Halloween has passed, but Paramount Pictures wants to give you a treat for putting on a creepy face. In promotion of its horror smash hit Smile 2, Paramount Pictures has set up a website where you can watch some of the film for free if you shoot the biggest smile into your computer’s camera. But there’s a catch.
Seven minutes of Smile 2 will play uninterrupted as long as you smile directly into your camera for the entire duration. No, you can’t smirk your way through this one, as the scene will cut to a black screen and the message “Keep Smiling” will pop up if your smile isn’t up to the site’s demented standards. When I tried it, I could only get the video to keep playing if I fully stretched the corner of my lips as far as they could possibly go, until my cheeks were slightly in pain and I looked like a wax figure of The Joker that just took a hookah-sized inhale of laughing gas.
The scene you’re gifted for channeling your inner sociopath involves masked police officer Joel (Kyle Gallner), plagued with the Smile Entity’s curse, gutting a criminal from neck to waist with a knife, getting into a shootout that kills another criminal, and eventually meeting a tragic end, all in order to pass the curse on to someone else. Yes, you have to maintain a smile while watching blood, guts, and bullets fly around. Enjoy some new conversation topics for your next therapy session.
Luckily, if masochism isn’t really your thing, there’s a sane workaround. Once you establish the type of smile that gets you access to the footage, take a selfie with your phone and simply hold it up to your webcam. The site recognizes it as a legitimate smile, allowing you to freely watch the horrific scene with all of the fear, disgust, and disbelief that should paint your face.
Paramount Pictures has taken experiential marketing to a different level since its Smile promo went viral after the internet started noticing random people donning creepy smiles in crowds of live TV broadcasts. Their efforts appear to be working just as well this time around. Released October 18, the Parker Finn-directed psychological thriller has already grossed over $100 million worldwide, following it’s predecessor’s gargantuan $217 million global box office numbers.
So, if the money keeps coming in, you can expect this franchise to bring out the inner creep in you for years to come.