Smile – Film Review

After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.

The first time I saw the trailer for Smile in a movie theatre, I was quite convinced that it was going to be all too similar to Jeff Wadlow‘s absolutely abysmal Truth or Dare. Both movies have creepy characters making smiling faces as the main selling point. If Truth or Dare was a good movie, then the trailer for Smile would’ve definitely had me excited.

But truth be told, I had absolutely zero expectations for this film. The marketing is admittedly amazing (from excellent hashflags on social media to actors being sent to baseball games to smile at the cameras), but that doesn’t always equate to an amazing movie.

After seeing the film though, I can giddily tell you that Smile is one of my favorite films of the year so far. From the moment it thrusts you into its gross and unsettling world, to the nail-biting few moments that’ll leave you feeling disturbed after it’s all over, Smile is definitely something to smile about.

This is a feature adaptation of a disturbing short horror film titled Laura Hasn’t Slept, which was written and directed by Smile‘s writer-director Parker Finn. Of course, adapting an eleven-minute short into a feature is going to be tricky, but Finn makes it look so easy.

Everything that the short brought to the table gets expanded upon greatly here. Perhaps the best element to this entire film is just how gripping and enthralling it all is. I was fully expecting Smile to be a big heap of dumb fun, but that’s not what it is at all. Finn’s script actually gets quite deep and will leave you feeling incredibly uncomfortable in all the best ways.

All of this is made even more impressive when you realize that this is Finn’s feature directorial debut. Watching it all play out, you wouldn’t have any clue. As a matter of fact, this feels like the work of some legendary horror director. It kind of reminded me a little bit of a David Bruckner film (which is a huge compliment).

Although the film can occasionally feel a tad bit too long, it almost never lets go of its vicious grip on you. The plot may seem quite simplistic on the surface, but every other scene, things get more and more complex, culminating in a story that will leave you feeling totally engrossed. It’s a wild journey, and Finn is more than willing to take you on it with him.

Sosie Bacon delivers an Oscar-worthy performance here in the lead role of Dr. Rose Cotter. This is the first time I’ve ever seen her in anything, and now that I’ve seen her in this, I am eager to check out the rest of her work. This role demands a lot of her, and yet she rose to the occasion and then some. Rose is constantly on edge throughout the duration of this movie, and you can feel it seep right through with Bacon’s delightfully thrilling performance.

This was one of the most surprising films of the entire year. It’s one of those movies that masquerades itself as a dumb popcorn movie with its trailers, but is actually one of the smartest, violent, and disturbing films of the year. Rush out to your nearest theatre to check this one out. You won’t regret it.

Smile is a staggeringly disturbing psychological horror film written and directed expertly by Parker Finn, lead front and centre by Sosie Bacon in an awards-worthy performance.