For decades, horror movies have attracted an enthusiastic base of viewers, eager to witness the age-old fight of good vs. evil play out on the big screen.

We've all seen this with Ed and Lorraine Warren battling various demons, the Lambert family going up against the evil spirits from Insidious, and the Final Girls of the Scream series combatting unhinged, masked killers.

More often than not, the protagonists ultimately prevail, allowing viewers to leave theaters feeling hopeful. Other times, the good guys suffer a loss in the first film, yet triumph in the sequel that comes next.

Smile, followed by its newly released sequel, Smile 2, completely subverts this. In doing so, it begs the question...why should viewers watch?

The demoralizing message of the Smile universe

In both Smile and Smile 2, the parasitic demonic entity that feeds off human trauma ultimately wins. Despite protagonists Rose Cotter and Joel (from Smile) and Skye Riley (from Smile 2) fighting the good fight, reaching out to loved ones, and even attempting to combat the trauma from their pasts (which the demon feeds upon), none of it matters.

Each of these characters meets grisly, destructive fates. Skye's death in Smile 2 is the most tragic of all. As the demonic entity possesses and kills her on a stage before thousands, the curse spreads, dooming an untold number of people to be haunted and murdered within one week's time.

The underlying message of the Smile universe is that no matter what you do - be it confronting your demons from the past, reaching out to people who love you, or even sacrificing yourself to spare others from harm - none of it can stop evil from winning.

Such a message is not only demoralizing, but it also calls into question the motivation for watching Smile films. Surely, some movie goers will see Smile 2 in the hopes of Skye Riley accomplishing what Rose and Joel couldn't.

Sadly, those viewers are in for a disappointment.

Smile creators still have time to right this wrong

If the demonic entity from Smile continues to prevail in its terror and ultimate destruction of likable protagonists, there's little reason for viewers to become invested in these movies.

However, the ending of Smile 2 creates plenty more room to flesh out the story of a new protagonist who overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds. Should the creators decide to greenlight another sequel, a satisfying ending can only entail the long-overdue defeat of this universe's Smile demon.