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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Smiley’ On Netflix, Where A Misdirected Voicemail Leads To New Love In Barcelona

Where to stream:, elliot page wanted his 'umbrella academy' character to come out as trans. the showrunner's response "oh my f***ing god. kill me now.", ‘outstanding: a comedy revolution’ is the perfect pride movie to watch on netflix today, stream it or skip it: ‘an audience with kylie’ on hulu, a career-spanning, celebrity-packed fete of kylie minogue, ‘a family affair’ director richard lagravenese says coming out late in life helped him relate to nicole kidman’s character: “you have this second adulthood”.

A hallmark of streaming romcom series is the couple that get together under unusual circumstances, whether it’s a one-night stand-turned-marriage ( Catastrophe ), a “regular girl” inadvertently hooking up with a movie star ( Starstruck ), or two sisters trying to figure out what and who they want in life  ( Vida ). Now a new Spanish romantic comedy on Netflix brings this formula to two guys who would likely never connect if it weren’t for a misdirected voicemail.

SMILEY : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: We hear a phone ring, then an outgoing recording telling the person on the other side to leave a message. “I decided to call you in the end,” says a voice. Then we hear more from that voice as we see him wake up in the morning.

The Gist: Àlex (Carlos Cuevas) is a bartender in Barcelona, and he’s leaving an epically long message to his ex, several weeks after being ghosted by him. The message is full of talk about how he thought their relationship would be different, how he thought that the two of them had a connection and a real shot at something special. He also explains how the last thing that he texted to him in WhatsApp is a smiley emoji, which says a whole number of things.

One problem: Since he called the phone from the landline of the bar where he works, he actually had to dial the number. He ended up dialing the wrong number; instead of the ex, the epic voice mail lands in the inbox of an architect named Bruno (Miki Esparbé). Bruno is also looking for something real and lasting, and he’s been on the dating scene for what he feels like is way too long. He even ends up deleting Grindr, especially after some of the guys he matches with basically tell him to get lost.

He’s seriously thinking of returning the call and trying to meet Àlex. His best friend Albert (Eduardo Lloveras) and his wife Núria (Ruth Llopis) think he’s crazy. But when he takes the chance and calls Àlex at the bar, the two of them have a great conversation and decide to meet there.

In the meantime, Àlex’s friend Vero (Meritxell Calvo), who reminds him that he’s dated a parade of assholes with great abs, has her own issues: Her girlfriend Patri (Giannina Fruttero) is getting their new condo in shape and is really looking forward to their new phase in life. But Vero got a job offer to manage a club in Ibiza over the summer, something that also ticks off Javier (Pepón Nieto), who owns the bar with her. But when he performs as his drag persona Keena, he inadvertently lets the cat out of the bag… with Patri sitting in the crowd.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The vibe of  Smiley feels pretty close to shows like  Vida and  Starstruck.

Our Take: One of the reasons why we cited those two shows above is because  Smiley  is about a relationship that starts off in a surprising way and has the potential to have really interesting ups and downs as the season goes on. You can tell from the first minutes of the episode that, while it feels like Bruno and Àlex are having a streaming-TV-ready meet-cute, the end of the episode shows us that the meet-cute is going to lead to a whole lot of emotional upheaval.

Why? Because when Àlex sees Bruno walking into the door at Bar Bero (so named because Vero convinced Javier to convert it from a barber shop into a bar), he says “Shit,” and not in a good way. He’s probably not attracted to Bruno at first, but he also knows in the back of his mind that the guys he’s been instantly attracted to have been the parade of assholes Vero talked to him about. So just the moments where the two guys get to know each other, with Àlex likely trying to figure out whether he should give Bruno a chance will make for some funny and romantic moments.

