Spoiler alert: The following article contains major spoilers about the ending of Smile 2. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, read on at your own risk.
Sky Riley, the haunted protagonist of Smile 2, was a very difficult role for actor Naomi Scott to play. Playing the lead character in a horror movie typically requires a lot of emotional energy and adrenaline, but Skye’s status as a pop superstar means her performance includes singing and dancing choreography (not to mention drinking water). It was meant to include all kinds of stress. Overall, making this film wasn’t easy, but for Scott, it was the big climactic scene where Skye has a terrifying confrontation with her demonic self that remains in her memory as the biggest challenge of the piece. I am.
As you can see in the video above, I had the chance to interview Naomi Scott at the Smile 2 press day in Los Angeles earlier this month, and I took the opportunity to delve a little into spoiler territory at the end of our conversation. did. I’m always interested in the process of filming scenes where an actor has to play a role opposite themselves, but the experience of making a new horror film was extreme for Scott. she said to me:
I think those four days were the most difficult. I don’t know if it was because we were in a small space, but there was smoke in some parts and smoke in others… I just think it was the most difficult 4 days of my life and career. . But again, because of the switch, we had to do it very quickly and it was just tough.
In the Smile 2 scene in question, Skye Riley travels to Staten Island and meets up with ER nurse Morris (Peter Jacobson) in a desperate attempt to rid herself of her curse. She was taken to a former Pizza Hut freezer, tied to a table, and given drugs to temporarily kill her, but midway through she looked at the ceiling and saw herself hanging from her seatbelt. did. hanging her (reflecting her condition after a near-fatal car accident). The demon Sky collapses and confronts the pop star face-to-face, explaining that she can no longer control her mind.
This sequence was apparently filmed during reshoots and was both physically and mentally intense for Naomi Scott. In addition to working on her abs while hanging from the ceiling, she asked writer/director Parker Finn for permission to go all out in the role of Demon Skye. She continued:
I don’t want to spoil anything, but there were moments where we needed a lot of core stability in that we had some reversals going on. I mean, you know what I mean. But that was during reshoots, and when it came to playing my particular role in Skye, I had no idea what it was, so I looked at Parker and went with it – because it wasn’t like back then. Because it was. We were filming – and I thought, “Should I really just try and lean in?” And he said, “Well, why not?” I kind of thought so, but then I said to him, “I don’t get it!” It really felt like I had thrown something at a wall. But I hope it goes well!
I can’t speak for everyone, but that particular scene sent me Smile 2 into the back of my seat, and weeks later I’m still in awe of its intensity. It definitely works.
If you’re still wondering what to do with yourself to properly celebrate Halloween 2024, Smile 2 is in theaters now. Even if you’ve already seen the critically acclaimed horror sequel, you might want to head back to your local theater. Watch the movie again, as Parker Finn promised, “Here’s what you missed the first time.”
