Parent reviews for Smile

So.. I went and saw this movie with my boyfriend (23yr, 24yr) and cousin (15yr). I have watched scary movies my whole life. Been into scary things in general. I'm the type that likes being scared. This movie was on another level, not because of the heavy gore or cursing but the psychological side of it really made me think about it. The movie contains superb auditory effects which make you anxious, overwhelmed, even disoriented and on the verge of a breakdown yourself without realizing whats happening until its obvious. I believe they wanted you to feel what the character feels throughout the movie. There were also numerous groups walk out of the theater as we watched on. Watching this made me ponder whether I should continue watching scary movies because it made me really think about what I'm allowing inside my mind. It really bothered me more hours after the movie even into the next day as well. I won't ever watch it again. Do not watch it if you're not mentally healthy and or strong minded.

This is an extremely scary, graphic horror movie that should not be taken lightly. I have seen my fair share of horror movies over the years but this one definitely has a different feel to it. It is chilling, unnerving, and very difficult to watch sometimes. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire movie. About half the theatre got up and left throughout the movie. The movie focuses on mental health and trauma and it does that very well. Not for the easily rattled, lots of gore and jump-scares. I would not recommend for kids.

This is an excellent horror movie, much more scary than the huge titles like it, lots and lots of gore like skin ripping and burning body’s, really good movie

Going into this movie, I didn't really realise how scary this movie actually was. I keep on saying, it probably wouldn't have been that scary if I saw it at home because I was in control of the volume, but you know theater volumes: it's up there!! And that's probably why I think this was such a terrifying one because volume does have a big say in horror movies! This movie for the most part had a very disturbing theme, but an interesting plot that no matter how much I closed my eyes, my eyes were always back open. Techinally from the beginning to the end, I was kind of always on the egde of my seat: not knowing what would actually happen! The soundtrack for this movie helped a lot on making the movie scary, and making it have the scary atmosphere it had! The volume of the movie was up and high, that whenever there was a silent moment and something loud happened it always got to me. If I probably watched this at home, I wouldn't exactly say it was the most scariest movie I saw, but after seeing it in theaters, I am downright terrified of this film. The monster in this movie wasn't all that bad, but when it came down to the final moment I was actually scared of it!! That monster was the monster that made it the disturbing movie it was. It was scary, and there was more than enough jump scares to get me scared . . . by the 40 mintue mark, I had my eears covered for any scary moments because I truly was scared of this movie. I even came out shaking after seeing this. It was a theater exprience but it wasn't my favorite one. Besides the jump-scares and the scariness, I truly enjoyed the originalty of it all and how it had this disturbing theme in it. It may have been very scary, but the plot was original and it was a refreshing taste of what actual horror could do to you after seeing it!

Smile was quite a terrifying movie to the point of me walking out of the theater just because of how graphic and disturbing the scenes were. The directors certainly gave the fear factor they were going for. Although I felt there was little to no warning of the SH and suicidal scenes which was alarming to me. I've never had an issue with such topics or any horror movie to be honest but this movie really messed with my head. It's affected me in a way that a horror movie never did and it's not a good thing. Please be cautious when going to this movie, especially if you've struggled/are struggling with mental health. Even for people who haven't struggled, I highly recommend being cautious as well as I had been fine with things until after the parts of the movie I saw.

The plot was really similar to Truth or Dare in that its essentially just a person being chased by a hallucination. CANNOT stress this enough - Massive trigger warning for suicide. There was way too much of it, and not enough warning. Every 15 minutes there was another graphic suicide scene, and/or some scene involving a psychotic break. In my opinion, they could've had the same storyline without the gore. It was so bad that I had to leave the cinema, and I've never had issues with horror movies before.

Nope never again DON’T WATCH THIS!!!

