DIRECTOR / WRITER: Parker Finn
STARRING: Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Kal Penn and Robin Weigert
Okay, so really what’s the month of October without a few scary films to venture through to the bewitching hour of Halloween…
But, this time let’s add a few thrills and chills to this psychological thriller that is first up this scary movie season, as we meet Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), who is totally traumatized by one of her very own patients sudden death…
And what is a Doctor of Psychology to do, when neither her colleage, Dr. Morgan Desai (Kal Penn) or her fiancé Trevor (Jessie T. Usher) understand the torment she is under, as it seems that many others have met with the same demise as her patient, and all with that awful gleaming smile upon their faces…
Reaching out to her old pal, officer Joel (Kye Gallner) Rose finally comes to the realization that her fate is totally resting in some creepers hands, while the pain of her families past slowly, but surely is creeping into her f’d up life too…leaving her lost and concerned, for literally everyone around her…
I give SMILE a rating of 4 out of 5 stars!: We all know how much I hate horror movies, but any real film critic does not ignore a particular genre of film, even if its not truly enjoyable to view. With this said, I was totally pumped to have ventured into the theater to catch this not too scary psychological thriller, as SMILE is truly more focused on the mind-bending terrors and chaos that life throws at us, than the blood and gore of most horror films. Sosie Bacon gives an incredible performance through this on-the-edge of your seat thriller, as you follow her every move into formulating what her next course of action should be, as she tries to figure out a way to save herself, and her loved ones too, who don’t really believe all the “crazy” she is sharing, as she tries to function in her own mind-blowing hell…
And as this menacing Smile-filled movie unfolds, you feel the mentally induced mindgames on screen start to affect your very own psyche too, when you realize the concept of this film is becoming far too real…
If really scarry movies are totally your go-to this time of year, then you might be a little disappointed at the lack of guts and gore with SMILE! But, if you love psychological thrillers, filled with twists and turns that totally keep you guessing what’s around the next turn till the very end, than SMILE is the film for you to venture out with your all your friends in tow, and catch this weekend!
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 