Director Parker Finn continues his exploration of psychological horror in his new feature, Smile 2, the follow-up feature to his 2022 film Smile.
Smile 2 tells the story of Skye Riley, a pop star about to embark on a world tour when she begins to experience increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, she is forced to face her past.
On October 27, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Finn discussed the making of Smile 2 during a Q&A moderated by Director Mike Flanagan (The Life of Chuck).
During the conversation, Finn recalled his delight when his precursor film, Smile, received a wide theatrical release.
“Just by nature of the evolving industry, we happened to be one of the very first films to get switched the other way around from streaming to theatrical which was incredible. I was just so grateful that somebody had said yes to letting me make a feature and was just hoping the audience would discover it. And then for it to go wide theatrical release was a dream come true. Something original that I wrote and directed that's based on my own short — those are a lot of things that people tell you, 'oh that doesn't happen anymore.' It was very much a pinch me moment.”
In addition to Smile and Smile 2, Finn’s other directorial credits include the shorts Laura Hasn’t Slept and The Hidebehind. He became a DGA member in 2021.