[Smile 2] [Spoilers] The ending starts the outbreak in the 28 days later universe.

Spoilers for Smile 2.

At the end of Smile 2, we see the main character off themselves on-stage in front of a large group of people, which by the rules set in the movie this will lead everyone to become infected.

Now you’re probably asking “Hey Drewgarr, how does this connect to 28 days later? Are you just grasping at straws here”

Well fellow Redditor, allow me to explain why. Throughout the movie, we learn that the villain is some sort of demonic being that latches itself onto people, causing them to go insane. However, we also learn that the way it transfers itself from host to host is by killing the host once it has fully taken over, the same way a parasite behaves.

Now you’re probably asking “Dude, are you saying that this demon parasite thing isn’t supernatural?” Channeling my inner Joseph Joestar, I call tell you that the reason the parasite has to kill its host is because it can’t live inside the host anymore. It’s explained in the movie that this parasite thing infects your brain and discards you once it’s taken over. The reason is because it feeds of adrenaline , the hormone that the brain produces when it feels fear, and what does the creature do? It makes the host feel fear. Now once the host is “brain dead” and no more Adrenalin is being produced, it needs a way out of the body and it has to do it through bodily fluids. That’s why it makes the host kill itself in such brutal ways and needs another person present, for the blood spatter. What I think happens is that the parasite is in fact spreading its eggs in the blood droplets, it’s a basic survival instinct.

You’re probably now saying “Wait, so if the parasite needs adrenaline to live and needs to pass itself onto another host, does this mean the thing is self-aware?” Tipping my fedora, I will tell you that kind of. Some parasites find ways to control its host and lead it to water, in this case it controls its host by making them go crazy and do what it wants. At the end of the movie, the main character has a conversion with the thing and it says “I enjoy wearing your skin”. This probably is a reference to her status as a public figure that can help spread its eggs to the general public. That’s why it waits to fully take over at the concert. In fact, the parasite even says “break a leg”. The thing knew the main character was going on stage and seeing the crowd, it knew that was the best time to spread its eggs.

Fans of both series will tell me “Alright Drewgarr, I get what your saying but how is this zombies and the rage virus takes seconds to take over the host and this things takes a week” Well, your right, it does takes seconds for someone to turn in 28 days later and the person isn’t a zombie when they turn. Got me there, but oh wait there is one detail, the parasite from Smile is actually evolving to take less time to take hold of the host. It’s explained in the movie that the brother of one of the characters took 7 days, the character in the beginning was at 6 days and the main character of Smile 2 lost it in about 4 days. The thing is evolving with every new host. Now that it has thousands of new hosts, it can evolve much quicker, seconds in fact. Also, once it has taken over, its instinct is to pass itself on through body fluids while controlling the host, you know like a zombie.

Now this is the part where you ask me “tie it all up for me “. Sure. TL:DR The villain in Smile 2 is actually a parasite that plants eggs in the human brain and causes it to experience fear so it can feed itself and its eggs from the adrenaline hormone. After which it needs to spread its eggs via body fluids so its kills the host in a way that splashes out blood droplets so it can infect others in area. Over time it evolves to take over a host in seconds because it got to spread itself at a large venue, leading to the world of 28 days later.

Hope you enjoyed this theory.