Smile has a whole lot going for it, and will have horror buffs begging for a sequel. There are infinite jump scares, insane visuals, incredible sound design, a haunting score, and truly compelling lore.
Smile follows Doctor Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon). She is a psychiatrist who witnesses a brutal suicide from one of her patients. After she is forced to look into her own past traumas.
Smile is one of those movies that starts to make you doubt your own sanity and reality as you work to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. You never know what is real and what isn’t, and that is where the fun in this film lies.
Smile doesn’t just rely on the blood and gore, although it does provide quite a bit of that. It is sure to tell a story that will stay in the heads of viewers for a long time to come. The sound design heightens the terror that is felt during many of the most intense moments, and the score does the same.
While the concept isn’t completely unique — there are some serious It Follows and The Ring vibes going on — it does change things up a little bit so that every move is not completely predictable. It leans in on these tropes but is still able to give the audience something more.
PULLS FROM OTHER HORROR
PREDICTABLE AT PARTS
Packed with insane visuals, multiple jump scares, and truly compelling lore, Smile has the potential to be a long running franchise.
3.5 out of 5