Smile 2

What’s it about?

About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her past.

The facts

• Directed by Parker Finn
• English language
• Runtime: 127 minutes
• Sequel to Smile (2022) which was rated R16 with content warnings for violence, offensive language & horror
• Starring Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage

Why did it get this rating?

This film was classified by Te Mana Whakaatu, Classification Office. You can find out more about classification process and ratings here.

Horror

A supernatural force haunts the main character. We see the demon take the form of friends and family shown with a sinister fixed smile. After being haunted characters kills themselves in disturbing ways in front of the next victim.

In a graphic body horror moment, a character rips open a scar on their stomach to reveal a hideous creature with multiple mouths lined with pointed teeth.

Drug use

We see a drug dealer dividing up portions of cocaine on a coffee table laden with bags of white powder.

We see the main character visit a drug dealing friend from school; he offers her a range of drugs including ‘molly’ and ketamine. The drug use is not promoted or shown as appealing in the film.

The main character is also portrayed as a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. There are flashbacks to drug use and scenes where she takes drugs to deal with recurring back pain.

Violence

There are plenty of graphic violence and bloody gore moments during the film. The strongest scenes include:

• Flashbacks to a fatal car crash where we see a dead body, and an injured passenger with glass shrapnel in the leg.
• A character attacks another by repeatedly smashing a weigh-lifting plate into their face. We see the progressive bloody destruction of their facial features and bloody spray after each hit.
• A character attacks another with a broken mirror, repeatedly stabbing them in the face and throat. We see close up graphic wounds and gurgling blood.
• A character tears their own jaw off with a crowbar.
• A character is attacked by a friend and has her thumbs bitten off.
• We see a character struck by a car, leaving blood smeared across the road and a close up of their squashed and severed foot.

Offensive language

There’s frequent swearing throughout the film, with ‘f*ck’ being used most commonly. Some language is used for emphasis as well shock and frustration, for example ‘get the f*ck off me!’. ‘C*nt’ is used once and is likely to be shocking to younger viewers.

Content that may disturb

A number of characters, who have been possessed, die from self-inflicted injuries.

We see the main character self-harm when she feels out of control; we see her pulling her hair out. We also see her self-loathing of her body scars.

When content stays with you:

We all have our boundaries, and it’s completely okay if something you’ve watched is weighing on your mind. If certain content lingers with you, consider having a chat with friends or whānau to debrief about what you’ve just seen. But if you’re still feeling affected, please reach out to any of the following helplines for support.

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Horror films, scary sounds and pesky sleepovers (blog)
• Are scary films good for anything? (blog)