4K UHD Review: SMILE

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Dec 26, 2022 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

When she was a young girl, Rose Cooper found her mother’s lifeless body lying in her bedroom, with pills and alcohol strewn about. Even though decades have passed, Rose has still never really come to terms with this, and it’s probably why she became a therapist herself. However, Rose (Sosie Bacon) is a workaholic and obsessed with her job, putting in 80-hour work weeks at an emergency mental clinic in New Jersey, hoping to help the mentally ill. One day, Rose is called in for what appears to be a routine consultation. The patient says that she has been seeing something no one else can, something that looks like a person but isn’t, and that it wears different people’s faces. She is adamant that what she is experiencing is real, causing stuff to happen around her, and telling her horrible things. Then, it’s like something flips in the patient, and she kills herself right in front of Rose, smiling creepily as she slices her own neck, while telling Rose that she is next.

Now Rose finds her world thrust upside down and spinning out of control. She starts experiencing her own horrific visions, hearing strange voices telling her she is going to die, and seeing people with creepy smiles everywhere—she’s being haunted by some kind of evil spirit. Rose is convinced the things she’s seeing are really happening, but she knows that if she tries to explain this to others, she’ll sound as crazy as one of her own patients. But her erratic behavior is starting to scare and cause concern from her boss Dr. Morgan Desai (Kal Penn), fiancé Trevor (Jessie T. Usher), and sister Holly (Gillian Zinser). They think she’s having a breakdown from the stress of her job, lack of sleep and long term grief, and are concerned she may be heading down the same path as her mother. Unable to consult her support system, Rose starts to investigate the series of strange suicides herself, enlisting the help of police detective Joel (“Kyle Gallner”). She soon determines that she is the latest link in a deadly chain, where every 4-7 days a person commits suicide and the sole witness to that trauma becomes the curse’s next victim. Now she desperately looks for a way to break the chain and convince the others that she’s not crazy before it’s too late.

Smile does a nice job of slowly ratcheting up the tension as Rose’s visions get more and more intense, and she starts to descend into madness and paranoia. The viewer is always kept on the edge of their seat, not knowing what they can or should believe, or what is coming next. Rose will be talking to someone, and suddenly out of the blue someone or something will flash on the screen, and the scene will suddenly change into something more gruesome, or Rose will notice someone with a creepy smile staring at her. It may appear that one thing is happening, but then both the viewer and Rose will suddenly realize that what they just experienced may have actually just been in her mind. The film makes regular use of jump scares to keep the audience on edge and keep the blood pumping. Even when you suspect something is coming, it still doesn’t make it any less surprising when it does. Even on the second viewing I still found myself jumping.

Sosie Bacon is excellent in her portrayal of Rose, who is constantly on edge and freaking out, questioning her own sanity, and desperately trying to get others to believe her. Rose is in a scary situation where she starts to wonder if she can even trust her own brain Those who are supposed to be her support system don’t seem to believe her, and look at her like one of her patients. In that aspect, the horror of the film is somewhat grounded in reality, which make it even more believable and scary. However, things take a slightly different turn for the big final confrontation. While there are some really creative visuals in that final act, I can’t say that it fully made sense to me, and was a bit bizarre. I was also slightly disappointed to see things play out in a more typical and predictable route, rather than going for a more unexpected direction. That said, I still enjoyed the film overall.

Smile is presented on the 4K UHD release with both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. The film is creatively shot, mixing tight closeups to show the emotions of the characters, along with panning overhead shots that twist and turn to keep the viewer on edge and represent how Rose’s world is being turned upside down. The picture looks quite clean with a solid level of detail, especially in close-ups of faces. Colors look a bit pale and muted, helping to add to the creepiness factor. The final act is a bit aggressively dark, though you can still make out the general detail of what is happening. The audio track makes nice use of the surround and overhead channels to provide ambiance and an immersive experience. This is really noticeable in the more action-packed final act, but also in smaller things such as hearing a gust wind coming from the rear speakers just before we learn that the back door to Rose’s house is mysteriously open. The film’s unusual and discordant score is also quite unique and unsettling, helping to add to the tension.

