Smile: A Horror Film Exploring Mental Trauma
Rose (Sosie Bacon), a psychotherapist working in a mental health facility, receives a new patient. A promising young woman, a PhD candidate, claims she’s not crazy: she’s being haunted by a demon that takes the form of a person with a terrifying smile, whispering about her impending death. Despite Rose’s attempts to reassure her, the patient ominously smiles after a hysterical fit and cuts her own throat. Following the incident, the smiling demon begins to haunt Rose herself.
Sosie Bacon as Rose in a still from “Smile”
Like many contemporary horror films, “Smile” aims not only to thrill but also to deliver a message: mental health is no laughing matter. The protagonist suffers from PTSD: Rose witnessed her mother’s overdose death as a child. She internalizes her pain, masking her true feelings with a forced smile, afraid to truly open up to loved ones, and hiding behind the phrase “I’m fine.” The demon preys on trauma, tormenting its victims with hallucinations and intrusive thoughts, passing to a new victim through mental trauma.
The Unseen Burden of Mental Illness
Robin Weigert as Robin in a still from “Smile”
Naturally, no one believes Rose, just as she didn’t believe her patient until she faced the demon herself. Her fiancé distances himself, not even trying to listen, and her sister, who coped with their mother’s death in her own way, forbids her from coming near her house. This easily parallels how healthy individuals often fail to understand and accept the mental health struggles of their loved ones, often turning away or advising them to “just not worry.” It would be a sin not to address the poorly functioning mental healthcare system, so the film throws a couple of punches at the government.
Caitlin Stasey as Laura in a still from “Smile”
A Promising Debut with Room to Grow
Parker Finn, the director of “Smile,” has made a confident and worthy debut, grossing more at the box office than the seasoned David O. Russell with his unfortunate “Amsterdam.” Studios are likely already approaching him with offers, and we can expect more ambitious projects from the young filmmaker in the near future. Hopefully, Finn will focus more on working with actors, as directing dramatic scenes seems challenging for him, sometimes even appearing cartoonish. The same can’t be said for building suspense and creating mesmerizing camera sweeps over the city: did he overdo it? Yes. Was it beautiful? Absolutely.
Old Patterns, New Scares
Finn exceeds the quota for jump scares, but he places them in unexpected places, so we never know which corner the demon will jump out from. The film is aware of what it is, not inventing anything drastically new (as the recent “Barbarian” did), but it upgrades old patterns so well that they feel fresh. The director misleads the audience until the very end, when it’s time to breathe and believe in the best: Finn opts for a rather bleak conclusion, implying that trauma stays with us forever. Well, those who have survived until 2022 are unlikely to expect a happy ending anyway.