He told Zavvi: “I’m really fascinated by the human condition, and just how scary it is to be a person walking around in this world even before a supernatural bombshell comes in to invade your life! I think horror as metaphor is really interesting, and I love that the genre can hold a mirror up to society and unpack what we’re feeling and experiencing in our collective consciousness.
“I love that about genre films – they can make an audience look at an important issue a little differently and reconsider their stance on it.”
With the first Smile, Finn introduced a deadly curse which warped the mind of its unlucky host, killing them within six days as their hallucinations turned more violent and intense – a conceit he used to unpack the ways in which many people still look down upon, or refuse to believe, those with mental health issues. Here, the curse has been passed along to a popstar in recovery from addiction, Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), making her act in ways that lead everyone around her to think she’s fallen off the wagon on the eve of her comeback tour.
Skye’s persona is like that of Britney Spears or Miley Cyrus, two former Disney stars turned rebellious pop icons. And who better to bring her to life than Scott, a former Disney star in her own right?
“Whilst writing, I was looking at a lot of different pop stars and people who got famous too young, and so people like Britney and Miley were absolutely part of my research. And Naomi is this incredible force of nature - I was delighted at the chance to take a Disney princess and put her through hell!
“I love pop music, and I am also fascinated by it. It’s one of the largest industries in the world, led by these people with larger-than-life, almost demigod personas, and I’m curious as to who the real people are behind that velvet rope.
“What’s it like to be that person who always must be “on”, performing and smiling for the world? What can that do to the inside of someone’s head?”
Finn is upfront about his inspirations for Skye, but Scott wasn’t looking to the likes of Britney or Miley when bringing the character to life.
She explained to us: “The honest answer is that I didn’t have any specific pop star inspiration; I think I just trusted the fact that those famous figures were all there in the page subconsciously. I didn’t want to be derivative of a real person, and Skye Riley was already perfectly rounded by the time I was cast – the way she would be styled, and how her music would sound, was already beginning to be shaped too.
“I didn’t have too much time to think about specific influences on the character, which was a good thing for me in this process. It allowed me to step into her shoes and bring myself to her, rather than looking for influence elsewhere.”
However, there were barriers to how much Scott could bring herself to Riley. As a singer-songwriter in her own right, she knew she wouldn’t be doing justice to the character if she played to her musical instincts.
“Before I was cast, there were already two songs written and produced by Idarose, whose vocals were on these demos. Two days after I’d been cast, I was already in the studio cutting my vocals onto these songs, and I wanted to lean into the way Ida sang, as that would help me develop who Skye is when she sings.
“This is not remotely what I sound like when I sing, which is great for me. I showed it to my producer, and he didn’t even recognise my voice, which is exactly what I was going for – she needed to sound different, and had to exist as a character separate to me as a musician.”
Despite a musical element that wouldn’t be out of place in many of her previous projects, this introduction to the horror genre is a bold left turn for the Essex-born star. However, her attraction to the project wasn’t out of a passion to make her scream queen debut.
“When I watched the first Smile movie in the cinema, I could see that Parker was a filmmaker who cares about his characters – he doesn’t just use them to push the plot forward. That’s very exciting as an actor, as I didn’t just fall in love with his vision and confidence as a filmmaker, but I trusted that he cared about this character and understood her.
“I didn’t interpret the movie as Skye being punished, but what I find good about these kinds of films are the embrace of the grey area that leaves everything open to interpretation. Different audiences might think certain scenes are real, and others might not, and there’s a lot of fun to be had with that.”
The first Smile was originally planned to go straight to Paramount+, before it was saved from the streaming scrapheap by glowing test screening reviews from audiences. That means that, this time, Finn has approached the movie knowing there may be further sequels in sight – and, without spoiling anything about this film, he’s keeping his options open about where to go next.
“There are a lot of different, interesting roads Smile could go down in the future, but it all depends on how audiences respond to it. If I’m lucky enough for people to embrace it again, then I can start seeing what the future holds.”
One reason three-quel ideas might not be gathering too much steam at the moment is because Finn is now devoted to a remake of the cult 1981 psychological horror Possession, in which Sam Neill’s protagonist becomes increasingly obsessed with his wife’s strange behaviour. Robert Pattinson is set to take the male lead in the project, which will likely begin shooting once The Batman Part II wraps filming in the new year.
The original Possession was set against the backdrop of the Berlin Wall, and Finn is quick to stress that his take will look and feel starkly different.
“The original is one of my favourite films of all time, and I’m excited to be making something that will both honour and pay homage to (director) Andrzej Żuławski’s masterpiece, while being more of a spiritual sibling or descendant of it. I’m trying to make something that’s in conversation with the original film rather than a remake, and I’m very excited for people to see it.”
So even if we may not get a third Smile anytime soon, expect more nasty delights from Finn to keep a grin on your face.
Smile 2 is released in UK cinemas on Thursday, 17th October.
