STACK #244 February 2025

MOVIE FEATURE

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ALL SMILES Although the Smile movies may initially seem like formulaic teen slashers, they're anything but, and the follow-up to the hit 2022 film is a certified banger! GENRE: Horror mystery RUN TIME: 2h 12m

D irector Parker Finn returns to the series, building on the foundation of the first instalment while resisting the temptation to repeat himself. Instead, he delivers a true follow-up with new characters, a broader exploration of themes, and a fresh aesthetic. Having two very distinct instalments, each with a voice of their own, it would be reasonable to assume that Finn had a franchise in mind that was mapped out from the outset, but that wasn't the case at all, he revealed when chatting with STACK . “Never in a million years would I have anticipated what could have happened with it,” he says, recalling his time making the original 2020 short film. I chased that idea and that eventually became the first Smile . But as far as franchise ambitions, no, I would never have been so audacious to think that would happen.” The new one is far more ambitious than the first, setting its story against the backdrop of a pop music tour, complete with stadium venues and choreographed dance sequences. VENOM Venom:The Last Dance sees the inimitable Tom Hardy reprise his dual role as Eddie Brock/Venom - one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters - for the final film in the trilogy. GENRE: Action sci-fi RUN TIME: 1h 49m FILMS THAT INFLUENCED PARKER FINN

Naomi Scott with director Parker Finn

• Smile 2 is out Feb 12

“I wanted to continue the creeping sense of dread that was in the first one, but of course it has its own identity and metabolism. I wear all of my inspirations on my sleeve, and I'm constantly chasing Kubrick, and I love Giallo, I love Japanese horror.” Smile and Smile 2 are such refreshing additions to the horror genre that a third film feels inevitable. “There's a tonne of directions we could go,” Finn admits, “but I want to make sure that if there is more Smile to tell, that people don't see it coming.” Glenn Cochrane

LIKE THAT? YOU'LL LOVE THESE! Smile Longlegs The Substance Us 28 Weeks Later

Ringu, Rosemary's Baby, Safe, Cure

• Venom: The Last Dance and Venom 3 Film Collection are out Feb 12

E ddie - human host to alien symbiote Venom - is on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on their last dance. For director Kelly Marcel, the film

meet in the first film. In Venom: Let There Be Carnage , they’ve

deep in the cosmos. Over the years, Marcel has formed a close bond with

Set in a separate continuity from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe explores darker, anti-hero driven narratives within Spider Man's world. The films in this canon, in order of release, are: Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), Morbius (2022), Madame Web (2024), Venom: The Last Dance (2024), and Kraven: The Hunter (2024).

got the seven year itch and they break up. Now, as we conclude their story, they have finally learned to live with each other, but will they be able to stay together?” she asks. Picking up where the previous film left off, Eddie and

Hardy, 47, even co-writing The Last Dance ’s script. “We spent a week in a hotel in London just bashing out the story from morning ‘til morning. Tom and I agreed that this movie needs to be the biggest, most amped up Venom of them all,” she says. “Working with Tom is just really fun. He’s one of my best mates, and he’s incredibly smart. He understands these characters inside and out, and he’s a fountain of ideas,” she says of the duo which has given Hardy a chance to portray a relationship that’s “part spectacular, part absurd.” Gill Pringle

is many things: the climax of a thrilling trilogy, a high-stakes showdown against an unstoppable alien threat

Venom are on the run after defeating Cletus

... and the most lethal bromance in the galaxy. “The Venom trilogy is a classic rom-com, really,” laughs Marcel. “Eddie Brock and Venom

Kasady and his symbiote, Carnage. That showdown revealed Venom’s existence - not just to authorities on Earth but to a ruthless adversary

Director Kelly Marcel andTom Hardy

ADD THE WHOLE TRILOGY TO YOUR COLLECTION

Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Venom: The Last Dance

26 FEBRUARY 2025

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