Smile

**Smile’s creepy trailers and clever marketing were the best parts of a movie with a meager plot drenched in uneasy sounds, and way too many jump scares.** Smile obsesses over saturating every moment in unsettling dread. The score and sound effects make every moment uneasy and uncomfortable, and not in a good way. Smile’s premise bore many similarities to It Follows with much poorer execution. Smile stumbled from jump scare to jump scare. I started closing my eyes because the jump scares were so predictable, and I was tired of having disturbing images screamed in my face. I will say that…

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…

"Dr. Rose Cotter" (Sosie Bacon) is a dedicated clinical psychologist who witnesses the gruesome suicide of a young woman in her hospital consulting room. Traumatised, as you might expect, she gradually starts to suffer from unexpected goings on in her own life. Her relationship becomes unstable and soon she appears to have but a tenuous grasp on reality herself. What's going on? Is she doomed to a similar fate? This has something of the "Azazel" theory to it, and as the story develops director Parker Finn manages to build quite a degree of mystery and suspense. The malevolence of her…

MORE SPOILER-FREE MINI-REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/mini-reviews-2022-edition "Smile deserves the praise it has received since its release. Parker Finn's feature directorial debut contains haunting levels of suspense, consequently creating surprisingly effective jumpscare sequences. Sound design generates an immersive atmosphere rarely seen in horror films, but it turns out to be the moving, character-driven narrative that truly captivates viewers. The impact of past traumas is excellently addressed by a screenplay that glaringly fails to conclude the story at the most…