arrive very quickly. It’s a very apparent place to go.
I wanted to be able to understand this story about a character who I could spend money on thematically and emotionally, who would bring something new to this story, this world. I was struck by lightning with this concept for the character Skye Riley, this mega pop star. It felt like a big swing that definitely no one would have guessed, and it was such an intriguing world to me: this idea of someone so famous and public-facing, who was always expected to play this persona, and has to greet the world with a smile, regardless of that’s happening behind the scenes.
I was looking at some of these female demigods that we elevate: Who is the real human being there? , Taylor Swift can’t be Taylor Swift all the time. It seemed like such a fascinating place to start. Also, I didn’t want to put him in dark, dingy basements or spider junkies or anything like that. This world of a pop star is glamorous, it’s glitzy, it’s shiny, it’s supposed to be fun. I thought, “Can I present this world authentically and at the same time make it quite cold and unsettling? Disturbing, really isolated and lonely?” This seemed highly effective as a starting point.
It’s been reported that you just got an $11 million budget increase compared to the first film, but “Smile 2” feels even more epic in scope than that figure allows. How did you manage to create such a decadent glimpse into the world of pop stars while still directing a modestly budgeted film?
One of the biggest challenges of the film was: “How are we going to prolong this?” After I went and pitched it to Paramount, I feel like they were shocked by the balance to begin with. But the next question was, “Well, how are you going to achieve that?” They bought in behind me and supported me, which was unimaginable. It was important for me to build credibility with this pop star and her world, so it was something we took very seriously. I didn’t want it to be something that felt tacked on or like it was happening on the periphery. It was half the story: this is her life, this is her world. I thought it was an interesting experience to bring the audience into this.
A few things about how we accomplished this – for starters, I brought in the same creative team from the first film. They’re all amazing artists, but we also became close friends and collaborators and we kind of have this shorthand. It’s a strange thing to say about a studio horror movie sequel, but this was truly a passion project for all of us. We knew we would put a 10-gallon film in a 5-gallon bucket. Then it happened: “How can we use the sources we have in a very intelligent way? to do have?” It’s all about being extremely specific and having a really robust plan going in. I’m an obsessive preparer, to the point where I want to be able to wrap my arms around the film. We knew we were going to get through this barbed wire, but we’re really pleased with how we achieved it.
It’s quick, but at one point it seems like one of the characters says, “This is going to ruin the tour.” Was this an intentional reference to a certain real-life pop star who recently got into trouble?
We made this joke a lot on set. The road is not precisely that, but I’ve seen the memes happening and I like that people have noticed that.
Getting into spoiler territory, this movie has such a wild ending. Do you think everyone at Skye Riley’s final show is now infected with The Smile?
I feel like you are asking the correct question.
In this film, we learn a little more about the demon’s backstory. If you film more chapters, will you delve even deeper into the lore?
I definitely have all these thoughts and concerns surrounding The Smiler, and this helps me learn how to put it to use in the film. I like the fact that because it’s designed to get into the cracks of a character’s mind and start feasting on all the worst things inside their head, it’s incredibly special and unique and personal to everyone it’s interacting with. Something we learned about this in the first film, we could understand: “Oh, that was just a version of him interacting with the protagonist (“Smile”) Rose, and that’s for Skye. Sure, there may be that throughline, but she has some new strategies up her sleeve and things we don’t know about her.
I often feel like less is more with things like mythology in horror films, especially if it involves supernatural stuff. For starters, I’m much more into the character’s story. I like things that go bump in the night, but I want to use that supernatural impulse to explore the human horror, the inner psychological stuff. But I’ve also found that a lot of times when you start to over-explain it – you give it a reputation and an origin – all the viewers start to undo it. I think the fear of the unknown is much scarier, but I also think it’s worth handing out crumbs to bring the audience along. They’re little sweets to eat on the way, which I like – but when I’m answering a question or closing a door, I want to make sure I’m opening two more.
Have you ever thought about what a third film would be like?
I’m excited to get this one out into the world first. I think there are a lot of exciting paths it could take, but for me, from 10,000 feet up, looking at what “Smile” is, I would make sure that if there were more stories to tell, which we once again are doing things in a surprising trend, continuing to jump the rails as we did from “Smile” to “Smile 2”. I like this idea that each thing can become more insane and crazy and unhinged than the last, and at a certain point we’d say, “How come this is where we went with ‘Smile’? ” For me, this is really exciting. I’d like to make sure he’s doing something worthwhile whenever we come back.
Are you ready to write and direct a remake of the 1981 cult classic “Possession.” What can you suggest about your vision for this film?
It’s still early days, for sure. I’m extremely excited about this. “Possession” is considered one of my favorite films of all time. Here’s what I’ll say: The intention is to make something that honors and pays homage to the original, but it’s a spiritual successor that I’m trying to have a dialogue with the first film. I hope it has all the ferocity and polish and kind of mania of the original. We’re not doing anything that can be protected or sanitized with it. It will be for people who love the only one. That’s why I’m making this film.
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