It takes a lot to get me to the theater these days, and after getting scammed by Longlegs (that should have been much better!) I am wary of making the trip for horror movies. As such, I was going to wait a bit for Smile 2 to come to streaming and now, it has.
The Smile sequel is one of the best-reviewed horror movies of the year, and certainly one of the best higher profile, theatrical ones. In terms of wide release, it’s probably a top entry up there with Heretic, The Substance and A Quiet Place: Day One with its 85% critic score and a very good 81% audience score to boot. In fact, it’s reviewing better than the original Smile, which had a 79% from critics and a 77% from fans, a somewhat rare “improved” sequel, albeit this can happen in the horror space more than most.
The bad news is that since Smile 2 just came to streaming, it’s only available for expensive rental or slightly more expensive purchase. That means on services like Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV, it costs $20 to rent and $25 to buy. Is that expensive? Yes, albeit I would argue that it is less than two tickets would be at the theater, plus you do not have to leave your house. For a movie like this, I’m not sure the theatrical experience is worth the extra cost, so I have no problem paying that to watch it at home with my family. Well, after my toddler goes to bed, in any case.
Here’s the official synopsis of Smile 2:
“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.”
One of the reasons to film seems to be reviewing better and is more highly praised than the original is because of Naomi Scott, the actor turning in a wildly different performance in this genre from her time as a rebooted Charlie’s Angel or playing Princess Jasmine in the live-action Aladdin movie. This is also the second horror movie this year to revolve around a pop star, as that was also true of Trap (where the star in question was played by M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter).
I’ll be watching Smile 2 as soon as I get a few spare hours here, and feel free to shell out for that rental if you want.
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