In the final trailer for Paramount Pictures’ Smile, the widest grins cut the deepest
Sosie Bacon stars in Paramount Pictures' newest horror flick as a doctor plagued by frightening visions that might be all too real
Aux News Paramount Pictures
Finally, a horror movie New Yorkers can really stand behind. Smile, Paramount Pictures’ latest stab at horror, exists on the premise that someone just randomly smiling at you is one of the most offensive, frightening things there is—and the studio is certainly rearing to prove its point. Fresh off a creepy Jumbotron-based marketing stunt at three different Major League Baseball games last weekend, Smile has one last trailer for viewing pleasure before the film’s premiere on September 30.
Mare Of Easttown alum Sosie Bacon stars in Smile as Dr. Rose Cotter, a medical professional with some questions about her own mental health. As we soon learn, Rose has some questions the DSM-5 can’t exactly answer; she’s been seeing an evil entity that manifests itself as a too-wide, Joker-esque smile.
At the onset of the trailer, Rose visits a male prison inmate who she believes might have the key to her unique problem, as he’s the only person who has seen this entity and lived. Unfortunately, once the inmate realizes Rose has seen what he’s seen, his only answers for her involve screaming violently at Rose to get away from him.
Whatever malady Rose picked up is heavy on jump scares and light on boundaries; she begins to see the smile possess everyone from patients at her workplace to an entire group of children at a party. One particular trailer jump scare (which we’ll refrain from spoiling) takes the stress of someone knocking on your car window to a new level.
Much like The Ring, One Missed Call, Truth Or Dare and so many before it, the meat of Smile’s plot exists in Rose’s race to end the curse before it catches up to her. If she’s not careful, her perpetually aghast expression (expertly rendered by Bacon) could transform into the world’s least cheer-inducing grin.
17 Comments
Was that Cat Stevens’ working title?
This has a distinct “It Follows” feel to it.
Apologies, Spider. I meant to reply to the author.
I just figured it was a Cat Stevens song I don’t know.
Does the guy in the hospital bed have kind of a young Ed O’Neil vibe?
Now that you mention it, he does. Sans hands in pants, but still there’s something there.
it has a distinct ‘elements ripped from It Follows and Babadook and Candyman’ feel, but also a distinct ‘this looks absolutely terrible’ feel. That ‘jump scare’ at the end is abysmal.
This kind of shit is right up my alley. Hope it’s actually good.
This has a distinct “It Follows” feel to it. Surprised not to see that one mentioned in the list of similar flicks.
Much as this seems like a pastiche of post-Ring horror, it might still be fun. Extremely derivative horror often is. Give me any number of post-Halloween slashers and I’m a happy man. The problem with the whole elevated horror thing is it makes us think we have to have (gag) standards. Take Willow Creek, the Bobcat Goldthwait-directed movie that is EXACTLY Blair Witch but with…Bigfoot. It’s exactly as stupid as that sounds. But well done! Just saying, horror is as much about the cozies and the anxiety management as it is about art.
agreed. i seem to remember Dog Soldiers being an effective and interesting B grade take on a classic horror oeuvre
I liked Willow Creek way more than Blair Witch.
I liked Willow Creek a lot. I liked Blair Witch too – most found-footage movies cheat, (The Last Broadcast for instance) but those did it right.
Let’s play 7 Degrees Of Sosie Bacon!
I want to see this, and early reviews are pretty decent, but the part in that first trailer where the guy just yells “You’re going to die!” over and over again is frustratingly lame.
He’s too close to Eric Wareheim for it to work
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