Smile (2022), directed by Parker Finn, stars Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner, Jessie T. Usher, Robin Weigert, Kal Penn, Caitlin Stasey, Rob Morgan, and Gillian Zinser. After witnessing a patient brutally commit suicide during a routine appointment, psychiatrist Rose Cotter (Bacon) begins having visions of a sinister entity that takes on the appearance of people around her, but with a menacing, almost supernatural smile. She soon learns that the entity works by causing its hosts to kill themselves and then moving on to whoever witnessed the death. Racing against the clock, Rose enlists the help of her cop ex-boyfriend, Joel (Gallner) to uncover a way to stop the curse before it’s too late. 

Sosie Bacon is serviceable in the lead role, but also somewhat forgettable. In other words, I feel she lacks a certain X-factor. The story essentially follows her slowly having a mental breakdown, and although this isn’t new, it’s handled well – building tension effectively.  Gallner, on the other hand, delivers some of his best work to date. Granted, he’s never quite been an Oscar-level performer, but by this point, he’s a staple actor in the horror genre. The horror community loves Gallner, so it’s nice to see that his character in the movie is equally loveable. Some of the interactions between characters feel a bit silly, but at least the chemistry between Bacon of Gallner is apparent. The script is smart in the sense that it implies some prior history between the two. This allows for a more complex dynamic right off the bat, and thus, more interesting characters in general.

Although the plot is a bit derivative as a whole, individual sequences/scenes are staged masterfully. The film constantly finds new and subversive ways to deliver its horror, resulting in some of the best mainstream jump scares in recent memory. It’s also one of the few films I can point to that uses dream sequences to their full effect. On top of this, the movie features a strong sense of prioritizing visual as opposed to spoken exposition. In a visual medium, would you rather watch something happen or hear about what happened? I think the answer is clear. 

The movie is surprisingly well-paced at almost 2 hours long, but it doesn’t take long to get to the “good stuff.” Parker Finn understands what the audience came for and succeeds in delivering it in full without sacrificing story and character. Movies of this kind often focus too heavily on one or the other, but Smile finds a satisfying balance. This results in a sense of dread that consistently builds as the film goes along. In other words, each scene continually tops the previous one in terms of tension and scares. Thankfully, when the script chooses to inject comedy, it works well because it’s not overused. 

Overall, this is one of the better original horror films to come out in the last decade and completely elevates its seemingly gimmicky premise. The visual motif of the creepy, ear-to-ear smiles will no doubt come off as goofy to a certain portion of the audience, but the intense performances and razor-sharp sound design put the viewer on edge even if the smiles don’t. On top of this, it’s far too brutal and bloody to ever not be taken seriously to some extent. It also features an extremely dark, yet wholly satisfying ending. I believe a horror film can never reach its full potential in terms of scares if it doesn’t end on a scary note. The only glaring issue here is that the overarching plot is something we’ve seen 1000 times before. Flaws and all, Smile delivers the goods for its target audience. B