But writer Guillem Clua has done a good job of setting up the side characters with their own solid B-stories. We have Albert and Núria’s battle to get back some of the crumbs of fun they had before kids — Albert admits to Bruno that he jerks off in his bedroom while his kids watch  Dora The Explorer . And Vero and Patri have a lot to work out after Javier accidentally let word of Vero’s new job on Ibiza slip out. The first episode covers a lot of territory, and we’re really interested to see where all of these relationships go during the season.

Sex and Skin: Nothing but kissing in the first episode.

Parting Shot: When Bruno comes in holding a book like he said, he catches Àlex’s eye. “Don’t let it be him,” Àlex says to himself. But, as we described above, when it  is  him, Àlex says a deflated “Shit” to himself, while pasting a smile on his face.

Sleeper Star: Meritxell Calvo’s harder-edged Vero plays well off Cuevas’ more sensitive and romantic Àlex.

Most Pilot-y Line: Bruno’s last straw on Grindr was when someone matched with him just to text “Stop saying hey, you bore. I wouldn’t hook up with you even if I was on GHB.” Why ya gotta be so cruel, Gridnr match guy?

Our Call: STREAM IT. We’re a sucker for couples that struggle to make it despite all odds, especially after they meet up in an unusual way.  Smiley is definitely in that category, and all the characters are drawn well enough to make us want to follow their romantic adventures.

Joel Keller ( @joelkeller ) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com , VanityFair.com , Fast Company and elsewhere.

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‘Smile’ Review – A Scary Grin Exposes a Familiar But Effective Horror Movie

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Directed by Michael J. Gallagher

Evil Wears a Smile

After learning of an urban legend in which a demented serial killer named SMILEY can be summoned through the internet, mentally fragile Ashley must decide whether she is losing her mind or becoming Smiley's next victim.

Caitlin Gerard Melanie Papalia Shane Dawson Andrew James Allen Liza Weil Roger Bart Keith David Toby Turner Michael Traynor Jana Gallagher Steve Greene Nikki Limo Richard Ryan DeStorm Power Jason Horton Billy St. John Patrick O'Sullivan Darrien Skylar Bree Essrig Elizabeth Greer Shanna Malcolm Joe Filippone Kristin Elliott Jermaine McNeal Daniel Van Dyke Read MacGuirtose Kai De Mello-Folsom

Director Director

Michael J. Gallagher

Producer Producer

Michael Wormser

Writers Writers

Glasgow Phillips Michael J. Gallagher

Story Story

Glasgow Phillips Ezra Cooperstein

Casting Casting

Lisa Essary

Editor Editor

Zach Anderson

Cinematography Cinematography

Nicola Marsh

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Michael J. Gallagher Glasgow Phillips Cindy Cowan

Camera Operator Camera Operator

Dennis Noyes

Production Design Production Design

Alec Contestabile

Composer Composer

Dave Porter

Level 10 Films

Releases by Date

12 oct 2012, 25 may 2013, 17 feb 2014, releases by country.

• Theatrical 16
• Theatrical R

95 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Madelyn 🇵🇸 ½ 4

To be fair, 😆😆😩😤you have to have a very high IQ 💯😏🤓😜to understand Rick and Morty. 😤😩💦❤️The humor 🤣😂👍👌is extremely subtle, 👉👌😻and without a solid grasp ✊️💪😫🍆💦of theoretical physics 👁😱😤👀most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer's head. 😉😚😌💯👏👉👍There's also Rick's nihilistic outlook, ☠️😬☠️😵which is deftly woven into his characterisation 😑🙌😼🥃- his personal philosophy 🤓😎😒😔draws heavily fromNarodnaya Volya literature, 💯😩🍑🍆💦😫for instance. The fans understand this stuff; 😝😘👌👏🙌💯they have the intellectual capacity 🤓😏👌🤝to truly appreciate the depths 🤔🙀👽🤤of these jokes, 😂🤣😍👐👌to realize that they're not just funny🤔😲😚😁- they say something deep about LIFE. 😓🤔🤤😏🤓😱❤️As a consequence people who dislike Rick and Morty 👏🙌💯😻😤😩💦truly ARE idiots- 😒🤔🙄🤐of course they wouldn't appreciate, 🙌❤️😾👊for instance, the humour 😹😍🤣in Rick's existencial catchphrase "Wu🅱️🅱️a…

Review by Logan Kenny ★

had a worse time while watching this than i did at my uncle jim's funeral

Review by Lis ★ 3

That film gave me cancer.

