Smile 2 (2024) review

Pop megastar Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is still recovering from a bad car crash that claimed the life of her boyfriend Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson) and left her in extreme pain, but when she visits her dealer (and former school pal) Lewis (Lukas Gage) to buy Vicodin, he "infects" her with the "Smile Parasite" before killing himself (with a weight plate) and her entire existence is disrupted because of the constant hallucinations.  It isn't a requirement to have seen the original (and very popular) 2022 release to get the gist of what's going on (although it might help a little) and Finn shows a good deal of confidence behind the camera, except the bloated nature of this sequel - as well as a lack of truly unsettling moments - drags it down immensely: the script basically allows for anything to happen at any moment (constantly changing the parameters of what's "real") which feels cheap, so all it amounts to is a poor young woman with survivor's guilt being tortured for over two hours.  It saves its most gruesome imagery for the finale (also see: The Substance), but by the time that happens, I suspect the majority of its audience will have already checked out.