Smile 2: Drew Barrymore Makes the Most Unexpected Return to Horror Genre 28 Years After Meeting a Gruesome Fate in ‘Scream’

A smile, one of the most positive facial expressions, was the novelty factor of the blockbuster horror movie Smile and will do the same for Smile 2. As the name suggests, a smile is the haunting element of the story, and it effectively wipes the smiles off everyone’s faces, leaving them in a state of utter terror.

After the movie earned critical acclaim and emerged as the highest-grossing original horror movie of the year, it did not take long for the producers to green-light a sequel. The film is due to be released right in time for the spooky season and will follow another gruesome sequence of events. What is even more interesting is that they have added Scream queen Drew Barrymore to the mix this time.

Drew Barrymore is All Set to Make a Return to the Horror Genre with Smile 2

Drew Barrymore has been in the acting industry since she was a baby. Her first gig was a dog food commercial, and her screen debut came with a small role in the 1980 movie Altered States. It has to be noted that this was the first of the many horror movies she has appeared in throughout her career.

Barrymore went on to star in sci-fi horror movies and pure horror movies such as Firestarter, Cat’s Eye, Donnie Darko, and Scream. The last of these is the movie that she has been most known for. However, that was also the last time she lived up to the scream queen reputation that she established.

Almost 3 decades later, she is making a return to the genre in the most iconic way possible. She will be seen in Smile 2, a sequel to the 2022 psychological supernatural horror film. In the recently released trailer of the film (via YouTube), she can be seen in the role of an interviewer which is similar to her current real-life job as the host of The Drew Barrymore Show.

The upcoming movie will follow a popstar, Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), with increasing stardom, who is about to begin her world tour. However, things take a dark turn when she becomes the first-hand witness of an old friend’s suicide and becomes haunted by the smiling face of the victim. By the looks of it, Barrymore’s character will be interviewing Skye at some point in the film.

Drew Barrymore’s Character Had a Tragic End in Scream

The success of the 1996 slasher horror movie spawned an entire franchise that remains one of the most terrifying horror franchises to date. Barrymore starred as Casey Backer in the movie’s opening scene. Although her role was short-lived, it set the tone for the rest of the movie.

In the scene, Casey has a tense and terrifying phone conversation with the masked killer, Ghostface before getting brutally attacked. Ghostface chases her outside her home as she tries to escape him. Unfortunately, she is caught and then Ghostface stabs her multiple times.

Even after this, she manages to escape him for a couple of seconds and tries to call out to her parents who have just returned home. She fails to do that because of her intense injuries and is dragged across the lawn by Ghostface with the call receiver still in her hand. When her parents finally discover her, all they find is her lifeless body hanging from a tree. This gruesome ending is considered one of the most iconic and memorable scenes from a horror movie.

Smile 2 is scheduled for release on October 18, 2024. Scream (1996) is available for streaming on Max.