Years after a family tragedy, Dr Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) witnesses the gruesome death of a patient with a sinister smile. Plagued by terrifying visions, she turns to her ex and police officer Joel (Kyle Gallner) for help, hoping to change her fate before it is too late.
After the release of a terrifying trailer, and the genius marketing campaign of dead-eyed, smiling individuals turning up to live recorded events, Smile has finally dropped. One of my most anticipated for this year, my hype for this movie had reached fever pitch with what seemed like a promise of the creeping dread of It Follows. What unfolded in front of me felt a bit, well… flat.
Taking place years after a suicide in her family, Dr Rose Cotter has a good job as a clinical psychiatrist, is engaged to be married, and lives in a nice house. All the tropes point to something inevitably going wrong. She takes an emergency appointment at the end of shift, a young woman who claims to have visions of a hideous, smiling entity which have been tormenting her for a week, and proceeds to witness her patient committing grisly suicide in front of her with a piece of broken porcelain, all while sporting a hideous grin. From here, it is a race against time for Rose to get to the bottom of what is tormenting her before she meets the same dark fate.
WHEN THE “SMILER” IS IN PLAY, THE SENSE OF TERROR AND HOPELESSNESS IS VERY WELL HANDLED BY DIRECTOR PARKER FINN, WHO HAS A GREAT INTUITION FOR A LINGERING CLOSE-UP OF THE HORROR.
The main issue with Smile is its over-reliance on, mostly cheap, jump scares. Tension builds, a phone rings, and glass smashes. Tension builds, there’s a knock at the door, and glass smashes. Rinse, repeat. There is the odd well-earned jump – a particular scene involving headphones stands out. Pity then that this well-trodden horror path being continually used is to the detriment of the film. This is a shame because when the “smiler” is in play, the sense of terror and hopelessness is very well handled by director Parker Finn, who has a great intuition for a lingering close-up of the horror. And while the admittedly bleak ending doesn’t really land, Finn plays with the tension and some gruesome set pieces incredibly well.
As Rose, Sosie Bacon is far and away the standout here. Her progression from a confident sceptic to a paranoid victim is stark, both in her physical depiction and transformation as well as the psychological. A descent into almost madness that feels unstoppable, with you wishing she would be given even a slight ray of light to aim for. The rest of the cast is assured enough, Jessie T Usher as the struggling fiance, Kal Penn as the concerned boss, and Robin Weigert as the sympathetic psychiatrist, with Kyle Gallner giving most support as lovelorn ex and police officer, Joel. Gallner, who is starting to carve out quite the niche as a horror actor, handles the role well, giving off an air of stubbornness while also opening up emotionally when Rose needs it.
Smile won’t convert any new fans to the horror genre. It also won’t convince the group of gatekeeping classic horror fans that the genre is in a good place right now, but for fans of modern takes such as Gore Verbinski’s The Ring or, the more recent, first instalment of the Insidious franchise, it is more than worth an evening of your time.
SMILE IS PLAYING AT CINEMAS NATIONWIDE
CLICK THE POSTER BELOW TO WATCH THE SMILE TRAILER
