Smile made me Frown
I'm convinced all of these positive reviewers are being paid by Paramount to further promote this very mediocre film. I'm also convinced I watched a completely different movie than everyone else here.
For starters, this film is once again entirely too long for what it is. I'm not sure why Hollywood thinks every movie that comes out these days has to be 2 hours or longer, but I guarantee this film could've been at least 30 minutes shorter, and taken absolutely nothing away from the story or the viewing experience. A majority of the film drags on and is quite boring at times, with lots of filler moments.
Next, the so-called horror of it all. This film is not scary, and anyone claiming it to be "the scariest movie" like I've seen on numerous reviews clearly does not watch many movies, let alone horror. The "smiling" aspect is corny and unserious, despite best efforts. In my opinion, there are only two genuine jump scares, both of which are spoiled in trailers for the film (naturally).
The story itself explores themes of generational trauma and mental illness, but unfortunately none of it is done in a way that is new or original. We've seen this story and these themes told a million times (and much better). The acting wasn't that bad, but it's also nothing to write home about. I will give points to sound design, as I do find it to be quite successful on its own, but as a collective, there are too many flaws to overlook here. And don't even get me started on this being yet another film with zero explanation for the cause of its events. Just because you leave things "open to interpretation" doesn't mean it's good or subversive! It just means your writing is lazy. Someone please tell Hollywood that. We're tired.
I am a huge horror fan just as much as the next guy, but I went in to Smile with low expectations that were sadly proven correct. There are countless other 2022 horror films that are so much better than this. Barbarian, for example, is lightyears better and reaches heights that this film only wishes it could reach! Smile is like a much worse version of if It Follows and Hereditary had a baby. I don't recommend, and I have no plans to ever see this again. They should've kept this straight-to-streaming.
For starters, this film is once again entirely too long for what it is. I'm not sure why Hollywood thinks every movie that comes out these days has to be 2 hours or longer, but I guarantee this film could've been at least 30 minutes shorter, and taken absolutely nothing away from the story or the viewing experience. A majority of the film drags on and is quite boring at times, with lots of filler moments.
Next, the so-called horror of it all. This film is not scary, and anyone claiming it to be "the scariest movie" like I've seen on numerous reviews clearly does not watch many movies, let alone horror. The "smiling" aspect is corny and unserious, despite best efforts. In my opinion, there are only two genuine jump scares, both of which are spoiled in trailers for the film (naturally).
The story itself explores themes of generational trauma and mental illness, but unfortunately none of it is done in a way that is new or original. We've seen this story and these themes told a million times (and much better). The acting wasn't that bad, but it's also nothing to write home about. I will give points to sound design, as I do find it to be quite successful on its own, but as a collective, there are too many flaws to overlook here. And don't even get me started on this being yet another film with zero explanation for the cause of its events. Just because you leave things "open to interpretation" doesn't mean it's good or subversive! It just means your writing is lazy. Someone please tell Hollywood that. We're tired.
I am a huge horror fan just as much as the next guy, but I went in to Smile with low expectations that were sadly proven correct. There are countless other 2022 horror films that are so much better than this. Barbarian, for example, is lightyears better and reaches heights that this film only wishes it could reach! Smile is like a much worse version of if It Follows and Hereditary had a baby. I don't recommend, and I have no plans to ever see this again. They should've kept this straight-to-streaming.
- thefendiprint
- Oct 2, 2022