Oct 11, 20222 min read

FILM REVIEW: SMILE (18) ESP RATING: 3/5

Smile is an effectively uneven horror.

I’ve been told numerous times that when I stare blankly towards ‘cake’ with a huge smile across my face – it’s a truly terrifying sight.

It therefore doesn’t surprise me that something as simple as a ‘sinister smile’ has become the concept of a new movie by first-time director, Parker Finn.

Smile focuses on Dr Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), a doctor working at an emergency psychiatric unit. After a young patient, Caitlin Stasey’s PHD student Laura Weaver, visits her with extremely high agitation – she explains she witnessed the brutal suicide of her college professor who we’re told had an eerie smile on his face while taking his own life.

Before you know it, this patient is donning that same grin and slitting her own throat. Rose is understandably affected by this and once she starts seeing terrifying visions herself of similar smiles all around her, she questions whether they’re the side-effect of her recent traumatic experience – or perhaps there’s something much more horrifying and supernatural at play.

Sosie Bacon – daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick as a side note – is fantastic in the lead role. A lot is expected from her acting abilities as the character becoming increasingly distressed and yet she appears to do this effortlessly.

Upon seeing the trailer for Smile, I worried that the concept could be a little gimmicky – or even unintentionally funny. It turned out to be a little bit of both – though luckily not as much as I’d feared.

While the smile scenes are mostly executed well – particularly impressive for a rookie filmmaker – there were a few times where it was just a little too comical for my liking and that took me out of the movie.

Despite this criticism, we have here a horror that ticks most of the boxes for the fans of this genre. There were moments where I was genuinely unsettled, and even a scene or two that, I dare say, will stick with me for quite a while.

So, while I ultimately feel Smile could have been a more polished movie in need of a few scenes cut out here and there, I was more than satisfied enough overall – and many other genre fans will be I’m sure.

But despite it unintentionally making me grin at times – this ‘scarer’ deserves kudos for making me jump out of my seat too.

ESP Rating: 3/5

Mikey Clarke