Sonríe

This was a movie that I was very hesitant about because the premise looked very similar to Truth or Dare (2018) and I really hate that movie. However, I started to hear some good things about this movie from Fantastic Fest 2022 and that gave me some hope, so I decided to want the movie and Smile (2022) was easily one of the biggest surprises of 2022.

Positives for Smile (2022): Unlike Truth or Dare (2018), this movie actually makes the evil smile gimmick work. I've gotta give props to writer-director Parker Finn making this gimmick truly scary at times. I really enjoyed the main performance by Sosie Bacon as Rose Cotter and yes she is the daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. I also really liked the supporting cast with Kyle Gallner, Jessie T. Usher, Kal Penn and Judy Reyes. There are some effective uses of gore in the movie and it adds to the terrifying nature of the smile in this movie. And finally, the camera work in this movie is spectacular especially given that was Parker Finn's feature film directorial debut.

Negatives for Smile (2022): Despite tlme praising this movie, it feels like other horror movies that I've seen in the past like Ringu (1998), It Follows (2014) and of course Truth or Dare (2018), so there isn't anything new to this movie with the exception of the execution. And finally, the movie's ending was a bit of a downer for me.

Overall, Smile (2022) is one of the better horror movies that I initially wouldn't cared about, but instead I ended up loving this movie a lot and I can't wait for Smile 2 (2024).

You never know when it's your turn, to watch another being squirm, as they shuffle off their coil, passing on to you turmoil, which will overwhelm and steal, all your passion and your zeal, just no way to grin and bear it, there's no escape, until you wear it.

A reasonably original take on a very generic horror theme with an often used metaphor, but the performance from Sosie Bacon is noteworthy and convincing, as is the escalation, with one or two genuine jump scare moments ratcheting up the tension and keeping you engaged enough to hope for more. The special effects are fine and the potential for parts 2, 3 and more in the near future left beaming right back at you as the titles role.

One of very few horror movies that managed to surprise me this year. When the trailer came out, I thought it was gonna be another dumb, incompetent mess.

I was proved wrong.

From the very start, everything from the directing, performances to the cinematography and sound design were absolute stunning. How a low budget managed this feat was beyond me but the film was simply mesmerizing to look at.

The horror was quite effective with jumpscares and dreadful moments, albeit some cheap ones but not that distracting. They were able to build up the tension so well and never intended to tone it down right till the very end. The plot was simple enough to interlink all relevant characters to make me care about them, although some could complain 90% of the characters were just filler and I might agree with that. However, the protagonist was good enough to carry the whole show.

One thing that may not sit well with a lot of audience was the use of mental illness. Smile handled it decently but don't expect Oscar worthy exposition. And no, it wasn't exactly the main theme so try not to quit halfway through because there would be surprises by the last act of the film.

Give it a go. I'd say it was well worth the time for horror fans like myself. This was not just some Annabelle or Insidious sequels but something more.

Smile is quite engaging and partially scary horror flick embedded with plenty of jump scares,traumatic scenes and conversations. Though the horror part was completely relied on the jump scares. The director has more focused on traumatic incidents ensuring the disturbing intensity to the audience throughout the film,Though it feels a bit dragged down the trauma has successfully ensured a disturbing experience but the horror part could have sdealed better,there are moments that some jump scares,violent Visuals and an extended smile-devil scenes that improvises viewers experience in horror aspect yet it didn't compell so hard. Rosy as a victim could have faced a few more tragedies rather than spending the most of the screen time on the the discovery of the curse. As the plot is quite thin and straight forward there's nothing so exciting to watch as far as the plot is concerned but the director has somehow ensured the disturbing parts to be hindered around the middle. But yet lack of unexpected plot Twists is the major drawback in the film. The climax is well made but it's quite predictable doesn't excited much except the smiling devil doing some gymnastics over rose and her old house. All over Smile is worth for getting you on a disturbing mood and ensuring the horror part in most of it's runtime but still the drama part and the sad conversations are so extensive and could have been cut short replacing them with some creepy moments.

Literally just wanted to pull my heart out. When would the heart racing adrenaline end! Cinematography was amazing, loved the lighting. The sound was out of this world, so don't skip out on the "special sound" showings. It was unpredictable fresh horror in my opinion, this along with barbarian pair for some of the top horror films in I would say in the last couple years. Give it a watch and really think of the moral here. There was more to the story than what was shed into the light. For those whom call this a snooze fest don't understand the meaning of popcorn flick. Just good classic horror actually keeping you at the edge of the seat continuously guessing. Solid film, great acting.