Review by ashleigh! ½ 3

This film reaches peak horror once Shane Dawson refers to himself as a “dungeon master” and the girl he likes as his “princess”

Review by Mista Cheese ½

This movie makes Grown Ups 2 look like the Shawshank Redemption

Review by kohyeaahnisqatsi ★ 2

"I watch Rick and Morty." The class is shocked at my overwhelming intelligence. "...how? I can't even understand its sheer nuance and subtlety." "Well... WUBBA LUBBA DUB DUB!" One student laughs, and I turn to see who the fellow genius is. It's none other than Albert Einstein.

Review by RobynSummer 3

Smiley is a filmmaking marvel. It gets EVERYTHING wrong.

Right at the beginning of this film, there's a blatant continuity error where we zoom in on a chat that says the babysitter typed messages before cutting back to show that the messages changed to be from the guy she was chatting with instead. Did nobody watch this before releasing it? It really set the tone for the overall experience.

The cinematography is incredibly cheap and hideous, with shots not being properly framed. We get one shot where the camera goes handheld to bounce up and down to ensure we see a character's gun, and it's hilarious. The sound design is awful, with actor's lines either being too quiet to…

Review by Ryley Mann ½ 1

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise?

I thought not. It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you. It’s a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life… He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful… the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Ironic. He could save others from death, but not himself.

Review by bim10 ★★★★★ 2

I've never seen this, but my kids love Shane Dawson. Pop this into the DVD player, and suddenly the kid's wanna spend the weekend at dad's house!

Review by ram<3 ½ 1

this movie makes Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey look like a fucking masterpiece

Review by andy ½ 6

GUYS HE LITERALLY SMILED IN THIS MOVIE!!! so epic!!!!!

Review by Daniel Shillito ½ 2

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Smiley Movie

The New Face of Fear

Who's Involved:

Glasgow Phillips, Keith David, Melanie Papalia, Caitlin Gerard, Roger Bart, Andrew James Allen, Shane Dawson, Michael Gallagher, Liza Weil, Jana Winternitz, Toby Turner, Nikki Limo, Michael Traynor

Release Date:

Friday, October 12, 2012 Limited

Plot: What's the story about?

After learning of an urban legend in which a demented serial killer named Smiley can be summoned through the Internet, mentally fragile Ashley must decide whether she is losing her mind or becoming Smiley's next victim.

modified plot formulation from movies.yahoo.com

2.87 / 5 stars ( 23 users)

Poll: Will you see Smiley?

Who stars in Smiley: Cast List

Caitlin Gerard ... Ashley

The Assignment, Insidious: The Last Key  

Melanie Papalia ... Proxy

Hell or High Water, American Pie: Book of Love  

Shane Dawson ... Binder

Andrew James Allen ... Zane

Small Time  

Roger Bart ... Professor Clayton

Hostel: Part II, Excision  

Keith David ... Diamond

Mufasa: The Lion King, Coraline (15th Anniversary re-release)  

Toby Turner ... Mark

Michael Traynor ... Smiley

Liza Weil ... Dr. Jenkins

The Passenger, Women is Losers  

Jana Winternitz ... Maria

Funny Story  

Nikki Limo ... Stacy

Who's making Smiley: Crew List

A look at the Smiley behind-the-scenes crew and production team.

Michael Gallagher

Screenwriters

Michael Gallagher Glasgow Phillips

AMC Theaters

Production Companies

Watch smiley trailers & videos.

Theatrical Trailer

Production: what we know about smiley, filming timeline.

