3 out of 5

Directed by: Parker Finn

When asking a fellow moviegoer if they had any interest in watching Smile with me, the reply was a pretty immediate and emphatic No; such is the power of a particularly creepy image, or at least the marketing surrounding that, and Smile’s core conceit of finding oneself beset by folks with otherworldly grins plastered to their faces – no words, just staring you down – has an appropriately modern meme-ish creepy vibe to it. 

When watching Smile’s opening scene, with hospital psychiatrist Rose (Sosie Bacon) coming into her first contact with one of these titularly-affected people, Laura (Caitlin Stasey, resuming a same-named role from the short film writer / director Finn expanded into this debut feature), I was struck by how confident and engrossing it was, even knowing of the bloody results that were forthcoming – mostly spelled out in the above-mentioned marketing. I had just come from watching something a horror flick of the same era, and not without some praise/ hype, that was comparatively so bland; it was refreshing to be wrapped up in something so immediately and without exception, based on the visuals and performances. The power of good filmmaking. 

Which, most importantly, Smile continues to provide throughout its generally engrossing two hours, mostly centered around Bacon’s fever-pitch performance, questioning what’s happening to her and why and more of these smilers arrive, and she uncovers (with the help of a detective, played by Kyle Gallner), a series of suicides and murders linking her experiences to others’. 

Echoes of It Follows and The Ring are here, but Finn wisely avoids the undermining subtext of the former or the mystery box structure of the latter – we quite quickly understand the in-film logic at play, and how it relates to Rose, and not playing coy with that allows the movie to explore its main character more effectively. 

And Bacon absolutely carries that, supported by an amazingly atmospheric score (Cristobal Tapia de Veer), and beautifully complimentary cinematography (Charlie Sarroff), wrapped up in Finn’s patient but direct style, which is perhaps over reliant on jump scares, but they’re fun, and kind of thematically work with Rose’s deteriorating health. 

While the short film origins can ultimately be sensed, requiring some ante ups which don’t quite land, and there’s some good practical-looking stuff here that unfortunately butts up against a CG sheen – inventive imagery, just lacking the punch of the physical – ultimately keeping Smile in the ‘entertaining’ category, it’s of the caliber that’s ripe for rewatches, and definitely marks Parker as a creator to watch.