A smile can signify a lot of things. When it comes to Parker Finn's horror movie Smile, which he wrote and directed, it can be sarcastic, kind, forced, and downright horrifying. Based on the short film Laura Hasn't Slept from 2020 by Finn, in which the protagonist struggles to fall asleep because of the man with a smile she sees in her nightmares, Smile takes that idea and develops it, frequently to fantastic effect. The horror movie features a good core performance, and even though its examination of trauma and mental illness only goes so far, the jump-scares and suspense are unsettling enough to keep the plot moving.
Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) is a therapist who witnesses one of her patients commit suicide. The patient claimed to be experiencing visions and to be plagued by a smiling creature that wears masks of people's data-faces. Just four days earlier, the patient in question had seen her professor commit suicide as well. Following the encounter, Rose begins to get visions of her own. The entity sometimes manifests as people she is familiar with, and other times it manifests as total strangers. No one, not even Rose's buddy (Kal Penn), sister Holly (Gillian Zinser), fiancé Trevor (Jessie T. Usher), or therapist (Robin Weigert), believes her as her mental health deteriorates and she starts to believe she is cursed. The more Rose sees the smile, the more frantic she becomes. In an effort to find help before it's too late, she turns to her ex-boyfriend and former police officer Joel (Kyle Gallner).
One of the most terrifying mainstream horror movies in recent memory is Smile. Audiences are drawn into its web of fear, where they are kept on edge as they wait for the next gory scene or jump scare. As a result, the jump scares in the movie are masterfully choreographed and occasionally unexpected since Finn deceives the audience into believing that everything will turn out as it seems. These dark moments get scarier and scarier as the novel progresses since Rose's haunting can take many different shapes. The movie frequently uses views where the camera starts to tilt before fully righting itself in an upside-down view, perhaps focused on a huge, empty countryside.
In a convincing depiction, Bacon uses haunted expressions and expressive eyes to show Rose's internal conflict as well as her worry and anxiety. Bacon modifies her body language to reflect the changes Rose experiences as her mental health deteriorates, going from a polished medical professional to a woman who is being mentally tormented and retraumatized. Smile is a generally pleasant horror picture on its own, but Bacon's performance truly elevates it, and audiences will undoubtedly find the movie to be effective and disturbing.