• 2012 - October : The film was set to Completed  status.

Smiley Release Date: When was the film released?

Smiley was a Limited release in 2012 on Friday, October 12, 2012 . There were 18 other movies released on the same date, including Here Comes the Boom , Argo and Sinister . As a Limited release, Smiley will only be shown in select movie theaters across major markets. Please check Fandango and Atom Tickets to see if the film is playing in your area.

Smiley DVD & Blu-ray Release Date: When was the film released?

Smiley was released on DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, February 12 , 2013 .

Q&A Asked about Smiley

Seen the movie? Rate It!

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Follow the Updates

• Sat., Mar. 2, 2013 from Amazon
• added the US Blu-ray release date of May 7, 2013
• added the US DVD release date of February 12, 2013
• Mon., Oct. 22, 2012 from Film|Ratings
• set the MPAA rating to R for violence, terror, language, some sexual references and substance use by teens
• Mon., Oct. 8, 2012 from Facebook - Smiley
• added photos to the gallery
• added a link from facebook.com
• Mon., Oct. 8, 2012 from Movie Poster Awards
• added a poster to the gallery
• Mon., Oct. 1, 2012 from Yahoo! Movies
• added AMC Theatres as a distributor

Looking for more information on Smiley?

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Film review: smiley (2012).

Adrian Halen 10/11/2017 Uncategorized

After learning of an urban legend in which a demented serial killer named SMILEY can be summoned through the Internet, mentally fragile Ashley must decide whether she is losing her mind or becoming Smiley’s next victim.

I did it for the lulz I did it for the lulz I did it for the lulz

If that phrase sounds a little foreign to you, it won’t be after this new thriller directed by Michael J. Gallagher. Gallagher not only brings us a new pseudo urban legend, but does using a term often used by the controversial hacker group “Anonymous”.

My first reaction after doing some digging, is why such an odd phrase? The phrase is re-posted 3 times by a Internet surfer using a online video chat site (much like “Chat roulette”). How it works is, if a surfer doesn’t like the person on the other end, they can repeat this phrase 3 times into the chat invoking an evil killer named “ Smiley “. “Smiley” is the product of an urban legends made real that appears behind the receiver at that moment and slits their throat. The idea follows suite into the tradition of repeat phrase urban legends such as “Candy man”, and “Bloody Mary”. This version appears to a more hipper Internet culture villain that is supposed to have spawned from all the vile evils in the world. Perhaps…..

As we learn, “Smiley” is closer to an abstract creature (than a serial killer) with a carved in and sewn up smile sporting a featureless face without eyes or nose. It of course gets its name from the huge sewn-on smile on its face (happy creepy can definitely appear creepy).

Like iconic villains such as Freddy Krueger, it technically doesn’t exist in the real world and only appears in online videos. The idea of “Smiley” and its origins becomes the films root of discussion about the universe, its trends, the origins of evil and what not. Professor Clayton (Roger Bart) who runs a class on ethics and reason begins to also integrate this abstract reasoning into his lectures. While Clayton provides the films grounding in reason and realism, he also appears to have his own issues about life and its direction.

Though moving on, we have a small cast of characters who keep the film in the right target market for young pre-adult viewers. Caitlin Gerard stars as Ashley, a nerdy new college kid who is experiencing much of the college lifestyle for the first time. For her, it’s a who new way of life being introduced to parties, new friends and the talk of an urban legend named “smiley”. Melanie Papalia plays her roommate Proxy (a key giveaway computer nerd term) who acts as the resident indulging influence between the pair. Andrew James Allen plays the role of Zane, the model stuck up overconfident-wanna-punch-in-the-face collage mutt who you swear could have been played by James Spader in a Spader’s younger years. Youtube actor Shane Dawson arrives in the form of a potential love interest for Ashley under the character name of Binder (who my daughter actually had to update me on since I wasn’t in tune with Youtube celebrities….um, ya). The rest of the characters were at best…. unforgettable, if not annoying.

