As an avid horror fan, I can genuinely say that Smile unsettled me beyond belief. In many horror films of today, directors rely solely on jump scares to create this sense of shock and horror. But in Smile, Parker Finn is able to build suspense and tension throughout a scene to then crescendo into a jump scare that the audience knows is coming but are so tense that they cannot help but to release into fright.
While this movie does not break major ground in terms of plot and storytelling there is some depth that is added with mental health and the feeling of isolation during manic episodes. I felt for Rose throughout this entire film, as she used to be the one helping patients through mental crisis and now that she is having one of her own, she is met with the same doubts even though it is a genuine fear. The sense of hopelessness grows throughout the movie as hope drains from our lead actress.
Speaking of our lead actress, Sosie Bacon is fantastic in this movie. She carries every single scene she is in, which is just about every one. Her minor facial movements and eye expressions were so sad and realistic to that of someone experiencing trauma. I loved everything about her performance and will be excited to see her moving forward. The other performances were average across the board, but they didn't really have a lot to work with and filled their roles well. Jessie Usher felt a little out of place though, I feel like he did the nice and charismatic husband role well but when he had to display genuine fear and anger he overacted quite a bit.
Finally, I wanted to touch on the ending. I am not going to spoil anything for the audience, but this is exactly what I wanted throughout the entire film. I kept asking myself, are they going to do it? But second guessed myself and when the payoff happened, I left the theater with a big Smile on my face.
Score: 75% |
Verdict: Good
