In an early scene in “Smile 2,” fictional pop superstar Skye Riley finds herself in her drug dealer’s apartment. “Do you believe in strange things?” he asks her, between doses of coke.

That’s sure to happen after this horror romp – the second film from writer-director Parker Finn that suddenly opens up the franchise with the promises of multiple directions in the future. But not for that drug dealer: he soon smiles demonically at her while repeatedly punching a 35-pound gym weight in the head, turning it into a hamburger.

“Smile 2” lands as disturbing grins are plastered on pumpkins and politicians alike as we approach Halloween and Election Day, and the psychotic, overly concocted clues of “Joker: Folie à Deux” have put a brave face on their terrible box office numbers.

So it’s the perfect time for a sequel The ‘smile’ of 2020 who bridged the gap between them elevated art horror And straight up, unapologetic slasher. Finn gets glory this time, a better tonal match than the generational trauma of the first. It’s a meditation on breakdowns in the public eye, with a side order of body horror.

We pick up six days after the last film, but they’re barely connected – a single character for a few minutes – as we watch a demon force his victims to smile before meeting a gruesome ending that eats its way into the Low level drug game.

The evil entity will eventually resemble our heroine, Skye, a fictional Grammy-winning pop superstar, similar to if Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus had a baby. We meet her a year after a horrific car accident that killed her famous boyfriend and left her with a Vicodin addiction and rumors about whether she had anything to do with it. That drug dealer has now infected Skye, but she has no idea what awaits her (or what awaits, the great work of Cristobal Tapia de Veer).

Something to really shine is the leading lady Naomi Scott going all the way, all snot, smeared blood and with big eyes, full of fear. Scott manages to pour her humanity into the role: diva, whining, defiant, tense, panicking. She even sings on the soundtrack – songs that are credible hits.

The smile demon clashes with Skye as she’s about to launch a comeback tour and the pressure is on. Finn is at his best here, mocking TV interviews – a Drew Barrymore cameo, a nice touch – full of self-work and apologies: “I disappointed you and I promise this will never happen again.” Her management demands that she show up “smiling and reading from the teleprompter.” Skye’s mother – who is on the payroll – is of little help: “You need to stay hydrated,” she tells her after Skye is clearly tormented.

Finn has become a much more confident filmmaker and uses humor so well here, from evil gangsters enjoying pumpkin frappuccinos to our heroine googling “Does vomit have DNA?” He still loves jump scares, blood splatters and gross-out tricks, like a body being dragged by a truck until it’s just a smear of viscera. In one delightful moment, Skye is chased by demonic backup dancers, a Bob Fosse-meets-“Thriller” sequence.

Finn also has a ball and puts his heroines in hair-raising situations. In the first film, a murdered cat was bundled into a child’s birthday present. In this one it is an improvised speech for people from the music industry that goes horribly off the rails. He has a deeper purpose: how can we silence those voices in our heads that tell us we are no good?

Finn’s script lags at times as he searches for an ending for “Smile 2,” seemingly in two minds before actually delivering both, kicking off dream sequences and alternate timelines like a squid pumping out ink to cover its tracks delete. More than two hours ends up being too long.

But he’s found a great satirical target, easily resurrecting a third film and presenting a new rising star to watch. That’s a reason to, well, laugh.

“Smile 2,” a Paramount Pictures release that lands in theaters Friday, is rated R for “strong bloody, violent content, creepy images, language throughout and drug use.” Running time: 127 minutes. Three stars out of four.