MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Supernatural Psychological Horror/Stars: Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey, Jessie T. Usher, Rob Morgan, Kal Penn, Robin Weigert, Judy Reyes, Gillian Zinser, Dora Kiss, Kevin Keppy, Nick Arapoglou, Sara Kapner, Jack Sochet/Runtime: 115 minutes
I think it’s safe to say that for a lot of us, the look on a person’s face known as the smile is not only a look that all of us have seen at one time or another in our lives, but is also one that (by our more optimistic definitions) is supposed to represent contentment, positivity, cheer, and good tidings to the person it is being displayed to. At the same time though, it should be said that there are moments where there can definitely be something….off within the parameters of a smile. This is because, though we might not care to admit it to others let alone ourselves, there are moments where either it is by no stretch of the imagination genuine or it can operate as a facial disguise for the person to hide how they are truly feeling about a given individual or set of circumstances. However, it could also be the last thing you lay eyes on in this world before something a heck of a lot more ominous and terrifying consumes you and changes you from the inside out in a way that might not exactly be to your liking. It is that last item incidentally that is the crux of the newest horror slice of cinema Smile and I will be the first to admit that, based off the first trailer that I got for this film, I really did feel like this was going to one film that seriously sucked in every sense of the word. Thankfully, I can say that is one belief that was completely proven to be in the wrong and I really did dig the heck out of this film. Indeed here is a film that is less a film and more a waking nightmare that, with the aid of potent work on both sides of the camera and a surprisingly gripping and quasi-sorta thought-provoking narrative, will not only prove to be a film for all you horror aficionados out there to enjoy with zeal, but might also prove to be the catalyst for you all of a sudden really thinking twice the next time you see someone on the street look right at you and proceed to flash a big grin in your direction.
The plot is as follows: Smile gets its terrifying narrative underway by introducing us to our main heroine, one Rose Cotter. Rose, we are quickly able to perceive, is a skilled and talented yet saddled with some severe traumatic baggage and more than just a wee bit overworked doctor who is part of a top-notch emergency psychiatric unit. Yet for as chaotic as things have been as of late for our heroine, we soon see that things are about to take a turn for the ominous. A turn that begins when, just as she is on her way out the door following another hectic day at the office, she is asked to assess a young woman by the name of Laura who has just tragically witnessed her college professor kill himself. To that end, we see that when our heroine heads into the room where Laura is being held, she encounters an extremely anxious young woman who is all but pleading for anyone to believe the story she has to tell. That story being that she is being mercilessly harassed by…..something that is only visible to her that also enjoys just looking at her and smiling even as it changes how it looks to be a wide variety of people and deliver a threat of her impending demise. However, when it looks like our heroine is about to become the latest person to join the ever-growing group of people who don’t believe her, we see this young woman engage in a full-blown panic attack complete with convulsions before eerily standing up, smiling, and slitting her throat nearly from ear to ear with the remnants of a vase in the room that was broken during her convulsive episode right in front of our terrified out of her mind heroine. Now normally in a lot of cases this particular event would mark the end of our particular story, but in the case it most assuredly is not. Rather, in this case this event will prove to be the beginning of a road that will not only force our heroine to reexamine the traumas of her past that she has attempted to ignore for so long, but also bring her face to face with an evil that will chill her to the bone and bring into her life a terrifying new meaning to the phrase “smile through your pain” whilst also making it into a horrific reality…..
Now I know a lot of you might have thought like I did that this slice of cinema would be one that is rooted in a concept that is equal parts ridiculous yet also perversely fun in quite a few respects, but trust me when I say that this is most assuredly not the case with this slice of cinema by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, this slice of cinema instead is a terrific mixture consisting of both jump-scares a plenty and an ever-present feeling of dread like the one present in Hereditary from 2018. At the same time, this movie might be one that fans of the horror genre have most likely seen time and time again, but trust me when I say that this film’s helmer, one Parker Finn, does a brilliant job at showcasing a steady handle on some genre narrative tropes in a manner that not only proves to be quite on-point at sapping you, the viewer of ever feeling like you are completely comfortable and as a result it helps to distinguish this film from the others like it including It Follows and The Ring. Plus, even though a horror film that comes equipped with quite a few jump scares aren’t as regarded by movie fans nowadays, this slice of cinema still deploys them in ways that are delightfully instantly iconic and perverted in equal measure. Indeed, there are quite a few instances throughout this film’s 115-minute runtime where you just feel like a jump scare is just around the bend, but this film knows that and so it deliberately takes an extra minute before deploying the scare in order to ensure it is able to fully sink its hooks into you. Along with that, I guess the main reason that the jump scares work on the level that they do is because this film deals quite a bit with the mind games that the nefarious villain of the piece plays on our poor helpless heroine. As a result, the frights on display are a key aspect of the narrative, but they also do a wonderful job of burrowing their way into your psyche and staying there from the beginning all the way to the visceral and chilling conclusion. Yet for those of you concerned that it’s just scares on display here and nothing of genuine substance I can thankfully tell you that is not the case as there is also a fairly gripping narrative at work here that can also function as a springboard to talk to the people you saw the movie with about the genuine terror that can be trauma that is rooted in one’s family to say nothing of how the ramifications of said trauma can be felt for years to come and in a variety of different ways. Thus, you can definitely just view this film as a straight up horror film, but for those who like a bit more meat to their horror film bone than just grisly gristle you should find a fair bit here to embrace as well. Perhaps the key example of this is the fact that I am definitely of the belief that people really don’t communicate as much as they ought to about how a person by choosing to put a smile on their face could very well be hiding some more depressing issues behind it. However, this slice of cinema manages to examine this in a thought-provoking way by taking the idea that a smile is a sign of exterior positivity by making it the main face that the sinister villain consistently displays throughout. Suffice it to say that the social analysis at the core of this film isn’t just delightfully shrewd, but the core concepts are executed with a degree of audacity that allows the surface level scares to stay intact.