The film follows the traditions of successful build-up-scare features always alluding to a mystery villain. If your in tune with that, then you can expect a body count, an increase in interactions, a police station that doesn’t believe a word, a school psychiatrist and a brooding professor that somehow gives you the creeps when he isn’t supposed to.

I am guessing that with the film’s surprise ending, that fans will lose a bit of grounding, mostly because it seems unanswered and “matter of fact”. Without spoiling it, the message here is the origin of a viral phenomenon. While that obsession seems a bit too much for the conclusion, it does have merit in the fascination these days within the youth “me-culture”. I believe that director Michael J. Gallagher was trying to flag this notion with his film statement. I also think that the segment is full of a few holes that I’m not sure were really patched up.

I really dug “Smiley” as it is a legitimate return to the old school ways of inventing new character icons and horror foundations. You could probably name off a handful of similar instances in the horror culture that gave way to new offspring.

“ Smiley “, the movie AND the character provide “that” need that seems to have been missing for many years. Perhaps our fascination with torture p*rn and the like has waned with too much extremism in our culture. Or perhaps we just need new creeps to immerge that provide a reason to be scared. After all, extreme torture is not scary, more than it is gross and unnerving. Though we miss our phantoms, and I belive that “Smiley” appeases that need. “Smiley” just may be the new face of horror for 2012.

Smiley (2012)

Tags Andrew James Allen Caitlin Gerard Jana Winternitz Keith David Liza Weil Melanie Papalia Michael J. Gallagher Michael Traynor Roger Bart Shane Dawson Smiley Toby Turner

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What is the actual name of the professor, and the psychologist? We just watched (Smiley) it rocked but.are vary curious about these two names.

The producer himself was also a YouTuber, TotallySketch, and most of the cast were people knowen from youtube.

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Tv/streaming, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, black writers week.

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When the horror histories of the 2010s are written, the decade will be associated with trauma metaphors the way the ‘80s are with slasher movies. And although it comes on the cusp of a new decade, the new Paramount wide-release horror movie "Smile" fits right in with its PTSD-induced kin. The difference here is that the monster is barely a metaphor at all: The demon, or evil spirit, or whatever it is—the movie is vague on this point—literally feeds on, and is spread by, trauma.

Specifically, the vague something that dogs Dr. Rose Cotter ( Sosie Bacon ) throughout “Smile” likes the taste of people who have witnessed someone else dying by suicide—gruesome, painful, bloody suicide, by garden shears and oncoming trains and the shattered fragments of a ceramic vase in a hospital intake room. That’s where Rose briefly meets Laura ( Caitlin Stasey ), a PhD student who’s brought to the psychiatric emergency ward where Rose works, shaking and terrified that something is out to get her. “It looks like people, but it’s not a person,” Laura explains, saying that this thing has been following her ever since she witnessed one of her professors bludgeoning himself to death with a hammer four days earlier. At the end of the extended dialogue scene that opens the film, Laura turns to Rose with a psychotic grin on her face and proceeds to slit her own throat.

This would unsettle anyone, but it especially bothers Rose given that Rose’s own mother died by suicide many years earlier. That lingering trauma, and the fears and stigma that surround it, form the film’s most intelligent thematic thread: Rose’s fiance Trevor ( Jessie T. Usher ) admits that he’s researched inherited mental illness online, and harsh terms like “nutjobs,” “crazies,” and “head cases” are used to describe mentally ill people throughout the film. The idea that she might not actually be plagued by the same entity that killed Laura, and that her hallucinations, lost time, and emotional volatility might have an internal cause, seems to bother Rose more than the concept of being cursed. The people around Rose, including Trevor, her therapist Dr. Northcott ( Robin Weigert ), her boss Dr. Desai ( Kal Penn ), and her sister Holly (Gillian Zinzer), certainly seem to think the problem is more neurochemical than supernatural—that is, until it’s way too late. 

