You will hear the movie’s title. Smile, you likely wouldn’t jump to presume that’s describing a psychological horror. But pair that title with any of the film’s promotional material, or at the end of the creepy-as-hell trailer, and the word starts to sound a lot more menacing. Is it possible to make a smiling person appear so threatening? Smile, from Paramount Pictures, is based on Parker Finn’s 2020 short film Laura Hasn’t SleptWe have the reviews to show how the director transformed his vision into a feature film.
SmileSosie Bacon stars as Dr. Rose Cotter. She begins to notice strange things after witnessing a traumatic event involving one her patients. Also starring are Jessie T. Usher and Kyle Gallner as well as Rob Morgan, Caitlin Stey, Kal Penn, Kal Penn, and Caitlin Stansey. We know this, however. “once you see it, it’s too late,”Baseball fans will never be the exact same again the movie’s wild marketing scheme, let’s let the critics weigh in on whether or not we should be planning a trip to the theater this weekend.
We’ll start with CinemaBlend’s review of SmileSarah El-Mahmoud gave the horror movie 4 stars out of 5. Parker Finn’s debut is “seriously ruthless and chilling,”Despite formulaic tendencies. She writes:
Yes, Smile is an incredibly enjoyable watch, but throughout there’s a merciless tone that will not let the tension break. You’ll need to take a moment to unclench your jaw after this one. If you’re a horror fan, you’ve seen something like Smile play out in a movie before, but Parker Finn demonstrates a firm grip on popular genre story devices in an effective way that drains the audience of ease, and it sets the film apart.
Tasha Robinson Polygon says Parker Finn has a way of telegraphing what’s about to happen, but in a way that seems intentional and doesn’t detract from the onslaught of jump scares and true scares. In the critic’s words:
Smile is often a silly, corny, or gimmicky horror film. The sheer number of jump-scares makes it border on ridiculous. Finn employs abrupt, loud sound cues, and extremely rapid cuts to get viewers screaming and shaking over even the simplest things, like Rose eating a hamburger and her hanging nails. But no matter how excessively the legitimate scares pile up, they’re startling and convincing. Editing and music are excellently tuned to maximise the effect of tension builds up slowly, ending abruptly with a shocking surprise. Smile is an enjoyable ride, even though it is unrelenting.
Marisa Mirabal of IndieWireNotes that the movie received a grade B-. SmileOther horror films about contagious death include The RingOder It followsThis adds to the ripple effect that depression or trauma can have. It is the expression, “Smile through the pain,”New context, this review states:
Smile manages to navigate unhealed trauma using a supernatural lens, mischievous juxtaposition and despite feeling like a shadow from other stories. With rare moments of dark comedy and irony, he is able to expose the forceful nature of society’s expectation to be happy and presentable despite the suffering that may lurk under one’s skin. Smile is a compelling and claustrophobic mental hellscape, which will make you smile and grimace.
Alan Cerny Vital Thrills scores SmileA 7/10, meaning that some of the best horror filmsThis one dives deep into psychological fear, trauma, and other topics. The critic says Sosie Bacon can deliver a heroine that the audience will root for.
Some will. [explore trauma] effectively, some won’t. Smile does it effectively. Some of it gets derivative, but that’s the nature of the genre – what good is the jump scare if we don’t laugh a little at it afterwards? That’s part of the fun. I did admire how bleak the film gets in the third act – Parker Finn seems to enjoy throwing us into a deep hole and filling it up with dirt, seeing if we can scramble our way out, and for that to work you have to give us a protagonist we care about, and Bacon does that very well.
The movie doesn’t work for everybody, however. Katie Rife of RogerEbert.comThe film gets 2.5 stars. The critic’s issues with the movie are mentioned in other reviews as well but made for an overall less satisfactory experience for this writer, who says:
Smile, which has made the concept into an almost two-hour-long movie from an 11-minute clip, relies too heavily on formulaic mystery plotting and horror themes and imagery from hits like It Follows and The Ring. David Robert Mitchell’s 2014 film is an especially prominent, let’s say, influence on Smile, which, combined with its placement on the ‘it’s really about trauma’ continuum, make this a less bracing movie experience than it might have been had it broken the mold more aggressively.
If SmileIf this sounds like your cup, then you can see it in theaters beginning on Friday, September 30. After that, take a look at other movies upcoming horror movies. Regardless of your choice, we recommend that you visit our 2022 Movie Release CalendarTo plan your next trip to the theatre.