How strong are your facial muscles? That’ll be put to the test if you want to watch the first seven minutes of Smile 2 free online, courtesy of Paramount. And if you haven’t seen Smile 2 yet, it’s certainly a tempting offer: the scene in question explains the fate of one of the first Smile movie‘s few survivors: Joel, played by Kyle Gallner. But there’s a catch. Going to the Paramount site to watch the clip activates your webcam, and it will know if you stop smiling, even for a split second:
Busted! So to see what happens, you have to grin—fortunately, your expression doesn’t have to be as demonically exaggerated as the afflicted characters in the Smile movies, but it’s got to be somewhere between “polite listener” and “beauty pageant contestant.” Otherwise the footage will hit pause and remind you to turn that frown upside down.
It’s a shocking scene and frankly, the urge to stop smiling and make another, more horrified expression will be hard to resist as the twists and turns start happening. You’ll have to save your more knee-jerk reactions for when you’re actually watching Smile 2 in the theater, because this promo gimmick will cut you off until you comply with the rules. For what it’s worth, Smile 2 has already proven to be a box-office hit, so this is just Paramount being clever rather than desperate to lure in audiences.
Here’s the Smile 2 official synopsis: “About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.”
Written and directed by Parker Finn, who also made the first Smile in 2022, Smile 2 also stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Raúl Castillo, Dylan Gelula, and Ray Nicholson. It’s in theaters now. Watch the first seven minutes here, if you can properly express yourself the whole time.
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