Smile 2 has a secret connection to The Shining

Smile 2 is a scary sequel in which an evil entity haunts a famous pop star. But the movie also shares something in common with horror classic The Shining.

The Smile movies share DNA with the likes of The Ring, The Grudge, and It Follows, where the curse at the heart of the movie is passed from victim-to-victim.

In the first Smile movie, a therapist sees the malevolent grin all around, a sure sign that she’s been infected. While in Smile 2, it’s a pop star who becomes haunted by the evil entity.

Parker Finn wrote and directed both movies, and while telling The Hollywood Reporter how he got his actors to do said smile, he also revealed a connection to the work of Stanley Kubrick.

“Sometimes the actors show up clearly really prepared,” Finn explains. “Like I can tell they’ve been at home studying in the mirror, and other times it takes a little more coaching.

“I find what you want to do is smile actually in a friendly way; you don’t want to overexaggerate 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.”

Malcolm McDowell does the ‘Kubrick stare’ in A Clockwork Orange, as does Vincent D’Onofrio in Full Metal Jacket. But the most famous example happens as the camera pans in on Jack Nicholson during The Shining, as captured in this image…

That isn’t the only connection to Kubrick’s horror classic either, as Jack’s son’s Ray Nicholson plays a key role in Smile 2. Indeed, he even got to do the Kubrick stare for himself, following advice from co-star Naomi Scott.

Speaking to THR at the movie’s LA premiere, Nicholson explained: “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.’”

Head here for Smile 2 streaming details or here for news of the creepypasta you should read before watching Smile 2. Alternatively you can check out our list of the best horror movies of all-time.