Supernatural horror film Smile 2 is expected to start streaming later this month, but you can catch the first seven minutes for free now — as long as you don’t mind smiling for seven minutes straight.
That sounds far easier than it is. I only lasted about 20 seconds before starting to feel like my face had permanently frozen into a bad impression of The Joker.
The opening clip is available on a dedicated Paramount Pictures website. All you have to do to see the start of the R-rated film is enter your birthdate and smile into the webcam on your phone or laptop activate the interactive technology. “Watch the first seven minutes… only if you smile,” text above the video box reads.
As soon as you stop smiling, the clip pauses. Grin again and the footage resumes. When I tried using my smile as a controller, the system responded even to the slightest upturn at the corners of my mouth. You’ll see your face appear in a little in-picture box with an outline that turns green when you turn your frown upside down, and red when you get somber again.
It’s amusing controlling the clip by quickly alternating between smiling and not smiling, though consider doing so at your own peril, as your indecisive facial contortions could strike passersby as a tad creepy.
Smile 2, the sequel to the 2022 hit horror blockbuster Smile, stars Naomi Scott as pop star Skye Riley, who’s recovering from drug addiction and a devastating car crash that seriously injured her and killed her boyfriend. She starts to experience physical and auditory hallucinations, including of people eerily smiling at her, which causes her mental health to decline.
“Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her past,” the film’s logline reads.
The movie opened in theaters on Oct. 18, and has consistently landed in top box office rankings. Critics have reviewed the film favorably, and it currently has an 86% “fresh” rating on reviews aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.
Smile 2 is expected to arrive Nov. 19 on video-on-demand platforms such as Prime Video, AppleTV and Vudu. That means you’ll soon be able to watch the movie from start to finish without cracking so much as a smirk.
