#NewsBytesRecommends: 'Smile' on Amazon Prime Video—frightening, eerily creepy, hauntingly unnerving
Parker Finn's psychological supernatural horror thriller Hollywood film Smile (2022) is inspired by his short film Laura Hasn't Slept. While the premise may seem sketchy, making one wonder how it will generate any thrill—let alone fear—it is the execution that spearheads everything with finesse. As much of a psychological drama as it is an out-and-out horror outing, Smile should be on your watchlist.
Plot of 'Smile'
Smile focuses on Rose Cotter, a therapist who begins to descend into madness after witnessing the harrowing suicide of one of her patients. While everyone brands her crazy, telling her she has fallen prey to vivid hallucinations, Cotter maintains that a "dangerous entity" has latched itself onto her and will kill her within a week. Does Cotter survive? Watch Smile to find out.
It's taut, reminds you of 'Bird Box'
While watching Smile (extremely taut, gets straight to the point), I was reminded of Bird Box more than a few times due to the similarities in the central premise—a dangerous nemesis one fears but doesn't see (Cotter sees it later). It is the kind of film you always seek to gather more of, and it made me wish there was a book about Smile.
Good pacing; teems with surprises
Smile derives its strength from its pacing and the many surprises it harbors up its sleeve, which it unleashes every few minutes. There were more than a few times I gasped, having not anticipated what unfolded right in front of me. Additionally, the film also boasts the tendency to present strikingly different narrative possibilities apart from the one it finally goes with!
That eerie feeling is hard to shake off here
Even when we don't see a "ghost' or a "demon" for a very long time in Smile, what knocks our socks off is, yes, the creepy, eerie, I-dont-want-to-see-it-again kind of smiles plastered on the victims' faces. If there is one smile you would detest forever, it's this one right here. Who knew a symbol of warmth could also be turned into something so demonic?
Do jumpscares work well?
Jumpscares are often seen as too lazy and usually unsuccessful and forced, but those are not the words I thought of while watching Smile. While I wouldn't say I was terrified to the core, a sense of foreboding and danger permeates Smile at all times, and its jumpscares feel earned, not perfunctory, stilted, or forced. PS: Watch out for the one involving a car.
Check it out on Amazon Prime Video today
As for its emotional beatings and psychological switchbacks, the thriller is a lot like Barbarian, streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. Admittedly, Smile meanders and loses its steam at times but soon saves itself from derailing and becoming a botched affair, eventually ending with a climax that makes you work as much as Cotter. Sinister and mysterious in equal parts, Smile will unnerve and unsettle you.