The 4K disc is packed in a standard 4K keepcase along with a cardboard slipcover and an insert with instructions on how to redeem a 4K digital copy of the movie. The disc contains a solid selection of bonus material, including nearly 40 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes, two deleted scenes, a director’s commentary, and the original short the film is based on.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:55:37)

4K Ultra HD:

2160p / Widescreen 2.00:1
HDR-10 / Dolby Vision
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Audio Description, German 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Latin America) 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, French (Canadian) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital, Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH, German, Spanish (Latin America), French, French (Canadian), Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Turkish

Digital:

4K Digital Copy redeemable via Apple TV or Vudu (not Movies Anywhere compatible)
Code subject to expiration, may not be valid after 12/13/2024

Extras:

Commentary By Director Parker Finn (1:55:37)
Writer/director Parker Finn provides an interesting and informative commentary throughout the film. While describing each scene story-wise, he also delves into the casting, production elements, the smiles in the film, and much more. Subtitles are offered in English, German, Spanish (Latin America), French, French (Canadian), Italian and Japanese.
Something’s Wrong With Rose: Making Smile (29:07)
The cast and crew discuss the original short that was the inspiration and impetus for the film, turning this into a feature film, working with the first time director, the bloody special effects, the characters and casting the movie, the filming style and lenses, designing and building the sets, using the wardrobe to help show Rose’s decline, using color to show what’s real and fake, filming in New Jersey, designing the creature, what makes a lasting horror movie, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with writer/director Parker Finn, producers Isaac Klausner & Robert Salerno, director of photography Charlie Sarroff, special effects makeup department head Jeremy Selenfriend, production designer Lester Cohen, costume designer Alexis Forte, creature effects designer Tom Woodruff Jr., and stars Caitlin Stasey (“Laura Weaver”), Sosie Bacon (“Rose Cotter”), Kyle Gallner (“Joel”), Robin Weigert (“Dr. Madeline Northcott”), Jessie T. Usher (“Trevor”), Kal Penn (“Dr. Morgan Desai”), Gillian Zinser (“Holly”) & Rob Morgan (“Robert Talley“).
Flies On The Wall: Inside The Score (8:50)
Raw footage of the unusual objects and methods used to create the film’s unnerving score.
Deleted Scenes (11:40)
Two deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Parker Finn. In the commentary, the director explains what is happening in each scene, and why it was ultimately cut. Play All, or select from:
- Panic Attack (9:03)
  Rose attends Trevor’s work event where she meets his rude colleagues and then tries to stave off a panic attack after she sees a server with a creepy grin. However, she soon discovers she’s not alone in the bathroom stall. When she gets back home, she decides to call Madeline for help and then tries to smooth things over with Trevor for her behavior at the party.
- You’re Gonna Be Okay (2:36)
  After Rose leaves the prison, she contemplates what Talley told her about how killing someone could help her escape the curse, without revealing this information to Joel.
Laura Hasn’t Slept – Original Short with Introduction by Director Parker Finn (11:19)
The director provides an introduction to his 2019 short film that was the inspiration for Smile. In the film, Laura tells her therapist about the nightmare she’s been having, in which a creepy man changes his face and constantly calls out her name. She worries that if she falls asleep again the man will kill her. Then the therapy session takes a horrifying turn. The short is really well done, with incredibly immersive sound that amplifies the scare factor and puts the viewer on the edge of their seat. I found this short even more tense and chilling than the feature itself.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

Smile is a tense and thrilling horror movie that is sure to make the audience jump several times. It has an interesting premise about a therapist descending into madness as she tries to understand and escape a deadly curse. The cast is excellent, especially Sosie Bacon. The final act is a little over the top, and I was disappointed to see the film go the more typical Hollywood route in the end, but its definitely a solid watch and easy recommendation for those who enjoy psychological horror films. The audio and video presentation is quite good overall, but never quite matches the stellar immersive sound of the original short (which is also included on the disc). For those still on fence, the film is currently still available to check out on Paramount+ and EPIX for those who subscribe to those services.