Smile 2 director talks the horror sequel's brutal, one-shot, "really surprising" opening scene: "It wasn't going to feel like anything we did in the first film"
Oct. 15, 2024Exclusive: Writer/director Parker Finn says he wanted to do something completely different with Smile 2’s one-shot opening scene
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Which is exactly what Finn was hoping to achieve, who returns to helm this second installment. Speaking to GamesRadar+, he reveals that with the opening he wanted to do something he hadn’t done before, whilst throwing audiences right into the action. Finn explains: “Where the first film ended, I knew I wanted to have some connective tissue, a sort of through line between them, and so it felt like a natural place to start.
But was there ever the idea that this sequel could have Joel at the helm? For Finn, there wasn’t, as he tells us: “I love Kyle Gallner, he is such an incredible actor and I want to put him in everything. But I knew that if I was approaching a sequel I didn’t want to do the obvious thing, or a simple continuation, or a retread of the original. If I was asking audiences to come back I wanted to deliver something really unexpected, fresh, and different.”
The filmmaker agreed then to make the movie when he came up with the character of Riley, which Finn says “unlocked everything” for him. As he concludes, that idea meant the sequel was justified: “I find myself being quite cynical sometimes of sequels. I think there are incredible ones out there but they need to be made thoughtfully with all of the care of the original.
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
“And so, I knew if I was going to do it, it needed to be something that was worth coming back to. The discovery of this character, this massive pop star Skye Riley, unlocked everything for me. That got me really excited. I wanted to go bigger, bolder, way more off the rails, and insane. There’s this great escalation from the first to the second, which I wanted to lean into.”
Smile 2 hits UK cinemas on October 17, before releasing in US theaters on October 18.
For more, check out our picks of thebest horror moviesand theupcoming horror moviesyou should be watching out for.
As Entertainment Editor at GamesRadar, I oversee all the online content for Total Film and SFX magazine. Previously I’ve worked for the BBC, Zavvi, UNILAD, Yahoo, Digital Spy and more.
New horror movie from the studio behind Midsommar and Heretic unveils its first look and plot details
5 months after the first Nosferatu trailer, we’ve finally heard Bill Skarsgård’s Count Orlok voice – and it will haunt your nightmares
Atari 7800+ review: “a retro console remake for the ‘80s kids”
