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.
Director: Parker Finn
Cast: Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn, Rob Morgan
Release Date: September 30, 2022
Genre: Horror
Rated R for strong violent content and grisly images, and language.
Runtime: 1h 55m
Review:
Parker Finn's debut film Smile, based on his 2020 short film Laura Hasn't Slept, is a capable and effective entry into the horror genre. Smile is very much in the vein of recent horror films like It Follows and The Ring as an unseen terror tormenting our lead. It's well worn territory even for the casual horror fan but Finn manages to deliver enough unsettling imagery and scares to make it work even if there aren't many surprises in store. Thematically, the crux of the story deals with the trauma of loss in an interesting manner even if its more armchair psychiatry than any sort of deep dissection of the subject matter. That being said it's an intriguing enough take to make it engaging for the better part of the film's runtime. At the center of the film is Sosie Bacon who delivers a memorable performance which drives the story. The plot doesn't take much time with Bacon's character before the curse takes hold as such we watch as her nerves and mental state disintegrate in rapid succession. Outside of a few bits and pieces about the character's background, there isn't a ton of depth on the page but she makes the character engaging enough to maintain your attention. The supporting characters are even more thinly drawn but the story doesn't really ask much them outside of being plot devices. As Smile turns into its finale, it hard to ignore the fact that there are few moments that could have been excised to deliver a more efficient thriller and conclusion.
B-
