What’s so funny?: Naomi Scott does superb work in horror film ‘Smile 2’.

SMILE 2 **** (127 minutes) MA
There’s very little to complain about with this excellent psychological horror frightfest as a Gaga-like pop star emerges from rehab to embark on a world tour. Only she’s tormented by the ever-mysterious smiling demon we met two years ago.

Writer-director Parker Finn outdoes what he achieved in the 2022 film, shifting tonal gears, ratcheting up the stakes and shock cuts and building tension to deliver a remarkable finale.

The piece is crammed with A-grade stylistic flourishes, with Finn’s love of inverted camera angles hitting Hitchcockian finesse. Oh, and there are heaps of vividly rendered gore effects, most of them practical, that recall the grand ol’ days of 1970s/80s horror.

Ably carrying the film, Naomi Scott is outstanding in a demanding lead role; convincing and increasingly frantic, she pushes matters far beyond the limits of the standard scream queen.

There really ought to be Oscars recognising the fine work done in genre films. Come on, Hollywood. Get it on.

As an aside, and odd as it might sound, there are some passing similarities between Smile 2 and The Substance regarding fame and drug abuse. And both impart the same salient message – don’t do drugs, kids.

Who said popular entertainment can’t be useful?