We follow Dr Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) who witnesses a patient violently take her own life with a sinister smile plastered to her face. Just minutes before, the young woman had explained that she’d been seeing an entity that masks itself as people she knows, always smiling. As a therapist, Rose goes down the path of rationalising what is happening as the mind’s response to past trauma. Yet when she starts being pursued by the same malevolent being, even she cannot deny that this goes way beyond the rational and that something much more sinister is at play.
Smile, which is an adaptation of Parker’s 11-minute short Laura Hasn’t Slept (2020), isn’t perfect but does a lot of things well. Bacon’s performance is one of them. The actress – daughter of actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick – skilfully depicts a character of relatively sound mind deteriorating into a demon-induced madness as those around her refuse to believe what’s happening to her. Although many jump scares are utilised, they are mostly realised creatively which makes them enjoyable whilst – of course – terrifying. Another element I particularly liked was the use of false realities. It’s a feature I’ve seen in other horrors, and I think it’s used quite effectively in the film to create a false sense of security and safety which is then brutally torn away. As a result, viewers are dragged into the wicked games being played on Rose, as neither we nor she can decipher what’s real and what’s an illusion.
Although many jump scares are utilised, they are mostly realised creatively
The main feature of the film however is its obvious social commentary on the way the system and families can treat those dealing with past traumas. Rose, at age 10, witnessed her mother overdose and carries that pain and guilt with her - the demon is drawn to this. Parker uses the maniacal smiles as both a horror device and a literalisation of the metaphor “hiding behind a smile”. Even if a bit on the nose at times, I like how filmmakers use the genre to explore these real-life themes – it’s why I appreciate The Babadook (2014) for its exploration of bereavement.
The film’s only real flaw is its lack of real originality. It doesn’t offer up a whole new way of doing things and in terms of plot, it’s very similar to Ringu (1998) and It Follows (2014). But as they say, art imitates art, and that it leans to the more generic side isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It follows a well-known blueprint and executes it well. Overall, it’s a good watch that’ll leave audiences wary of the next person who smiles too sweetly at them.