The first Smile was a pretty good horror movie and a pretty massive hit. While those two facts are closely related, at least part of the movie’s cultural impact was thanks to its incredible marketing campaign where people showed up to high-profile events like sports games sporting the series’ trademark unnatural grin. It didn’t have much to do with the movie, but it was undeniably effective. Thankfully, the first trailer for Smile 2, the series’ big-budget sequel, is here to make good on the original’s marketing stunt.
Smile relied mostly on intimate, small-scale scares and the creepy idea that the person you’re talking to could be infected by the Smile curse without you even knowing it. The main character, Rose (Sosie Bacon), watched the curse spread through the various members of her life until she finally understood what was causing it.
But the marketing campaign got at something much big and more sinister. Having normal(ish) people sitting at baseball games and grinning for the camera, implied something massive, an unknowable infection of sporadic unexplainable violence accompanied with an ear to ear smile and wide vacant eyes. Thankfully, this is the deep well that the new movie seems to be tapping into.
Here’s some fun, clever movie promo – Paramount seemingly placed #Smile actors in the crowd at both the Yankees and Mets games last night, both in view of cameras. The results were indeed creepy. Going to a game this weekend? Watch out for the smiles! pic.twitter.com/aC3sqZjWvI
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) September 24, 2022
The trailer for the new movie primarily follows pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), who seems to be in the middle of a massive nation-wide stadium tour — a popular venue for horror movies this year. Of course, smiles start to creep through the crowd and her fans without any explanation, and violence follows.
It all looks far bigger and more expensive, but with the same methodical slow-paced scares that made the first movie so effective. And, even more importantly, adding in throngs of people makes the series’ signature grins even more terrifying, making the cursed victims stand out in the crowd, exactly like they did at the baseball games from the original promotions.
Smile 2 is written and directed by Parker Finn, just like the original movie, and is set for release in theaters on Oct. 18.
