We’ll be wary of all smiles from now on.
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Why anyone would turn something as positive as smiling into a sinister notion is beyond us but it paid off for writer-director Parker Finn in his feature film debut.
Based on his 2020 short film Laura Hasn't Slept, Smile follows Dr. Rose Cotter who starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain after witnessing a bizarre and traumatic incident involving a patient. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her scarred past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality. The film stars Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn, and Rob Morgan.
Smile is an ominous offering that's anxiety-inducing in the best way a film of its kind can be. Relying on its clean cinematography and bone-chilling score to set the tone, you’ll catch yourself anticipating a scare at every moment and turn throughout. It adequately balances its style and substance to match the conciseness of its uncomplicated title.
Bacon pulls a Toni Collette-in-Hereditary with her first major leading role as Dr. Cotter in this supernatural thriller. Getting to witness the display of her talent as a put-together psychiatrist descending into madness is a treat in its own if viewers are looking for something more than the usual genre offerings of jump scares, gory scenes, and supernatural entities.
While its main premise may reminisce horror films of the past (think The Ring, It Follows), viewers will appreciate Smile’s attempt at effectively refreshing the trope and doubling down with an underlying childhood trauma that haunts our lead–the real horror of the film.
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