This week marks our first sequel: Smile 2. We follow pop star Sky Riley as recovery becomes performance and her own body becomes something for everyone else to manage. Choreography turns predatory, the curse goes public, and we talk about where Smile 3 might take this mythology. Plus two very different songs: one about floating away, one about falling for the wrong pop star.
Citations
Bennett, Adam. “Smile 2: Rodeo FX on the Surrealist Visual Terror of a Horror Hit with Teeth.” LBB Online. 12 March 2024. https://lbbonline.com/news/smile-2-rodeo-fx-on-the-surrealist-visual-terror-of-a-horror-hit-with-teeth.
Edelbaum, Susannah. “’Smile 2’ DP Charlie Sarroff on Lighting a Curse-Afflicted Pop Star in the Big City.” The Credits. 29 October 2024. https://www.motionpictures.org/2024/10/smile-2-dp-charlie-sarroff-on-lighting-a-curse-afflicted-pop-star-in-the-big-city/.
Fraser, Emma. “How ‘Smile 2’ Uses Practical SFX Makeup to Generate Maximum Scares.” Backstage. 17 October 2024. https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/smile-2-makeup-designer-interview-77849/.
Gleiberman, Owen. "'Smile 2' Review: A Skillfully Disquieting Sequel Turns the Life of a Pop Star Into a Horror Ride of Mental Breakdown." Variety. 16 October 2024. https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/smile-2-review-naomi-scott-1236178126/. 
Gomez, Shirley. “Lukas Gage’s haunting transformation in ‘Smile 2’: Exclusive clip with FX Artist Jeremy Selenfriend.” Hola!. 2 December 2024. https://www.hola.com/us/entertainment/20241126732504/lukas-gages-transformation-smile-2-behind-the-scenes/.
Hunter, Rob. “30 Things We Learned from Parker Finn’s ‘Smile 2’ Commentary.” Dread Central. 21 February 2025. . https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/522757/30-things-we-learned-from-parker-finns-smile-2-commentary/.
Naahar, Rohan. “’Smile 2’Global Box Office Gives Audiences Something to Grin About.” Collider. 27 October 2024. https://collider.com/smile-2-global-box-office-83-million/.
Nolfi, Joey. "How Beyonce and Doja Cat's dancers brought Smile 2's stunning 'Cirque du Soleil from hell' sequence to life." Entertainment Weekly. 25 October 2024. https://ew.com/smile-2-apartment-dancers-scene-director-explains-beyonce-doja-cat-8730840?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
Saroff, Charlie. "Smile 2: Lighting a Pop Star's Meltdown." American Cinematographer. 4 October 2024. https://theasc.com/article/smile-2-lighting-sarroff/.
Taylor, Drew. “How ‘Smile 2’ Writer/Director Parker Finn Returned with a Super-Sized, Super-Successful Horror Sequel.” The Wrap. 25 October 2024. https://www.thewrap.com/smile-2-interview-parker-finn-horror-sequels/.
Tyler, Adrienne. “Smile 2 Fell Short of the Original’s Box Office Expectations But It’s Still a Massive Success.” Screen Rant. 6 December 2024. https://screenrant.com/smile-2-box-office-below-expectations-success-op-ed/.
Wilding, Josh. “Smile 2 Interview: Director Parker Finn on Designing the Entity and Taylor Swift’s Influence (Exclusive).” ComicBookMovie.com. 19 November 2024. https://comicbookmovie.com/horror/smile-2-interview-director-parker-finn-on-designing-the-entity-and-taylor-swifts-influence-exclusive-a214619.
Zilko, Christian. “For Naomi Scott, Playing a Troubled Pop Star in ‘Smile 2’ Meant Alternating Between Joyful Dance Rehearsals and Bloody Hallucinations.” Indie Wire. 26 October 2024. https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/naomi-scott-interview-smile-2-1235060424/.
 
