Smile. MA15, 104 minutes. Three stars.
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A broad smile is usually associated with happiness, with joy, with welcome. But there's a fine line between a broad smile and a terrifying rictus. Think of Jack Nicholson's "Heeeere's Johnny!" moment in The Shining.
Writer-director Parker Finn makes effective use of this in his feature debut Smile, for which he adapted his short film Laura Hasn't Slept.
I haven't seen the short, but Smile is reminiscent of some fairly recent (and above average) horror movies - The Ring, It Follows, and Truth or Dare.
This is one of two films released this week in which suicide is a major theme: please call the phone number shown at the end if you need support.
Like many a therapist before her, Dr Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon, daughter of actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick) suffered trauma as a child. She's been in therapy herself and works a punishingly long schedule in a psychiatric ward trying to help others. This isn't helping her relationship with her fiance Trevor (Jessie T. Usher), who's also a workaholic.
But she's soon facing even worse problems.
Rose is attempting to help Laura (Caitlin Stasey), a terrified PhD student who insists that something - something that looks human but isn't - is out to kill her and has been since she witnessed her professor kill himself. Suddenly the young woman, mouth contorted into a hideous grin, cuts her own throat.
Anyone would be upset by this, but Rose is particularly disturbed because when she was a child, her mother killed herself. Then comes another whammy: Rose starts having strange experiences and visions of her own. And, of course, nobody believes her - and the more insistent she is, the more people think it's a psychological problem.
These include not only the increasingly wary Trevor - who's aware of what happened to her mother - but her therapist Dr Northcott (Robin Weigert), her boss Dr Desai (Kal Penn) - who gives her a paid week off to deal with things - and her sister Holly (Gillian Zinzer).
Speaking of Holly, there's a scene at a birthday party that might be disturbing to ailurophiles.
Rose's predicament is a classic horror trope - a person who can't share their terror with others - and Bacon is convincing as a damaged woman who's trying to maintain her sanity and get to the bottom of what's happening to her and why.
Feeling isolated, she turns for help to one of the cops who came the day of Laura's death, who just happens to be her ex-boyfriend Joel (Kyle Gallner, who played "Beaver" on Veronica Mars). He, too, is sceptical, but, presumably compelled by lingering feelings for her, helps Rose investigate the history behind the mysterious deaths. And what they discover ain't comforting. Not at all.
As director, Finn is a bit self-indulgent with the camera, employing weird angles, elaborate movements and tricksy viewpoints. He sometimes goes for jump scares but often it's the quieter moments that have an impact. Looking out a window, Rose sees someone looking up at her - coincidence? or danger?
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The lighting is dim throughout. Don't these people know about high-watt bulbs?
As writer, Finn sets up an intriguing scenario in Smile. He's got a good cast and seems interested in exploring ideas and characters rather than simply introducing paper-thin victims to die horribly. While there's plenty in the script that's derivative, there's enough to pique the attention, and those crazed grins, even if not novel, are arresting.
The film becomes more conventional in its second half, with more emphasis on blood and special effects, which is a bit disappointing. And the ending leaves things open for a sequel.
The only other attendees at the first Dendy screening were two teenage girls who spent a lot of time talking. Maybe they'll appreciate a film like this more when they're a bit older.
Still, for horror fans, this is a cut above the many substandard offering in the genre, no pun intended.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; beyondblue 1300 224 636.