Spooky Season Might Be Over, But One Of 2024’s Best Horror Sequels Is Now Streaming

Although Smile 2 couldn’t quite outdo its predecessor Smile at the box office, the critically acclaimed hit was still one of 2024’s best horror movies. 2024 has been a great year for horror. From indie efforts like I Saw The TV Glow to franchise installments like Alien: Romulus, the genre has managed to impress critics while also excelling at the box office. After 2022’s sleeper hit Smile bowled over both critics and audiences alike with its massive $217 million box office payday, the pressure was well and truly on for director Parker Finn’s sequel.

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8 Clues To Smile 2’s Twist

Smile 2 follows pop star Skye Riley as she takes on the Entity, the story coming with a wild twist ending that is hinted at throughout the movie.

Fortunately, by Smile 2’s ending, any fears of the franchise falling off had been thoroughly eradicated. Picking up almost immediately after where Smile left off, Smile 2’s fast-paced story landed Naomi Scott’s privileged pop star Skye Riley with a curse that drives its victims to take their own lives after seven days. Smile 2’s Skye Riley is a uniquely complex, compelling horror protagonist, and her twisty story is filled with as many thrills, chills, and shocks as the original movie. Now, viewers can stream Smile 2 on Paramount+.

Smile 2 Is Now Streaming On Paramount+ – Why It’s Worth Watching

Smile 2 Outdid Its Already Impressive Predecessor

Smile 2 managed to pull off a rare feat when the horror sequel not only impressed critics but outdid its predecessor among reviewers. Smile 2’s 86% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes is a 7% improvement on Smile‘s already impressive 79% rating, and this highlights just how much Finn’s ambitious sequel successfully built on the original movie’s premise. Where Smile was a self-contained psychological horror that followed the slow unraveling of Sosie Bacon’s isolated therapist Rose, Smile 2’s opening sequence alone marks the sequel out as a bigger, better story.

Smile 2 begins with a mesmerizing one-take scene that clues viewers into the fate of Smile’s sole survivor. The sequel then switches its focus to Skye, a troubled pop star recovering from a traumatic car accident and trying to get her career back on track. After witnessing a horrifying event, Skye is plagued by a bizarre problem. People will not stop smiling at her with glassy, empty eyes, and Skye can’t tell whether they are hallucinations or real. This marks the start of her descent into unhinged terror, eventually culminating in one of the year’s most unpredictable endings.

2022’s Smile Is Also Available On Paramount+

Smile Sets Up Smile 2’s Creepy Psychological Horror Story

Although Smile 2’s twist ending works even if viewers never saw the original movie, it is a good thing that Smile is also available to stream on Paramount+. The 2022 original isn’t necessarily required viewing since Smile 2 helpfully explains the curse and how it seems to work during the movie’s second act. However, Smile does provide more context for viewers and its more somber, less surreal storyline is a perfect tonal compliment to Smile 2. Where Smile 2’s more-is-more approach lurches from one wild set piece to the next, Smile is more slow and deliberate.

Smile’s slower pace offers a creepier introduction to the world of the franchise, whereas Smile 2 starts fast and never lets up until its outright wild ending. Another reason to watch Smile is that Smile 2 is missing the original movie’s most unexpected shock, and the sequel’s fear factor is diminished a little by cutting this all-important scare. Ultimately, the tone of the two movies diverges enough for both Smile and Smile 2 to warrant a viewing, although viewers really should watch the original movie before the sequel and not the other way around thanks to their twisty nature.

Why Smile 2 Is One Of The Best Horror Movies Released In 2024

Smile 2 Stood Out Even In A Year Of Great Horror Movies

Smile 2’s fast pace and blackly comedic twists make it one of 2022’s best horror movies, as the sequel provided levity that was missing from its predecessor and a non-stop barrage of scares missing from the year’s other strongest horror outings. Alien: Romulus had a draggy opening act, while director Oz Perkins’ sleeper hit Longlegs was terrifying but atypically slow-paced. The Substance shared Smile 2’s canny show business satire but wasn’t traditionally scary, while I Saw The TV Glow was more existentially unsettling than outright terrifying.

Late Night with the Devil came closest to replicating Smile 2’s marriage of satirical commentary on the entertainment industry and straightforward scares, but Smile 2’s killer twist ending beat that indie’s comparatively predictable conclusion. As a result, Smile 2 succeeded because the sequel offered something that none of 2024’s other major horrors had. After 2022’s comparatively slow Smile, Smile 2 was a brutal, non-stop rollercoaster ride that still had something to say and characters worth caring about amid all its plentiful scares.

Sources: Rotten Tomatoes

Director

Parker Finn

Release Date

October 18, 2024

Distributor(s)

Paramount Pictures

Runtime

132 minutes