Smile

Une version scénaristiquement plus pauvre de It Follows, mais seulement en ce qui concerne l'originalité. Psychologiquement, c'est minutieusement construit, presque de manière procédurale, sans aucun point faible. Très bien filmé techniquement, avec une tension, des moments effrayants très intenses et une brillante conception sonore. Et une excellente nouvelle venue, Sosie Bacon, dans le rôle principal. Le réalisateur Parker Finn va encore nous surprendre. (09/10/2022)

Now, if I wanted to laugh at Smile, I'd find reasons to do so, because the criticisms you read about the generic script are true (for example, it borrows not only the premise, but entire scenes from It Follows), and the scene where the main character goes around to her relatives, friends and acquaintances and tries to convince them that she's cursed is written in a funny way. But I decided to be sympathetic to the film, and that's because at a time when a large number of genre films forget the most important thing, i.e. trying to scare the viewer, Smile tries damn hard. It doesn't always work out, but I though about the horror films that have been released in Czech cinemas so far this year, and Smile is by far the most effective in this respect. If the script was polished in terms of the behaviour of the characters and the depth of the topics discussed, it would be satisfying even with undiminished expectations; the craftsmanship is more than solid. But I’ll look the other way and I’ll give it a seven. (30/09/2022)

A surprisingly good little mainstream horror film from a debutant that could be an asset to the genre in the future. I was expecting a flop from Smile after the trailers, one that would end up in the 40-50% range, so the result is very satisfying. It's a combination of It Follows and Truth or Dare, but it takes only the best of both and even surpasses them both in quality. It's got a fine mystery around mysterious suicides and I enjoyed a lot the gradual discovery of what's behind it. The main character slowly starts to get paranoid, ugly things happen to her and her life slowly falls apart. The film has a slower pace at times, especially in the middle, but when it comes to the scares it's honest and effective. There are only a few scares but they work well, the atmosphere can be chilling and I liked the finale where there is a decent amount of creepy shots, and there was actually a bit of violence which I wasn't expecting here at all (when the entity rips the skin off its face I was thrilled). So all in all, a nice surprise, but it won't be quite for teenage girls as it seemed at first glance, they will be laughing most of the time in the cinema. 7/10 (15/10/2022)

La prochaine fois que je veux vivre une expérience de ce genre, je donnerai les deux cents couronnes du ticket de cinéma au premier SDF venu et lui demanderai de venir chez moi pendant deux heures me faire « bouh ! » toutes les deux minutes. Comme ça, je m’épargne le déplacement jusqu’au ciné, je fais une bonne action et avec l’haleine alcoolisée, je le vivrai même en 4DX ! Sur le plan technique, rien à redire. Les effets sont balèzes et ne se refusent pas ; ils jouent leur rôle horrifique et compensent même l’absence totale d’originalité. Là où j’ai un problème, c’est que les créateurs ont troqué l’ambiance horrifique contre un flot permanent de jump scares à deux balles. Même les transitions entre les scènes sont rapides et reposent sur des effets sonores tonitruants, histoire de marquer le coup. Tout ça me gave et je n’en retire rien de positif. Deux heures gaspillées. (16/10/2022)

Quand Le Cercle rencontre Destination finale et qu'un ingrédient crucial est ajouté, on obtient Smile. Et c'est un sacré bon thriller d'horreur, je crains que ce sourire fou et terrifiant ne hante mes rêves ! (06/04/2023)

That it would be a psychological horror was clear to me the moment it turned out that more than one psychologist appeared in it. That it would be an interesting horror became clear during the course of the plot. There was a great atmosphere and tension. The jump scares didn't look as dumb as they usually do. Even though it was sometimes quite gory, gore didn't function as the main instrument of fear. However, the movie also has its drawbacks. The first one is more of a pet peeve of mine because I don't like the actress in the leading role. What was worse was that, although the story tried to look original, I have seen something similar a couple of times. It was like Fallen (1998); only whistling was replaced with smiling. I also don't get why filmmakers don't consult advisors for scenes involving knives. All that stabbing in the sternum and ribs as if it were soft butter is pathetic. Despite all my reservations, I enjoyed myself throughout the movie, which unfortunately doesn't happen to me often with horror movies. P.S. A very nice attempt at a Schrödinger's cat:-) / Lesson learned: If you tend to be jumpy, just use plastic dishes. If you also care about the environment, go for wood. (10/01/2023)

A weaker reheating of It Follows and Drag Me to Hell mixed together. Excellent sound design and a couple of well executed jump scares pull it up slightly above average in the end. The craftsmanship is very solid, and the few scripting missteps thankfully don't feel particularly distracting. As a horror one-off, it's actually quite good. If you don't expect any deeper themes from horror movies and are content with simple (but well presented) entertainment and a few jump scares, this material is just for you. [65%] (15/10/2022)