Chapters
0:00:00 Intro0:08:25 Intro: Distribution & Reception00:20:24 Let's Make a Movie: Filmmakers00:29:46 Let's Make a Movie: Cast00:40:23 Let’s Make a Movie: Production00:50:21 Vibe Check: Cinematography01:00:43 Vibe Check: SFX01:06:00 Vibe Check: Music & Sound Design01:15:48 Story Time: Characters01:30:39 Story Time: Murder & Mayhem01:49:47 Story Time: Themes01:57:27 Open Mic02:08:18 Losing Light
 

We've been watching a lot of bad husbands. So we built a rubric. This encore to our Rosemary's Baby deep dive introduces our three-tier taxonomy of bad partners in horror - Trevors, Guys, and Billys - and the films that gave us each one. Plus the demo for our new song based on Rosemary's Baby.
 
Chapters00:00 Intro00:03:28 Tier 1: The Trevor00:08:28 Tier 2: The Guy00:16:46 Tier 3: The Billy00:29:45 Song Demo00:33:39 Losing Light

Rosemary's Baby Part 2: we finish what we started. Rosemary, Guy, and the entire Castavet operation get the deep dive they deserve - coercive control, bodily autonomy, and the Rosemary's Baby curse. Then both original songs, live for the first time, with a split perspectives gimmick.
 
Chapters
00:00 Intro05:24 Story Time: Characters24:18 Story Time: Murder, Mayhem & Myths47:55 Story Time: The Rosemary's Baby Curse52:31 Story Time: Themes1:08:41 Open Mic1:28:04 Losing Light

Rosemary's Baby is one of our all-time favorites, and it's easy to see why. Part 1 covers the film's production history, the real buildings behind the Bramford, the complicated legacy of its director, and the cinematography that turns a dream apartment into something much worse - all without a single special effect. No music this week, too much to cover everything in just one episode!
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro00:06:22 Distribution & Reception00:26:46 Let's Make a Movie: Filmmakers00:50:29 Let's Make a Movie: Cast01:02:39 Let's Make a Movie: Production01:11:46 Vibe Check: Cinematography01:29:14 Vibe Check: SFX01:32:47 Vibe Check: Music & Sound Design
Citations
Booker, M. Keith. “Rosemary’s Baby (1968): Director Roman Polanski”. Comments on Culture. 2026. https://bookerhorror.com/rosemarys-baby-1968-director-roman-polanski/.
Bose, Swapnil Dhruv. “Dissecting the curse of Roman Polanski’s horror classic ‘Rosemary’s Baby’.” Far Out Magazine UK. 24 November 2020. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/roman-polanski-horror-curse-rosemarys-baby/.
Eggert, Brian. “Rosemary’s Baby (1968).” Deep Focus Review. 7 October 2018. https://www.deepfocusreview.com/definitives/rosemarys-baby/.
Johnson, Eleanor. “Guy Horror: ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and Coercive Control.” Public Books. 12 June 2023. https://www.publicbooks.org/guy-horror-rosemarys-baby-coercive-control/.
Juneau, Jen. “Mia Farrow Recalls the Moment Frank Sinatra Served Her Divorce Papers on ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ Set.” 8 November 2024. Yahoo! Entertainment. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/mia-farrow-recalls-moment-frank-162038936.html.
Kirk, Sarah. “Rosemary’s Baby Film Analysis 1968”. Medium. 28 July 2021. https://sarahck36.medium.com/rosemarys-baby-film-analysis-1968-274d742dddb6.
Lyons, Kevin. “Rosemary’s Baby (1968).” The EOFFTV Review. 31 October 2019. https://eofftvreview.wordpress.com/2019/10/31/rosemarys-baby-1968/.
Nelson, Jillian. “’This is no dream! This is really happening!’: Rosemary’s Baby Horrific Reflections of Female Subjectivity in 1968 and Present-Day America.” Perisphere. 5 October 2025. https://www.perisphere.org/2025/10/05/this-is-no-dream-this-is-really-happening-rosemarys-babys-horrific-reflections-of-female-subjectivity-in-1968-and-present-day-america/.
Ramirez, Jake. “10 Eerie Tales From Behind the Scenes of Rosemary’s Baby.” Listverse. 22 July 2025. https://listverse.com/2025/07/22/10-eerie-tales-from-behind-the-scenes-of-rosemarys-baby/.
Waldron, Abigail. “[Roe]smary v Wade: Bodilyl Autonomy & Choice in ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ (1968).” Horror Press. 1 June 2022. https://horrorpress.com/editorials/1597/roesmary-v-wade-bodily-autonomy-choice-in-rosemarys-baby-1968/.
Williams, David E. “Beyond the Frame: Rosemary’s Baby.” American Cinematographer. 30 March 2017. https://theasc.com/article/beyond-the-frame-rosemarys-baby/.
Williams, Marisa. “Horrors of Domesticity: Rosemary’s Baby.” Digital Literature Review. 14 January 2020. https://blogs.bsu.edu/dlr/2020/01/14/horrors-of-domesticity-rosemarys-baby/.
 

