For decades, scary movies have been one of Hollywood’s most reliably lucrative genres and a mainstay of the independent film business.

If the writer-director had to pitch a third installment tomorrow, he loves the idea of going "bigger and more off the rails," while also focusing on the "human, character-driven, intimate nature to the storytelling.

Director Parker Finn beat the odds with the first “Smile” film. Shot for $17 million, the 2022 horror turned into a box office behemoth grossing over $200 million worldwide. So while shooting “Smile 2,