The only one who believes Rose is her ex, Joel ( Kyle Gallner ), a cop who’s been assigned to Laura’s case. Their tentative reunion opens the door to the film’s mystery element, which makes up much of “Smile’s” long, but not overly long, 115-minute run time. The film’s storyline follows many of your typical beats of a supernatural horror-mystery, escalating from a quick Google (the internet-age equivalent of a good old-fashioned library scene) to an in-person interview with a traumatized, incarcerated survivor of whatever this malevolent entity actually is. Brief reference is made to a cluster of similar events in Brazil, opening up the door to a sequel.

“Smile’s” greatest asset is its relentless, oppressive grimness: This is a film where children and pets are as vulnerable as adults, and the horror elements are bloody and disturbing to match the dark themes. This unsparing sensibility is enhanced by Bacon’s shaky, vulnerable performance as Rose: At one point, she screams at Trevor, “I am not crazy!,” then mumbles an apology and looks down at her shoes in shame. At another, her wan smile at her nephew’s birthday party stands as both a bleak counterpoint to the sick grin the entity’s victims see before they die (thus the film’s title), as well as a relatable moment for viewers who have reluctantly muddled their way through similar gatherings in the midst of a depressive episode. 

Sadly, despite a compelling lead and strong craft behind the camera—the color palette, in shades of lavender, pink, teal, and gray, is capably chosen and very of the moment—“Smile” is diminished by the sheer fact that it’s not as fresh a concept as it might seem. This is director Parker Finn ’s debut feature as a writer and director, based on a short film that won a jury award at SXSW 2020. To spin that into a non-franchise wide-release movie from a major studio like Paramount within two years—in a pandemic, no less!—is an impressive achievement, to be sure. 

But in padding out the concept from an 11-minute short into a nearly two-hour movie, “Smile” leans too heavily not only on formulaic mystery plotting, but also on horror themes and imagery lifted from popular hits like “ The Ring ” and “ It Follows .” David Robert Mitchell ’s 2014 film is an especially prominent, let’s say, influence on “Smile,” which, combined with its placement on the “it’s really about trauma” continuum, make this a less bracing movie experience than it might have been had it broken the mold more aggressively. It does introduce Finn as a capable horror helmer, one with a talent for an elegantly crafted jump scare and a knack for making a viewer feel uneasy and upset as they exit the theater—both advantages for a film like this one. But fans excited to see an “original” horror film hitting theaters should temper those expectations. 

This review was filed from the premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 23rd. It opens on September 30th.

Katie Rife is a freelance writer and critic based in Chicago with a speciality in genre cinema. She worked as the News Editor of  The A.V. Club  from 2014-2019, and as Senior Editor of that site from 2019-2022. She currently writes about film for outlets like  Vulture, Rolling Stone, Indiewire, Polygon , and  RogerEbert.com.

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Film credits.

Smile (2023)

Rated R for strong violent content and grisly images, and language.

115 minutes

Sosie Bacon as Dr. Rose Cotter

Kyle Gallner as Joel

Caitlin Stasey as Laura Weaver

Jessie T. Usher as Trevor

Rob Morgan as Robert Talley

Kal Penn as Dr. Morgan Desai

Robin Weigert as Dr. Madeline Northcott

• Parker Finn

Cinematographer

• Charlie Sarroff
• Elliot Greenberg
• Cristobal Tapia de Veer

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'Smile' review: Does one superbly scary scene make it worth watching?

The concept of a curse has given rise to some of the most nerve-rattling horror cinema of the last decade. Using this conceit, Ari Aster’s Hereditary and Natalie Erika James's Relic both took the idea of inheritance to places horrifying yet humane. Skipping in their footsteps comes Smile , which sheds their grungy indie veneer for a slick spin on the trope. But can it satisfy on the scares promised with a beaming ad campaign ?