SPOILERS Ahead!! .......... (A Long Review) .......... (I have seen the movie, but I also refer to MovieGuide's review as well as Dr. Gan's book "Infinite Bandwidth" throughout my review.) The supernatural horror thriller movie SMILE showcases an abundance of violence and the descent into madness of the main character Dr. Rose Cotter, and in MovieGuide’s review, this movie is so unsatisfying and horrible that there is no good reason to watch it. (While I am Christian-biased, I am still trying to review this movie in an overall objective light, because objectively, this movie is still bad, especially for kids.) ..... The movie does not have a purpose in showcasing violence or a demonic curse other than to scare the audience. According to Infinite Bandwidth: Encountering Christ in the Media, whether or not something potentially immoral can be used properly within media depends on its context, presentation, purpose, and audience. (Gan, 24-25) In the review, MovieGuide explains that while SMILE does well in scaring its intended audience (18+ adults, as it is an R-rated film), “its goal seems to be limited to doing just that.” (MovieGuide, 2022) There is no solution to overcoming the demon and no significant reason for the violence other than for the sake of violence. ..... The attitude behind the film is very secular and, for a movie about a demonic curse, does not for some reason turn at all to religion or God for solutions. MovieGuide points out that Rose’s fiancé does not believe her or support her in her “delusions” because he has a very secular worldview and does not believe in demons, so “it’s perplexing why the filmmakers don’t have any of the characters turn to any religion, not just Christianity, to deal with the demon.” (MovieGuide, 2022) The agenda behind SMILE feeds into involvement with the occult without any consideration of God or religion. You don't even have to believe in a religion to think that, rationally, if you are dealing with a curse, getting some sort of priest or religious involved would be more helpful than dealing with it yourself. (Plumbers solve issues with plumbing, doctors aid issues with health - wouldn't someone who deals with the metaphysical help with metaphysical issues?) ..... The dignity of the human person is not very upheld in this movie. There is good and bad in regard to this, but mostly bad. To give credit where credit is due, Rose is a psychiatrist whose whole job is to help others who are dealing with trauma. Very obviously, her character’s perspective of others (at least at the beginning of the film) upholds the dignity of the human person in aiding their mental health. This quickly changes, however. First of all, the curse of this film is a series of suicides. While it doesn’t necessarily promote suicide, it is a heavy theme throughout the movie that is a consequence of the demon. This seems similar to how Dr. Gan described the lack of human dignity in slasher films: “The films reduce humans to pieces of meat, with one life after another ‘sacrificed’ to a thirst for blood…” (Gan, 56) In this case, they are quite literally “sacrificed” by this demon. Secondly, Rose is not taken seriously by almost everyone in the film, including her own fiancé, who tries getting her psychiatric help and therapy because he thinks she's lost her mind. Rose’s own sense of morality shifts as she considers murdering someone to get rid of the curse and save herself, once again returning to the idea of “sacrifices.” ..... SMILE is not truth-filled other than the simple fact that demons and evil exist. (At least, I believe so as a Christian.) The characters Rose and Joel seek “the truth” of the curse to find an end to it before Rose’s time runs out, but there is no definitive knowledge learned behind how it began or how to end it, only one way to get rid of it without dying and that it feeds on trauma. The film also leaves the viewer dissatisfied as the ending gives no relief or victory over the demon. (In the end, the demon wins over Rose, and the curse is presumed to continue through her ex-fiancé, Joel.) ..... As it might be rather obvious at this point, this film is not very inspiring. The one moment of “inspiration” in the story—when Rose faces the trauma of her past head-on and “kills” the curse—is completely destroyed by the fact that it was all a hallucination, and the curse was still within her. The ending is filled with hopelessness and leaves the viewer unsettled rather than inspired. In all the work they did to try ending the curse, it all led to nothing in the end. (To be fair, some horror films leave the viewer rather hopeless or on edge regardless, but I thought SMILE was still pretty grim in comparison. Particularly in this case, it really just used the "it was all a dream" trope, which is, in my opinion, also not very creative.) ..... With everything else in mind, a positive aspect of the movie is that it was very well filmed. For all the jump scares and suspenseful moments’ worth, they were shot well to fill the audience with the intended fear and anxiety. There is a lot of violence which, for being very bloody and gruesome, looks real and even more disturbing. While some of the twists could easily be figured out with some consideration (such as Rose’s cat gone missing because she killed it), the actors and effects were of pretty decent quality. The biggest con was the monster at the end; while disgustingly horrifying, the CGI used was not very good, and the character design was very stereotypical for horror movies. Its other aspects may lack, but SMILE has a pretty decent quality development. ..... As a film, SMILE should bring about different emotions, which includes fear as it is a horror movie, and this it does. It also should relate to what we already experience in our day-to-day, which it also does; it takes place in the modern world, and other than the curse haunting her daily life, the world around Rose is the same as ours. That is exactly what makes this film so horrible; without a positive message in sight, the world seems hopeless and evil, and these emotions can be reflected in the audience and shift their view of the world we live in. MovieGuide shares that there is a lot of foul language and a tendency to turn to alcohol to deal with trauma, which are both arguably common in today’s society. These similarities can misguide the minds of people watching this movie as they may not consciously separate them entirely from real life. As Dr. Gan says, “We often don’t think of media as an experience because it’s an experience we have every day in a hundred different ways.” (Gan, 119) These paint our world in as horrible of a light as the world in SMILE, which may leave viewers with the emotions of dread and hopelessness that the movie ends in. As MovieGuide states: “MOVIEGUIDEⓇ can’t think of a good reason for moviegoers to see this abhorrent, unsatisfying movie.” (MovieGuide, 2022)