20 deep dives in, we finally settled it - a horror villain draft from every film we've covered. Mrs. Voorhees, the Thing, Pazuzu, the Overlook Hotel, and more are all on the table. We close with Breaking Our Silence, our new song demo based on A Quiet Place.
 
The VillainsGhostface (Scream)Pazuzu (The Exorcist)Deadites (The Evil Dead)Black and White Zombies (Night of the Living Dead )Jerry Dandridge (Fright Night )The Thing (The Thing)Michael Myers (Halloween)The Crawlers (The Descent)Mrs. Voorhees (Friday the 13th)Billy (Black Christmas)Billy Chapman (Silent Night, Deadly Night)Death (Final Destination)Norman Bates (Psycho)Candyman (Candyman)Remmick and his vampires (Sinners)Russ Thorn (The Slumber Party Massacre)The Overlook Hotel (The Shining)Bill Roberts (Intruder)The Monstrosity (Smile)Death Angels (A Quiet Place)
 
00:00 Intro01:24 The Draft: Team Picks15:37 Final Scores & Rankings28:25 Song Demo: Breaking Our Silence

This week we tackled A Quiet Place, and one thing we’re completely sure of is that our family absolutely would not survive. John Krasinski's 2018 PG-13 creature feature is 91 minutes of the most efficient horror storytelling we've covered. We dig into Industrial Light & Magic’s last-minute creature redesign, the cochlear implant debate, and what it means to watch a parent-child horror film when your kids are close to the age of the kids on screen. And as always, we debut our new songs inspired by the film - John’s is a banger and Rachel’s has Disney chords.
Citations
Bishop, J.W. “How John Karsinski Created ‘A Quiet Place’.” Smithsonian Magazine. December 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/john-krasinski-created-quiet-place-180970716/.
Flaherty, Keely. “Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Monsters in ‘A Quiet Place’.” BuzzFeed. 11 April 2018.
Kincheloe, Pamela J. “’A Quiet Place’ Falls Into a Tired Trope About Deafness.” HuffPost. 16 April 2018. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/opinion-kincheloe-quiet-place-deaf-people_n_5ad10645e4b0edca2cb9acc6.
Krasinski, John. “The Making of A Quiet Place”. Empire. 20 April 2018. https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/making-quiet-place-john-krasinski/.
“Millicent Simmonds on Reprising Her ‘A Quiet Place’ Role.” Casting Frontier. 7 June 2021. https://castingfrontier.com/blog/blog-millicent-simmonds-on-reprising-her-quiet-place-role/.
Nichols, Mackenzie. “’A Quiet Place II’ Star Millicent Simmonds on Casting Hearing Actors as Deaf Characters: ‘It’s Not Fair’.” Variety. 28 May 2021. https://variety.com/2021/film/features/quiet-place-2-millicent-simmons-john-krasinski-1234977160/.
“Tom Wholley ‘11 On Creating Monsters for ‘A Quiet Place’.” Gordon College Alumni Stories. 8 December 2021. https://www.gordon.edu/stories/tom-wholley-11-on-creating-monsters-for-a-quiet-place.
Trapunski, Charles. “Interview: A Quiet Place’s Noah Jupe.” 9 July 2018. Brief Take. https://brieftake.com/interview-a-quiet-place-noah-jupe/.
Van Horn, Shawn. “John Krasinski Completely Changed ‘A Quiet Place’ Monsters at the Last Second.” Collider. 29 May 2024. https://collider.com/john-krasinski-a-quiet-place-monsters/.
Waxler, Caroline. “Episode 8: John Krasinski, ‘A Quiet Place’”. On Writing. 7 December 2018. https://www.wgaeast.org/onwriting/john-krasinski-a-quiet-place/.
Wiese, Jason. “Millicent Simmonds: 5 Cool Things to Know About A Quiet Place Part II Actress.” Cinema Blend. 7 June 2021. https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2568520/millicent-simmonds-cool-things-to-know-about-a-quiet-place-part-ii-actress.
 