On its face, Smile has a terrific setup: A witness to heinous violence is stalked by a corporeal curse that brings on trauma, terror, derision, and ultimately death. It’s like The Ring , but instead of creepy kids, there’s a wretched grin that follows and dooms you. Sadly, this cool concept crumbles under the weight of a major screenwriting problem — our hero is the movie's least interesting character. 

Smile needs a Final Girl worth watching.

Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) is plagued by a mysterious curse that stalks her with sinister smiles, but she’s far from thrilling. In the vein of folk horror, she’s the rational metropolitan figure in her role as a well-respected therapist. And she's a noble one at that, working at a struggling hospital and caring for patients even if they can't pay her a fat hourly fee. But Rose's goodness doesn't make her as instantly compelling as writer/director Parker Finn might hope.

Part of the problem, perhaps, is that the characters around Rose get to have, well, character . Her sister Holly (a cuttingly funny Gillian Zinser) is a nightmare of a suburban housewife, the wine-swigging cliche who complains about parenting in between backhanded compliments. Holly’s husband (Nick Arapoglou) matches her energy as a succinctly snobby doofus whose crass commentary and easy greediness make for grim but solid punchlines. At the hospital, Kal Penn brings flushed concern as Rose's colleague, while Kyle Gallner plays a sensitive, slightly broody cop. Judy Reyes from Scrubs even pops up for an emotional sequence riddled with anger and grief. They all bring color, while Rose is devotedly beige, even as Bacon hurls herself into the frenzied physicality of fear and slippery shrieks of terror.

It's not that being a nice good person is inherently boring. Final Girls like Halloween 's Laurie Strode and Scream' s Sidney Prescott are also good girls, but each has a bit of attitude that signals she can stand up for herself when push comes to stab. Smile dips into the slasher subgenre with its gesture at this Final Girl trope, yet Finn never gives Rose the essential verve she needs to make us believe she has some fight in her. Without this salty contrast, Rose feels too vague and unreal, lacking the human complexity that makes for a compelling horror heroine. This distance means that as her smiling slasher closes in, her battle for survival earned laughter from the audience, not screams.

A scene stealer gives Smile its best scare.

The bigger problem for Smile might be that Bacon is outshined in the inciting incident. That unnerving smile you've seen plastered across promo posters (and in the image above) belongs to Caitlin Stasey, who delivers a frightening and full arc in one all-too-brief sequence.

College student Laura Weaver (Stasey) comes to Rose with a story too wild to be believed. The battered girl moves with heavy fatigue yet is electrifyingly on edge, hinting at an offscreen battle that has robbed her of sleep and peace. Desperation radiates from her dark eyes as she spills nonsensical claims about an entity that "looks like people" and wears their skin "like a mask." Stasey is riveting in her weariness and bewilderment, and nerve-rattling as she leaps into wails of terror over something no one else can see. Few screams in a horror movie have given me chills, but Stasey's had me goose-pimpled and trembling. Then, just like that, the smile slides across her face, too broad, perfectly jarring.

In a few short minutes, Stasey has made herself an iconic horror figure. Regrettably, nothing in Smile is as sensationally scary as this early sequence.

Smile relies on jump scares and gore.

Maybe you're not watching horror in search of someone to root for. Perhaps you just want some mindless fun and frights. Well, if that's the case, you're in luck; Smile is braced with impressively gory sequences of inventive mutilations and gruesome deaths. The central smile gag works to varying degrees depending on the actor putting it on, but is surprisingly — and disappointingly — sparing in its use. Still, these freaky facial distortions build to a climax that reveals a nightmarish creature that's not exactly unique but is nonetheless terrifically scary to behold.

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However, too many of the attempted thrills in the movie are just jump scares: a sinister figure revealed in a dark corner, a loud sound inciting panic at a mundane occurrence, like cracking open a can of cat food. Finn does a fine job of setting up these small shocks, so that even if you anticipate them, the payoff will make you jump. And while this can be fun, his heavy dependency on these frightening flourishes feel cheap and flimsy without a roiling boil of tension to keep the momentum going.

