SMILE is a new horror in the tradition of some of our favorite terrifying tales. It’s based on a simple but effective image: A person with a smile that is decidedly off-kilter. It’s the sort of look that would prompt you to cross the street or leave a room or avoid someone entirely. In the movie SMILE, this perfectly normal expression, twisted into something horrific, is a harbinger of a greater supernatural evil.
With Sosie Bacon in the lead role as a doctor who witnesses a traumatic incident and then begins to experience some very unexpected consequences, SMILE looks like another killer entry in this year‘s already excellent horror lineup. Check out the trailer and experience the first glimmers of SMILE for yourself.,/p>
Watch The Grim, Grinning Smile Trailer
Everyone who sees the smile dies. When Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) sees a patient who claims to be under observation by some smiling entity her life is completely upended. As whatever plagued the young woman attaches itself to Rose, the doctor must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.
Or we could just say, "YIKE." The simple premise behind SMILE is a great horror idea and, frankly, just watching characters flaunt their maniacal grins in the trailer is freaky.
In the Tradition of The Ring
If you think that SMILE looks like it was influenced by movies such as THE RING, you'd be correct. Writer/director Parker Finn said in an interview that both Hideo Nakata's trend-setting original and Gore Verbinski's excellent American remake are influences on SMILE. "I wanted the movie to feel like that kind of viral urban legend," he says, "where suddenly it’s complete and you’re in their crosshairs, something that inherently gets under their skin and makes them think twice about it next time they smile."
Finn, who explored some of the ideas in SMILE in his 2020 short film "Laura Hasn't Slept," says this movie is "intensely psychological and at the same time shockingly visceral and physical. There are a few terrifying moments that I hope will make people jump out of their seats and scream but at the same time it’s supported by a growing sense of uneasiness."
A Budding New Horror Director
SMILE writer/director Parker Finn is new to features, but his two horror short films have left their mark on audiences at festivals. Both "Laura Hasn't Slept" and his previous short, "The Hidebehind," won awards after playing at a variety of showcases around the country.
This movie is Finn's chance to work on a bigger canvas. "I was very interested in exploring the idea of terror underneath everything we deal with every day," he said, "and I was passionate about the idea of fear that can cause your mind to rebel against you. At the same time I am attracted to the feeling when you have lived difficult experiences in life or you carry traumas with you and you begin to see it as a curse. So I asked myself, what would happen if everything that torments you and what you have in your head becomes a curse is he really coming for you?"
SMILE opens on September 30.
All images courtesy of Paramount Pictures.