Smile (2022) Movie Review

Smile (2022) is a supernatural/psychological horror film written and directed by Parker Finn. It’s based on the 2020 short film “Laura Hasn’t Slept”. The movie was distributed by Paramount Pictures and stars Sosie Bacon on the leading role. It got very positive reviews from critics when it first premiered and was a box office hit. It’s spawned a sequel called Smile 2 (2024).

The plot follows Rose (Sosie Bacon), a therapist working at a mental hospital dealing with patients with schizophrenia and suicidal tendencies. One day, one of her clients told her story and then gives her a creepy smile while slitting her own throat. Rose’s boss (Kal Penn) then suggests that she takes the week off, as it appears she’s going through trauma. Rose then starts hearing and seeing things that no one else can and sees people smiling at her. We later learn that there’s an unknown evil entity that forces people to commit suicide and takes the form of the previous victim while targeting the next victim with a smile. 

This entity is now after Rose as this chain has been passed down by her last client. She tells her fiancée and her sister about this, and they both think she's crazy. So, Rose looks up to her ex-boyfriend, and the two work together to stop this monster once and for all. I won’t spoil the ending here, but Rose tracks down the chain back to its roots, and confronts the monster, and it gets crazy from there. That’s about the gist of it.

I watched Smile (2022) for the first time this year and I really enjoyed it. It’s pretty freaky and intense, as well as very creative and original. It’s very well acted and well directed. It’s got great cinematography, and some cool bizarre shots. It has a chilling atmosphere, is quite unsettling, and doesn’t rely too heavily on cheap jumpscares. 

I see why this movie got positive reviews. For a directorial debut, it's quite impressive and I look forward to seeing what director Parker Finn has in store in the future. I can't really think of anything negative to say about this movie, though if I had one minor nitpick, it's that it was just a tad longer than it needed to be. It's exactly 2 hours in length, though I feel couldn't been trimmed to about an hour and a half. That's just a "minor nitpick.

Overall, I think Smile (2022) is a very solid and well-done horror flick that's worth checking out (especially if you're into both supernatural horror and psychological horror).

I give Smile (2022) a solid 9/10.

So, have you seen Smile (2022)? What did you think? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Did you think it was okay? Let me know in the comments.

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As I post this, Smile (2022) is currently streaming on Disney+, Hulu, and Paramount+.