Smile: The Haunting Franchise That Refuses to Let Go

Trauma has always been a staple of the horror genre, and Parker Finn's burgeoning Smile franchise is a testament to the power of this dark theme. Through the stories of Dr. Rose Cotter and pop star Skye Riley, Finn masterfully weaves a tale of suffering and the relentless pursuit of a malevolent entity that feeds on the pain we carry within. Unlike the more hopeful messages found in modern trauma allegories, Finn's monsters often emerge victorious, leaving audiences with a sense of unease and a haunting reminder of the fragility of the human psyche.

Unmasking the Darkness: A Chilling Exploration of Smile and Smile 2

The Haunting Smile: Witnessing the Unthinkable

The Smile franchise begins with a disturbing encounter in Rose's ward, where a young woman named Laura hides in the corner, seemingly terrified of an unseen being. As Rose tries to reassure her, Laura's demeanor suddenly shifts, and she reveals a sinister smile stretching across her face. With a shard of broken plastic, she slices a gaping wound across her neck, mirroring the unsettling expression. This horrific scene sets the tone for a bleak and unforgiving horror franchise, where the titular smile becomes a harbinger of unimaginable terror.In Smile 2, the audience is introduced to Skye, a pop star struggling to recover from a deadly car crash. While trying to buy painkillers, Skye encounters her high school acquaintance, Lewis, who is in the grips of a delusional episode. As Skye watches in horror, Lewis's face twists into a predatory smile, and he repeatedly smashes his head with a heavy weight plate, crushing his features into a bloody mess. The slow destruction of Lewis's face is a chilling reminder of the relentless nature of the entity that haunts Finn's cinematic universe.

Shattering the Illusion of Safety

In the aftermath of the disturbing incident in her ward, Rose attempts to find solace in the comfort of her own home. However, her fragile moment of peace is shattered when her security system blares to life, and a call from the alarm company suggests that she may have "let something into the house." This unsettling moment serves as a stark reminder that the entity's reach extends beyond the confines of the hospital, leaving Rose with a growing sense of vulnerability and the realization that nowhere is truly safe.Skye's encounter with a dangerous fan during a meet-and-greet event further reinforces the idea that even the trappings of fame and fortune offer no protection against the creature's malevolence. As the fan advances on Skye, making inappropriate comments and insisting that he can "cure her sadness," the pop star is left shaken and exposed, a stark contrast to the adoring crowds that typically surround her. The discovery of the fan's discarded clothing in her living room only heightens the sense of violation and the erosion of Skye's personal boundaries.

Betrayal and Public Humiliation

The Smile franchise masterfully explores the ways in which the entity delights in stripping away the supportive relationships of its victims. At a birthday party, Rose watches in horror as her nephew's delighted gaze turns to terror upon opening her gift, which contains the dead body of her missing cat. As Rose screams at a girl in the corner wearing the tell-tale grin, she trips and falls through a glass coffee table, emerging with shards of glass protruding from both arms.Skye's public humiliation is even more devastating, as she is guilted into performing at a charity event for disadvantaged teens. With lipstick smeared across her face, Skye is forced to ad-lib her remarks when the teleprompter freezes. The script finally begins rolling, and Skye inadvertently welcomes her dead boyfriend, Paul Hudson, to the stage. As Paul approaches with a hideous smile, Skye screams in front of the confused audience, now using their cell phones to record her misery. When an elderly woman reaches out to guide her offstage, Skye reacts to her vision of Paul and sends the woman careening through the air and crashing into a table below.

Unraveling the Threads of Trust

As the women's circumstances become increasingly dire, they each turn to those they trust for help, only to have their faith betrayed. Rose schedules an impromptu session with her therapist, Dr. Northcott, only to discover that the real Dr. Northcott has just called to check on her. The grinning monster begins to chase Rose through her own home, shattering the last vestiges of her sense of security.Skye's search for respite is equally heartbreaking. Waking up in a posh recovery center, she believes her mother, Elizabeth, has arranged for her to take a much-needed break. However, this peaceful respite quickly curdles as mother and daughter begin to fight about the upcoming tour. In a shocking turn of events, Elizabeth smashes a mirror with her fist and begins stabbing her own face with a shard of glass. Skye is left horrified, covered in her mother's blood, just feet away from the brutalized body.

Confronting the Darkest Memories

The centerpieces of both films involve harrowing excavations of each woman's initial trauma. Rose drives out to her childhood home, where she remembers finding her mother unresponsive in bed. Confronting this painful memory, Rose attempts to release herself from the overwhelming guilt, only to have her mother's vision grow in size and monstrosity, insisting that Rose will never escape her nightmarish past.Skye's story also climaxes with a terrifying return to her most painful memory. Trapped in the ruined car after a devastating crash, Skye awakens next to her boyfriend Paul's shattered skull, the result of a high-speed argument that ended in tragedy. The close camera work and intimate portrayal of this scene pull the audience into the doomed couple's soul-crushing argument, making it a harrowing and unforgettable sequence.

The Inescapable Curse

As the films reach their climactic moments, both Rose and Skye are faced with the realization that they cannot escape the entity's grasp. Rose believes she has found solace in the love of her ex-boyfriend, Joel, only to discover that her cathartic conversation was all in her head. The darkness creeps over the tender scene, and Joel's slow smile spreading across his face signals that Rose has never truly left the cursed confines of her childhood home.Skye's attempt at salvation is equally futile. Trapped in an abandoned restaurant's walk-in freezer, she jams a syringe into her neck, hoping to at least die on her own terms. But the hideous creature, now wearing the skin of her own bleeding body, begins to laugh, revealing that Skye's plan was nothing more than another cruel illusion.

The Unrelenting Grip of the Curse

In the final moments of Smile, Rose's desperate attempt to break the curse by murdering a witness proves to be a futile dream. As she prepares to strike her troubled patient, Carl, her supervisor, Dr. Desai, begins to rip off his own face, shattering Rose's last chance at salvation.Smile 2 opens with the grim aftermath of Rose's demise, as the unfortunate Joel tries to succeed where she failed. His plan to have a career criminal witness a murder goes awry, and he inadvertently passes the curse on to Lewis. Joel's own gruesome death, with his blood and viscera smeared across the road in the shape of a crude smile, serves as a harbinger of the horrors to come.The Smile franchise's unrelenting grip on its victims is a testament to Finn's mastery of the horror genre. Unlike the more hopeful messages found in modern trauma allegories, these films refuse to offer any respite, leaving audiences with a haunting sense of dread and the realization that the entity's reach extends far beyond the confines of the screen.