At first, I thought this was a horror film about the woman who runs my “Stretch ‘n’ Flex” class. Sorry, but anybody that tells you to Smile at 8:30 a.m. is evil; it’s bad enough we’re choosing to exercise at this hour.
Illusion is the name of the game here. Is the evil present or not? Is what you’re seeing real or are you living in the deep recesses of your mind? The psychological guinea pig to be, Doctor Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon, who is zero degrees away from Kevin Bacon) is a respected hospital therapist (ironic, no?). She has risen to the top of her medical profession before age 30. Is it wrong to expect doctors to be older? I guess I don’t watch enough TV. This Dr. Cotter seems not even old enough to need a Welcome Back.
Whoa, Doc already has a nice house and a live-in boyfriend. Good for her. You know what? I could almost buy the whole scene of this woman until I saw an abstract on the wall of her foyer. You’re going to tell me somebody that young already has old people tastes, habits, and disposable income, really? Never mind.
Anyhoo, Dr. Cotter gets called to an emergency meeting with a new patient, one who has seen a co-worker bludgeon himself to death. I quibble with the set-up. First time meeting and it’s alone in a closed room? I don’t think that’s how psychology works, especially as Laura (Caitlin Stasey) seems about as comfortable like or as a cat in a filled bathtub. Laura complains of people smiling at her creepily… which could mean there’s a malevolent presence that mimics the form of various people around her …or it , unfortunately, could mean she’s just a woman.
Suddenly, Laura goes apeshit and Dr. Cotter calls for backup. Then Dr. Cotter turns around to see Laura has changed personalities; she’s now smiling like a loon and uses a broken plate to cut her own throat from ear to ear. Man, she likes therapists even less than I do.
It turns out that a suicide on your watch can be unnerving. Adding to the feeling is that Dr. Cotter now starts seeing evil faces Smile and say horrible things to her. The alarm in the house goes off; Dr. Cotter can’t find th
e reason. The alarm company calls and the voice on the other end confidently knows too much information about Dr. Cotter and her current situation. If that doesn’t unnerve you, nothing will.
Smile seems to take pieces from two better horror films: Fallen in that the malevolence seems to change bodies at will – or is it all in Dr. Cotter’s mind? And The Ring, in that there is a personal feeling and time limit to the evil. We’re pretty sure that whatever Dr. Cotter is going through, it will end up in somebody’s death.
This film had a few good scares. I liked the scenes involving phone correspondence and a most cringe-worthy birthday present, but Smile relies far too heavily on dream sequences. The problem with the dream sequence is that the viewer gets just as confused as the heroine. dream sequences are also cheap… well did that happen or didn’t it? Because if it didn’t happen, you better have an excuse handy for what we just saw. In a poor year for horror, I might boost this film a little; but there’s no need in 2022. We’ve already had several good horror films to date and October just started. This film does not make me Smile.
There once was a woman named Rose
Who spotted malevolence within her shadows
In a short while
It gave an evil Smile
Fake or real, what do you suppose?
Rated R, 115 Minutes
Director: Parker Finn
Writer: Parker Finn
Genre: Personal torture
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Horror geeks
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People who think dream sequences are cheap, lazy writing
