Smile 2 director reveals how his actors achieve that signature grin

The first Smile movie is genuinely terrifying, and much of those scares are down to that iconic rictus grin. On the eve of Smile 2’s release, director Parker Finn explains how his actors achieve the signature move.

Smile 2 is about to hit screens, and the sequel will be a very different take on the material, revolving around a pop star called Sky Riley who becomes entwined with the horror movie series’ evil entity.

Director Parker Finn once again writes and directs, meaning he also makes sure his cast is getting that infamous smile right.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the new movie’s LA premiere, Finn explained: “Sometimes the actors show up clearly really prepared, like I can tell they’ve been at home studying in the mirror, and other times it takes a little more coaching.”

As for what that coaching entails, the writer-director elaborated: “I find what you want to do is smile actually in a friendly way; you don’t want to over-exaggerate it, you don’t want to strain your face, but it’s all about disconnecting the eyes from the smile, and then about how you position the head.

“There’s a bit of a head tilt that happens; there’s the famous ‘Kubrick Stare,’ we sort of leaned into that idea, and then it becomes all about the filmmaking tools.”

A famous example of that ‘Kubrick Stare’ is Jack Nicholson in The Shining, so it’s likely no coincidence that the actor’s son Ray Nicholson is tasked with “smiling” in this sequel.

Warner Bros.

On the same red carpet, Nicholson Jr said he nailed the grin in one take, following advice from co-star Naomi Scott.

“Going into it, Naomi kind of prepped me like, ‘[Finn] is very specific, he’ll work with everyone, like don’t think you’re doing the wrong thing, he’s just very specific.’ And we did it and Naomi was like, ‘Well, that’s one take, that’s done.’”

Smile 2 previews today and tomorrow before releasing worldwide on Friday, October 18. For more scary stuff, check out our Smille review, the creepypasta you should read before watching Smile 2, and our list of horror movies streaming this month.