With what feels like very little warning this year, the Halloween season is upon us! It’s time for October boos and fall frights, and what better way to dig into the spirit of the season than a “is she crazy or is she haunted by a demon” type of film? Delivering that and so much more, Smile scratches the classic horror itch while providing some truly novel spooky scares, all wrapped up in quality psychological commentary on how society treats trauma. What’s not to love?
In Smile, we meet Rose, a therapist who works in an emergency psychiatric ward – talk about a great premise for terror. Unshaken by experiencing people at their true breaking point daily, Rose offers a calm, 
measured presence that brings peace to the most difficult of cases. But after a new patient commits suicide right in front of her, something changes in Rose. She attributes it first to trauma and stress, but soon wonders if it goes deeper than that – not just deeper into her past, but deeper into some other realm. We watch Rose and her pitch perfect life unravel as she strives to understand the demons that are haunting her – past and present.
Smile is an impressive debut for writer/director Parker Finn, who took his successful short from SXSW and partnered with Paramount to deliver his first 
ever full-length feature. Perhaps that’s why the film is so refreshing. Yes, it relies on a cliché jump scare now and again and conjures approaches we’ve seen (and loved) before in films like It Follows and The Ring. However, Finn also clearly strives to frighten us in ways we’ve never seen before and would never expect. From devastatingly creepy slow burn images that will haunt the corners of your bedroom at night, to gruesome gore with unprecedented layers of depth, this film delivers for classic horror lovers and newbies alike.
But what truly sets Smile apart is the (admittedly at times heavy-handed) commentary on inter-generational trauma. Shrouded in a throwaway Halloween horror, this film takes a cleverly artistic deep dive into what it’s like to live with the searing fingerprints left by devastating experiences of the past, and the variety of ways people try to cope. From the very opening shots, we are quite literally thrown into Rose’s mind, and the tension doesn’t let up. From the uncomfortably close cinematography that leaves us with nowhere to turn, to the booming, discordant soundtrack setting our teeth on edge throughout the film, Finn does his best to underscore just how difficult it is to break away from trauma and find lasting and reliable help. In some ways, Smile is one massive argument against toxic positivity, especially for women. Anyone ready to slow quit?
But these themes and techniques would be nothing without quality acting. Thankfully, Finn confidently hands the reins over to Sosie Bacon, an unexpected choice as she mostly has experience with television. But don’t let her lack of big screen sea legs fool you. Bacon draws upon the emotional depth of her experience on shows like Mare of Easttown to give us a raw, terrified, and at times schizophrenic protagonist struggling to keep her life in order. Let’s put it this way – when you don’t notice the acting until three quarters of the way through a film, you know you’re watching some real talent at its best.
While not completely unexpected, and while I wish the trailers had left us wanting more, Smile is an excellent Halloween season horror, and one not to miss while it’s on the big screen.
SpecialK Verdict: If you’re looking for a fresh new horror flick this Halloween season, brace yourself for a few nightmares from the soundtrack alone, bring on the rage against toxic positivity, and see Smile in theaters.
Smile opened in theaters Friday, September 30.
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