Chapters
00:00 Intro 06:26 Intro: Distribution & Reception 21:53 Let's Make a Movie: Filmmakers 33:03 Let's Make a Movie: Cast 40:31 Let's Make a Movie: Production 49:56 Vibe Check: Cinematography 56:39 Vibe Check: SFX 1:04:09 Vibe Check: Music & Sound Design 1:12:53 Story Time: Characters 1:31:30 Story Time: Murder & Mayhem 1:52:20 Story Time: Themes 2:08:41 Open Mic 2:22:14 Losing Light

We're taking a look at contagious curse horror - comparing Smile, It Follows, and The Ring on everything from how each curse works to the moral weight of passing one on, plus a few more curse films for good measure. Plus John's Smile Song studio demo makes its world debut!
 
00:00:00 Intro 00:04:29 Smile (2022)00:07:14 It Follows (2014)00:18:20 The Ring (2004)00:28:34 Drag Me to Hell and Talk to Me00:35:24 Studio Demo00:39:29 Losing Light

We dig into Smile (2022) - a film that works so hard to make you feel terrible that you can't help but respect it. Parker Finn's debut feature, Sosie Bacon's breakout lead, practical creature effects, and a trauma curse that hits different two years after a pandemic. Plus two original songs inspired by the film, gimmick: no names.
Citations
Eagan, Daniel. “Smile DP Charlie Sarroff Reveals Which Films He Turned to for Visual Inspiration, and How He Made Sosie Bacon's Heroine Feel Vulnerable and Lonely.” M&E. 27 October 2022. https://mande.net/btl/crafts/smile-dp-charlie-sarroff-interview.
Friedman, Illya. “Charlie Sarroff, cinematographer of the horror films Smile and Relic.” Cam Noir: The Cinematography Podcast. 12 October 2022. https://www.camnoir.com/ep187/.
Marsman, Michiel. “Making People Uncomfortable is My Job - Cristobal Tapia de Veer on Scoring Smile.” Free Run Artists. 25 March 2025. https://freerunartists.com/making-people-uncomfortable-is-my-job-cristobal-tapia-de-veer-on-scoring-smile/.
Parkinson, Helen. “Smile for the camera.” British Cinematographer. https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/charlie-sarroff-smile/.
Puccio, Anthony. “How Paramount’s ‘Smile’ Movie Blended Marketing with Live Sports.” Boardroom. 20 February 2003. https://boardroom.tv/smile-movie-paramount-live-sports-marketing/.
Taylor, Brian. “Sosie Bacon Interview - Smile.” The Cine-Men. 24 September 2022. https://thecinemen.com/2022/09/24/sosie-bacon-interview-smile/.
Wass, Mike. “Scoring ‘Smile,’ Sans Strings or Synths: How the Composer Made a Horror Hit Even Creepier With an Unusual Instrument.” Variety. 14 October 2022. https://variety.com/2022/music/news/smile-horror-score-music-composer-1235404446/.
00:00 Intro00:06:40 Intro: Distribution & Reception00:20:36 Let's Make a Movie: Filmmakers00:26:57 Let's Make a Movie: Production00:31:45 Let's Make a Movie: Cast00:40:27 Vibe Check: Cinematography00:55:15 Vibe Check: SFX01:00:59 Vibe Check: Music & Sound Design01:09:04 Story Time: Characters01:24:58 Story Time: Murder & Mayhem01:40:45 Story Time: Themes01:52:12 Open Mic02:05:59 Losing Light