The Joey King Flop That's Getting A Second Chance On Amazon Prime Video

Second chances are rare in the movie business, and once a film is labelled a flop, there's typically no turning back from that dubious tag. But as the streaming era continues to reconfigure the nature of the movie business, so too has it helped reshape the nature of the supposed "flop," with platforms continuing to offer viewers additional chances to watch films that may or may not have actually deserved such an unsavory label. Steamers also offer subscribers the opportunity to discover countless movies starring their favorite actors that they might've missed altogether.

At the intersection of these two facts is 2018's The Lie, led by Joey King, whom you may recognize from Hulu's The Act, the instant-classic horror flick The Conjuring, the first season of FX's award-winning crime anthology series Fargo, or Netflix's breakout teen rom-com The Kissing Booth. This little-seen thriller from King's recent past is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, and those with a subscription should add it to their queue ASAP.

The Lie finds King sharing the screen with heavy-hitters like Peter Sarsgaard (Jarhead, An Education, The Batman) and Mireille Enos (AMC's The Killing, World War Z) in a story about a tragically misguided teen keeping secrets that are destined to tear her entire life apart.  

Adapted from the 2015 German film We Monsters, The Lie was produced by genre powerhouse Blumhouse Productions (Get Out, The Invisible Man), and premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. The film did not, however, receive a proper theatrical release. Blumhouse instead opted to include The Lie in its "Welcome to the Blumhouse" anthology series, produced in partnership with Amazon Studios.  

The Lie made its Amazon Prime Video debut in October 2020, alongside fellow "Welcome to the Blumhouse" pick Black Box. Unfortunately, The Lie didn't exactly excite critics, with the film earning a 43 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Many may feel that The Lie suffers from a series of second- and third-act twists that become increasingly baffling, but even so, the film largely remains a moody, unsettling piece of work that underscores the disintegration of a fractured family brought back together under unconscionable circumstances.

The Lie opens innocently enough: with Jay Logan (Sarsgaard) and his daughter Kayla (King) en route to an isolated ballet retreat. Things get weird after they stop to offer a ride to Kayla's best friend Britney (Devery Jacobs), who goes missing after Jay pulls over and the two girls get out to use the bathroom in the woods. As the saying goes, lies beget only more lies, and once Kayla offers a doozy of her own, it initiates a downward spiral for her, her divorced parents, and Britney's parents. 

That spiral is both heartbreaking and profoundly unnerving — all anchored by a strong turn from = King, who remains one of the most compelling up-and-comers to hit Hollywood in recent years. Check The Lie out on Amazon Prime Video today to see for yourself.