Smiling is one of our most basic forms of communicating emotions of happiness and pleasure. It has often been said that a simple smile could turn someones whole day around. What if this friendly gesture, once used to show joy, turned into something eerie and horrifying? Director, Parker Finn and actress Sosie Bacon made this possible in the movie Smile. 

    Released September 30, Smile follows the chilling story of emergency psychiatrist Rose Connors (Sosie Bacon) in the days after watching one of her patients brutally kill herself. The thing that haunted Rose most of all was the patient’s haunting smile as she slit her throat. As Rose begins to unravel we are shown glimspes of the evil entity that seems to be jumping from person to person, leaving them dead by suicide in less than a week. Sosie Bacon wonderfully conveys the sense of panic that the entity makes its victims feel. 

While sitting in theaters, not one but two times, to watch this movie I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. A found the visuals interesting and the storyline held my attention the entire time. I also appreciated how the movie didn’t just use jumpscares, but also deeper themes like trauma to add fear to the movie. 

Jeannette Catsoulis, a writer for the New York Times says the movie, “ensures the very real agony of mental illness and its stigmatization register as strongly as any supernatural pain,”. 

I think this is what made the movie so intriguing. While some may argue that it wasn’t scary enough in the typical way a horror movie may be, the fear and panic that is conveyed is much scarier than any jumpscares. If you go see this movie I would encourage you to really lock in and allow yourself to feel along with Rose Connors for a truly frightening experience.