Rent Smile (2022)

Something's Wrong with Rose - Smile review by NP

This has been compared to ‘It Follows’; while I didn’t enjoy that, I had a great time with this. The nature of the evil being passed from person to person is much more solid here and smacks less of the superficial titillation the earlier film is guilty of. If it reminds me of anything, it would be ‘The Ring’.

Plenty of frightening moments and jump scares enliven a fairly slow-burning story that could easily have fallen into a pattern of repetition. Director Parker Finn accomplishes this with imagination, and a true sense of unease, helped enormously by Cristobal Tapia De Veer’s kaleidoscopically manic soundtrack.

As the threat becomes more tangible, the ghost of CGI threatens to cartoon-ify some climactic scenes, but they are subtly used and so much more effective for it. While the story uses many set pieces that have been done before, the acting is strong enough to keep it entertaining. I was pleasantly surprised by ‘Smile’, and am glad it appears to have become 2022’s Halloween ‘hit.’ My score is 8 out of 10.

Atmospheric Horror That's OK - Smile review by GI

An entertaining and atmospheric horror film that draws its influence from It Follows (2014) where an evil entity stalks a victim until it's passed onto the next victim. In this case it's by committing suicide! The film has the usual moody light and dark shadows and sudden cattle prod shocks mixed with some gore and grotesque deaths. Rose (Sosie Bacon) is a doctor in an emergency mental health ward who is disturbed by the suicide of a young woman during a therapy session with her. Just before killing herself she exhibited a malevolent smile. Rose is then haunted by strange visions and disturbances including seeing people with the same smile. It appears she has become the entities next victim unless she can find out how, why, what etc etc. There's a theme emerges around facing one's own guilt and past traumas (Rose has a horrible history) and the film has a solid pace and tension. It's a genre piece, well made and will certainly appeal to horror fans.

Flawed but Watchable Horror probably influenced by classic 1957 Britflick NIGHT OF THE DEMON - Smile review by PV

I see lots of people crediting this 'passing on a curse' trope to IT FOLLOWS as if that movie created it! Nope. This is an OLD idea, centuries old in fact in literature and myth.

I would highly recommend everyone to watch one of the top 50 films of all time, the 1957 British horror THE NIGHT OF THE DEMON (U.S. title: Curse of the Demon) which Kate Bush sampled for her track HOUNDS OF LOVE ('It's in the trees, it's coming) and which stars the actor Brian Wilde later famous as the wet Mr Barrowclough from TV sitcom Porridge and Foggy from LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE (it doesn't end well for him). It was adapted from the 1911 M. R. James story "Casting the Runes".

If you have not seen that, WATCH IT. More than once. It is sublime, a top 10 horror film of all time.

M.R. James is the master of creepy ghostly short stories of late 19th and early 20th C, often 'folk horror' or antiquarian. UK TV makes adaptations of them every Christmas now too though there are many old film versions. Worth reading for those who can appreciate the written word. James as a massive influence on Stephen King.

So no spoilers BUT I liked this film though its trope is old, it's well-directed and paced, acts one and two anyway. Sadly the last act lets it down with as other reviews say a full-on CGI-fest. I prefer the psychological horror and felt the film would have worked just with that. BUT audiences these days demand it maybe.

I liked the dream sequences and flashbacks, all the waking dreams kept me on my toes - it is not a predictable plot anyway. Reminds me of an old Hammer horror films set in psychiatric hospitals too.

I see at the end the credits boast re DIVERSITY IN MOVIES - maybe that is why the mixed-race relationship of the main character with a man of colour seems so unrealistic, almost as absurd as so many TV advert unrealistic couples. It just felt so fake, there to tick the DEI box. Shame.

4 stars anyway, just. Now to the sequel which someone told me is better...