STARRING: SOSIE BACON, CAITLIN STASEY, JESSIE T. USHER, ROB MORGAN AND KYLE GALLNER
DIRECTED BY: PARKER FINN
RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 30, 2022
Written and directed by Parker Finn, a director who solely contributes towards the genre of Horror, has done it again with his new movie “Smile.” This 115-minute film includes stars Sosie Bacon, Caitlin Stasey, Jessie T. Usher, Rob Morgan, and Kyle Gallner who deliver a performance like no other. Released on September 30th, Paramount Players and Temple Hill Entertainment produced the film which was distributed by Paramount Pictures. It has amassed $92.2 million dollars at the box office with a budget of $17 million.
“Once you see it, it’s too late.” With a very similar concept to movies such as ”It Follows” and “Truth or Dare”, this psychological thriller follows Dr. Rose Cotter, played by Sosie Bacon, who is a psychiatrist that experiences strange occurrences following an incident with one of her patients Laura Weaver, played by Caitlin Stasey. After Rose bears witness to Laura committing suicide, she begins to see an entity that takes the form of other people smiling, an entity that Laura claimed to see as well. It is then that this supernatural experience worsens as Rose must figure out how to break free from this curse. As Rose discovers she is just one of many victims who experienced the same hallucinations and are now dead, she must figure out how to survive before her time is up.
Diving into this film, themes of mental illness and trauma are very apparent. At a very young age, Rose witnessed her mother, struggling with mental health issues, die from a drug overdose. This film serves almost as a study on the nature of trauma. The entity is passed down from multiple people like a curse and it never ends. Each victim lasts no longer than a week before committing suicide in front of another witness, who will be the next victim.
The film reveals how inevitable and inescapable trauma can be. One must spectate the death of a victim for the curse to be passed down. It is a twisted concept that will leave viewers with feelings of uneasiness, always checking over their shoulder after watching. The movie alone causes trauma. The plot is unpredictable with many shocking twists and the right amount of unforeseeable jump scares. A smile will never feel the same again.
