Where to Watch Smile
Check out where to watch the psychological horror jaunt Smile.
Festive movies are enticing at this time of year with their interpretations of the season, whether traditional or twisted, but sometimes you simply need a break from the festive happiness. Here’s where you can watch Smile, a psychological horror film about trauma that has nothing to do with the holidays.
Smile is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime. Watch Now Click Here
From a Grin to a Smile
Smile is writer/director Parker Finn’s first feature film. It evolved from his 11-minute short film Laura Hasn’t Slept, which won a jury prize at the 2020 SXSW film festival. Smile grips hold and doesn’t let go, much like the fear of an ever-present nightmare in that short film. Smile is a psychological horror thrill coaster with mind-numbing themes that are both strange and distressing. If anything, the film is a PTSD exposé filtered via the horror genre, as if PTSD isn’t horrible enough on its own. Finn combines an effective, albeit familiar, horror narrative with a scary look and great characters that keep you on the edge of your seat. With Smile, Finn may not be attempting to revolutionize the genre, but he certainly puts his signature on it.
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Once You See It, It’s Too Late
Smile is all about trauma, and specifically the sensation of dread that might accompany it. The most common trauma in Smile is seeing suicide, and the accompanying dread is always in the form of a curse that only the afflicted can see. Dr. Rose Cotter, a psychiatrist who sees a horrific occurrence involving a patient, is affected in Smile. Following the catastrophe, Dr. Cotter begins to experience terrifying and incomprehensible phenomena that surround her in despair and dread. An early self-diagnosis of PTSD gives way to a far more terrible reality as she battles the invisible evil and her own sanity.
Though Smile does not represent anything new in the horror genre, with lots of good jump scares, unseen evil mythology, and other horror cliches to terrify you, it does get into your skull with eerie images, sound, and tight directing. This expertly crafted horror set piece is enhanced by a literally committed performance by Sosie Bacon as Dr. Cotter and an equally good supporting cast of individuals who further add to the film’s suspense and dread. So much of what Dr. Cotter is up against is boosted by individuals who make her doubt herself and the truth of what she is going through.
Where to Watch Smile
Parker Finn’s debut film is a psychological horror romp that will hold you in its grip with an intense and frightening mind game of terror. If you need a mental vacation from the Christmas craziness, a simple Smile would suffice. Relax on the psychiatrist couch with a good dose of popcorn and terror as you watch Smile on Amazon Prime Available.