Smile-2022
Director Parker Finn
Starring Sosie Bacon, Jessie Usher
Scott’s Review #1,342
Reviewed February 8, 2023
Grade: B+
I was prepared to award Smile (2022), a new supernatural horror film, with an exceptional ‘A-‘ grade until it dissipated during the final act and became too confusing.
The story collapsed mightily leaving too much ambiguity and a free for all plot that turned messy so my initial reaction was dissatisfaction.
But, then I remembered that I watched some of it with my hand closed to cover my eyes and my jaw dropped open during other parts.
Smile is one of the scariest horror films I’ve seen in quite a while with amazing visuals and a handful of very scary scenes. I’ll probably never see somebody smirk again and not think of this film.
Matters get off to a thumping start when Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) witnesses a bizarre, traumatic incident involving one of her patients. The troubled patient claims to see a haunted smile and suddenly kills herself in the presence of Rose.
Shaken, Rose starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain as she turns to white wine to calm her nerves. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.
But, what does the link to her past have to do with the present?
That’s where Smile does a deep dive south but I’m willing to forgive Rose’s trip to her abandoned childhood home where her mother, suffering from mental illness, offed herself while a guilt-ridden Rose did nothing to help.
There’s also Rose’s bitchy, self-centered sister, Holly (Gillian Zinser) to contend with.
The implausible storyline can be forgiven by the knowledge that Smile is director Parker Finn’s first feature film! Greats like Hitchcock and Tarantino didn’t knock it out of the park with their first releases either but the brilliance was noticeably there.
The opening sequence for example is one of the best I’ve seen in horror this decade. I didn’t anticipate something so gruesome and palpable to occur right away. Rose’s patient is immediately terrified of Rose which is an instant tip that something is seriously wrong.
The next best scene happens at Rose’s nephew’s birthday party. On an otherwise lovely afternoon the boy’s living room is filled with brightly packaged presents from friends and family gathered nearby. He eagerly picks up his Aunt Rose’s specially wrapped gift.
What is wrapped inside is too gruesome to describe but suffice it to say the party is ruined, the nephew traumatized, and all the party guests in agreement that Rose should be immediately sent to the loony bin.
It’s other aspects that give Smile a major victory. Any character who dons that sinister smile (see poster art above) whether real or imagined haunts me in my dreams.
Those who scare easily need not see this film.
An interracial aspect (the caucasian Rose’s boyfriend is black and Holly’s husband is Indian) scores major points from a diversity perspective and smaller characters give a robust helping of cultural richness too.
Sosie Bacon, daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kira Sedgwick may be headed for Hollywood fame of her own as she easily carries the film. She emits a combination of calm, vulnerability, and intelligence which makes the character rootable.
The film received positive reviews from critics but was criticized for patterning itself too closely after its counterparts The Ring (2002) and It Follows (2014) but since those films were excellent I didn’t mind a bit.
I don’t think we necessarily need a sequel to Smile (2022) but I’m anxious to see what Parker Finn comes up with next. He’s got the jumps and the cinematography down and hopefully, he stays in the horror genre.