Of course, all of this wonderful work behind the camera would not mean nearly as much if the cast in front of the camera wasn’t even half as invested in selling us on this narrative. Thankfully, that is not the case here as every single performer is operating at the pinnacle of their respective abilities. This starts with Sosie Bacon (and yes she IS the daughter of another Bacon by the name of Kevin) in the lead role of Cotter and this is a genuine star-in-the-making type of performance. Indeed, not only does Sosie do a phenomenal job at presenting us with a woman who has long been guarding herself from the rest of the world for reasons that are best left discovered in the film proper, but she also does a great job at making the agonizing heartache and confusion of no one in her life believing that she is being hunted down by an otherworldly being seem tragically genuine. Indeed, her character may engage in a few select horror movie character behaviors that might make you raise an eyebrow in slight disbelief, but Sosie does a wonderful job all the same at making this character someone you not only care about, but also root for in her hunt of both the malevolent force that is behind all of this as well as a way to end its reign of terror once and for all before she tragically is able to become its latest victim. We also get wonderful back-up work in this from a truly game cast of support players including Jessie T. Usher who is heartbreakingly believable as our heroine’s fiancé who starts doubting her grip on reality, Rob Morgan who in only 10-15 minutes of screentime does a fantastic job at going from calm to completely petrified in the vital role of someone who has his own secret tie to the horror, Robin Weigert who is on-point in her role of Cotter’s therapist, Kyle Gallner who, fresh off his turn as Vince Schneider in the 5th Scream film from earlier this year, does a great job as our heroine’s cop former boyfriend who quickly becomes the only person willing to give the benefit of the doubt in regards to her ordeal, and even Kal Penn (Kumar of Harold and Kumar!) who, despite only having 20-25 minutes of screentime tops, actually does really good non-comedic work here in the role of Cotter’s supervisor at the ward. Suffice it to say that by and large everyone involved here is very much aware of the kind of film they are making and yet not a single one of them is phoning it in and instead is bringing no more and no less than their best much to the benefit of the overall quality of the film.
All in all I hate to say it so on the nose like this, but smile dear reader for we have a new gem in the realm of horror cinema to praise! Indeed, I may have not entirely been onboard with this slice of cinema when I saw the first trailer for it before my screening of Top Gun: Maverick all the way back in May, but lo and behold if it didn’t manage to do the one thing I’m always delighted to see happen and surprise me with how good it actually turned out to be. Indeed, here is a slice of cinema that takes on the concept of trauma that has been allowed to fester rather than properly heal through a distinct otherworldly bent even if it is a bent that has been explored in other ways by other slices of cinema. Suffice it to say that, with a few moments of gallows humor and just the right touch of irony, this film is able to do a wonderful job of making known how society’s push for people to be on cloud 9 and look their best even in the face of agony that may lie just under the surface could potentially backfire on us in the most horrific way possible. Thus when you also factor in jump scares that *gasp* actually work to the benefit of the overall film rather than deter from it in a significant manner, work done by the various departments behind the camera in ensuring that you are both on the edge of your seat fairly frequently whilst also chuckling in certain moments, and work done by a talented group of performers led by a genuine star-in-the-making lead turn from Sosie Bacon (as in a certain other Bacon by the name of Kevin’s daughter) in operating as delightful (albeit highly reluctant) guides through this waking nightmare, Smile is more than just the phrase “smile through the pain” turned into a terrifying reality. Rather, it is also a genuinely and delightfully spooky time to be had that I have no doubt will become a go-to movie for horror fans for years to come. Make of that dear reader what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give Smile “2022” a solid 3.5 out of 5.
