Smile
[info headline="Release date"]7 December 2018[/info]
[info headline="Language"]English, Hindi[/info]
[info headline="IMDb Rating"]7.4[/info]
[info headline="Genre"]Action, Fantasy, Science Fiction[/info]
[info headline="Cast"]Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson[/info]
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When the horror histories of the 2010s are written, the
decade will be associated with trauma metaphors the way the ‘80s are with
slasher movies. And although it comes on the cusp of a new decade, the new
Paramount wide-release horror movie "Smile" fits right in with its
PTSD-induced kin. The difference here is that the monster is barely a metaphor
at all: The demon, or evil spirit, or whatever it is—the movie is vague on this
point—literally feeds on, and is spread by, trauma.
Specifically, the vague something that dogs Dr. Rose Cotter
(Sosie Bacon) throughout “Smile” likes the taste of people who have witnessed
someone else dying by suicide—gruesome, painful, bloody suicide, by garden
shears and oncoming trains and the shattered fragments of a ceramic vase in a
hospital intake room. That’s where Rose briefly meets Laura (Caitlin Stasey), a
PhD student who’s brought to the psychiatric emergency ward where Rose works,
shaking and terrified that something is out to get her. “It looks like people,
but it’s not a person,” Laura explains, saying that this thing has been
following her ever since she witnessed one of her professors bludgeoning
himself to death with a hammer four days earlier. At the end of the extended
dialogue scene that opens the film, Laura turns to Rose with a psychotic grin
on her face and proceeds to slit her own throat.
This would unsettle anyone, but it especially bothers Rose
given that Rose’s own mother died by suicide many years earlier. That lingering
trauma, and the fears and stigma that surround it, form the film’s most
intelligent thematic thread: Rose’s fiance Trevor (Jessie T. Usher) admits that
he’s researched inherited mental illness online, and harsh terms like
“nutjobs,” “crazies,” and “head cases” are used to describe mentally ill people
throughout the film. The idea that she might not actually be plagued by the
same entity that killed Laura, and that her hallucinations, lost time, and
emotional volatility might have an internal cause, seems to bother Rose more
than the concept of being cursed. The people around Rose, including Trevor, her
therapist Dr. Northcott (Robin Weigert), her boss Dr. Desai (Kal Penn), and her
sister Holly (Gillian Zinzer), certainly seem to think the problem is more
neurochemical than supernatural—that is, until it’s way too late.
The only one who believes Rose is her ex, Joel (Kyle
Gallner), a cop who’s been assigned to Laura’s case. Their tentative reunion
opens the door to the film’s mystery element, which makes up much of “Smile’s”
long, but not overly long, 115-minute run time. The film’s storyline follows
many of your typical beats of a supernatural horror-mystery, escalating from a
quick Google (the internet-age equivalent of a good old-fashioned library
scene) to an in-person interview with a traumatized, incarcerated survivor of
whatever this malevolent entity actually is. Brief reference is made to a
cluster of similar events in Brazil, opening up the door to a sequel.
“Smile’s” greatest asset is its relentless, oppressive
grimness: This is a film where children and pets are as vulnerable as adults,
and the horror elements are bloody and disturbing to match the dark themes.
This unsparing sensibility is enhanced by Bacon’s shaky, vulnerable performance
as Rose: At one point, she screams at Trevor, “I am not crazy!,” then mumbles
an apology and looks down at her shoes in shame. At another, her wan smile at
her nephew’s birthday party stands as both a bleak counterpoint to the sick
grin the entity’s victims see before they die (thus the film’s title), as well
as a relatable moment for viewers who have reluctantly muddled their way
through similar gatherings in the midst of a depressive episode.
Sadly, despite a compelling lead and strong craft behind the
camera—the color palette, in shades of lavender, pink, teal, and gray, is
capably chosen and very of the moment—“Smile” is diminished by the sheer fact
that it’s not as fresh a concept as it might seem. This is director Parker
Finn’s debut feature as a writer and director, based on a short film that won a
jury award at SXSW 2020. To spin that into a non-franchise wide-release movie
from a major studio like Paramount within two years—in a pandemic, no less!—is
an impressive achievement, to be sure.
But in padding out the concept from an 11-minute short into
a nearly two-hour movie, “Smile” leans too heavily not only on formulaic
mystery plotting, but also on horror themes and imagery lifted from popular
hits like “The Ring” and “It Follows.” David Robert Mitchell’s 2014 film is an
especially prominent, let’s say, influence on “Smile,” which, combined with its
placement on the “it’s really about trauma” continuum, make this a less bracing
movie experience than it might have been had it broken the mold more
aggressively. It does introduce Finn as a capable horror helmer, one with a
talent for an elegantly crafted jump scare and a knack for making a viewer feel
uneasy and upset as they exit the theater—both advantages for a film like this
one. But fans excited to see an “original” horror film hitting theaters should
temper those expectations.
This review was filed from the premiere at Fantastic Fest on
September 23rd. It opens on September 30th.
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