Smile
I know that Smile came out back in 2022 and I am a little late to the party. If you are a baseball fan, you probably heard about or saw the two goons that sat behind home plate in game 2 of the NLCS between the Dodgers and the Mets to promote the sequel, which releases October 18th. I honestly didn’t see them until someone pointed it out on X, but I remember them doing the same marketing scheme back in 2022 when Smile was being released. Seeing them do it again finally got me. I was ready to dive into these films, mostly so I wouldn’t be completely lost when I went to see the sequel. By the way, what a brilliant marketing idea, though a waste of two very, very expensive seats.
Smile follows Dr. Rose Cotter, a therapist who witnesses a traumatic incident involving a patient. After the patient takes their own life in front of her, Rose begins experiencing unsettling occurrences and visions, leading her to believe she is being haunted by a malevolent force. As she unravels the mystery, she discovers a horrifying connection to a curse that manifests through smiles, causing its victims to descend into madness.
So, back when it was released in 2022, I feel bad that I didn’t do much research into the film because I LOVE psychological horror films. But as much as it had me on the edge of my seat and had me cringing in some scenes, there were still some things I found a little corny, as most horror films do. Let’s start with the things I did like.
For starters, I felt that Sosie Bacon did a great job portraying Dr. Rose Kotter. Her character development as she descends into madness was chilling. I felt that there were a few instances that were a little too played out, but other than that, she was virtually flawless, leaving me unsure of what she would endure next. Along with some great supporting performances from Kal Penn, Caitlin Stasey (I wish we saw more from her!), Kyle Gallner, and Robin Weigert, each character contributed just enough to the film to let Bacon shine, or fall apart, however you want to phrase it.
I was also quite impressed with the cinematography of the film. Almost all the scenes had great depth, really making the audience feel that they needed to scope out the entirety of the scene, not just the focus point. There were multiple times that I caught myself gazing into the scene, rather than the focal point. On top of that, the upside-down footage added just enough to make you feel uneasy and uncomfortable – when you add in the score, they accented themselves perfectly.
As for the script, I thought it played out well, though as I stated earlier, I felt that some scenes were more for the “wow” or “shock” factor rather than attributing to the story, which I get it – it’s a horror film, but toward the final act, it did feel a little drug out. I have a few more qualms here, but I will get to that here in a second.
As there was plenty that I did like, it is not without flaw. One of the main issues I had with the film was the amount of jump scares it has. Now, I love a good jump scare – I think it helps keep audiences on their toes when there is a lot of dialogue or in-depth storytelling that can sometimes lose a member or two. The issue I had was that there are SO MANY. So many to the point where it is just…too much. Like I said, jump scares are great, but this story had so many chilling elements that it really didn’t need to rely on them so much. It almost got annoying.
Another, and this is kind of minor when compared to the story as a whole, is that the film starts off almost so quickly, that it didn’t even give Laura’s character a chance to “breathe”, if you will. I know that director Parker Finn wanted the film to get right into it, but Laura, played by Caitlin Stasey, could have had a little more time to give more depth and horror to the story. Instead, she has a few lines that she stutters out, shakes and freaks, then slices her own throat to give that shock factor all within the first twenty-ish minutes of the film. I feel that this may have been a missed opportunity, especially within the psychological horror genre.
My last qualm was the way that the film ended. You finally see Rose battle this massive trauma that she has clearly been bottling up for years and defeat it. The film is inherently over, and she can be a ‘final girl” that makes it out on top. But here comes Hollywood! They have to leave it on this weird note that this curse…continues? It just seemed to be out of left field, so farfetched, so unnecessary. I mean, if they wanted to leave it open ended, sure. But to seemingly pass it on to Joel? C’mon now. I know the sequel comes out soon, but judging by the preview, it has no ties to this story. I don’t know, maybe I’m being nitpicky, but that ending really made me roll my eyes.
All in all, Smile did do what horror movies do best – entertain and scare. The story was good until the end, when it seemingly wasn’t, but to say that I didn’t enjoy the ride would be a lie. I do like the psychological aspect and the elements of insanity and mental health, but again, some people love or hate psychological horror films. I just happen to be a sucker for them. I am curious to see if the sequel has any relation to this film, but we will see!
3/5