Unpredictable and Skin-Crawling: A Spine-Tingling Smile Review that Demands Your Attention!

Smile slipped by me upon release, and I passed it off as another modern horror tale to be thrown in the heap alongside countless others I’ve bypassed or forgotten about. I made a huge mistake dismissing Smile because it’s probably one of the few films I’ve watched of late that actually made my skin crawl. I shit you not, I was looking over my shoulder at night after I viewed it, it creeped me out pretty bad. If a movie has the ability to pull this off, I believe it’s worthy of your attention.

Smile begins with psychiatrist Rose Cotter, played by Sosie Bacon (13 Reasons Why), who witnesses a troubled patient commit a gruesome suicide in front of her. Rose also has a troubled past as we learn more about what she faced as a child as the story progresses. The young girl patient who committed suicide in front of Rose was smiling the most wide-eyed evil grin before carrying out the deed as if she was driven by some evil force inside her.

After this traumatic event Rose starts to experience bizarre torturous visions everywhere she goes. It begins to have a major lasting effect on her life ruining her relationship with her sister and her partner. Rose grasps at reality and wonders if she has finally snapped. She begins to dig into other similar cases with the help of friend/detective Joel, played by Kyle Gallner (Scream 2022, Ghosts of War). Rose unlocks the horrifying truth and realizes the first step is to confront her past trauma but is it enough to end the terrifying occurrences plaguing her existence?

Smile had me intrigued throughout its close to two-hour runtime. I could literally feel goosebumps as the terror unfolded. The scene at her nephew’s birthday party with the cat is seriously traumatizing. All the distorted faces and jump scares were truly unnerving. I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen next or what was going to be thrown at me scare wise. 

The storyline was not predictable and may have borrowed from films like The Ring for relying on cursed faces and twisted bodies or stuff like The Grudge but this is not a bad vibe especially if its effective. The ending was sudden and, in your face, but the climax had a twist and it definitely caught me off guard slapping me with a sense of dread and impending doom.

Smile exceeded my expectations and was a nice surprise plus it gave me the heebie-jeebies. Strong performances from the cast and the absence of teen horror was a nice departure honestly. If you are looking for a good scare, then this one comes highly recommended. Smile will have you jumping out of your skin. 

AKA: Something’s Wrong with Rose, Sonríe, Smile – Siehst du es auch?, Sorria, Усмивка, Sourire, Smiješak, Naeratus, Χαμογéλα, 魅笑, Mosolyogj, Brostu, Šypsena, Uśmiechnij się, Sorri, Zâmbește, Улыбка, Осмех, Nasmeh,스마일,微笑, Gülümse, Усміхайся, Cười

Directed by: Parker Finn
Written by: Parker Finn
Produced by: Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, Robert Salerno
Cinematography by: Charlie Sarroff
Editing by: Elliot Greenberg
Music by: Cristobal Tapia de Veer
Special Effects by: Amalgamated Dynamics
Cast: Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner, Jessie T. Usher, Robin Weigert, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Language: English
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h 55min

Studio: Paramount Players, Temple Hill Entertainment
Distributor: Paramount Home Entertainment