This is the great tragedy of Smile . It's not the grisly tale of a therapist who followed her patient down a dark path, but of a concept wasted on jump scares and a boring protagonist. There are moments of promise, like a recurring motif about ringing telephones and what they ultimately mean to Rose. Plus, Finn ambitiously dabbles in different horror tropes with his folk-horror culture clash, his slasher Final Girl, and a clever curse that transforms every building into a haunted house. But he fails to create a heroine we frightfully feel bound to, which leaves Smile little more than a creepy watch. It could have been the kind of sinister flick that follows you home, slipping through the door, up the stairs, and curling up deep inside your head, daring you to sleep. Instead, Smile feels as disposable as a candy wrapper.

Smile opens in theaters Sept. 30.

Topics Film

Kristy Puchko is the Film Editor at Mashable. Based in New York City, she's an established film critic and entertainment reporter, who has traveled the world on assignment, covered a variety of film festivals, co-hosted movie-focused podcasts, interviewed a wide array of performers and filmmakers, and had her work published on RogerEbert.com, Vanity Fair, and The Guardian. A member of the Critics Choice Association and GALECA as well as a Top Critic on Rotten Tomatoes, Kristy's primary focus is movies. However, she's also been known to gush over television, podcasts, and board games. You can follow her on Twitter.

Smiley (2012) Stream and Watch Online

Watch 'smiley' online.

Fancy watching ' Smiley ' on your TV, phone, or tablet? Finding a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or view the Michael J. Gallagher-directed movie via subscription can be challenging, so we here at Moviefone want to do right by you. Below, you'll find a number of top-tier streaming and cable services - including rental, purchase, and subscription options - along with the availability of 'Smiley' on each platform when they are available. Now, before we get into the nitty-gritty of how you can watch 'Smiley' right now, here are some finer points about the Level 10 Films horror flick. Released October 12th, 2012, 'Smiley' stars Caitlin Gerard , Melanie Papalia , Shane Dawson , Andrew James Allen The R movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 35 min, and received a user score of 43 (out of 100) on TMDb, which assembled reviews from 387 well-known users. Curious to know what the movie's about? Here's the plot: "After learning of an urban legend in which a demented serial killer named SMILEY can be summoned through the internet, mentally fragile Ashley must decide whether she is losing her mind or becoming Smiley's next victim." 'Smiley' is currently available to rent, purchase, or stream via subscription on VIX .

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Fever Productions announces October 11th, 2012 as the day and date release for the much anticipated horror-thriller SMILEY. The film, which will have a highly innovative, new distribution plan, was directed by You Tube sensation Michael J. Gallagher (“Totally Sketch”), and was co-written by Gallagher and Glasgow Phillips (“South Park”). Michael Wormser (“Some Guy Who Kills People”) is the Producer. Gallagher and his You Tube partners on “Totally Sketch,” as well as the other performers in the film, have an enormous fan base to call on with over 11 million subscribers, 2.2 billion views and 4 million plus fans on Facebook/Twitter. The trailer has accumulated over 11 million views since its debut. After learning of an urban legend in which a demented serial killer named “Smiley” can be summoned through the Internet, mentally fragile Ashley (Caitland Gerard from “Magic Mike” and “The Social Network”) must decide whether she is losing her mind or becoming Smiley's next victim. The film also stars Melanie Papalia (“Endgame”), Shane Dawson (“Shane Dawson’s TV”) and Andrew James Allen (“Make It or Break It”), with Toby Turner ("The Annoying Orange"), Roger Bart (“Desperate Housewives”), Keith David (“The Thing”) and Liza Weil (“Scandal”) rounding out the cast. SMILEY will be made directly available to a massive global fan base by using a new hybrid approach for distribution. To see the film in theaters, the producers will be utilizing Tugg, Inc. (“Tugg”), a web-platform that lets audiences choose the films that play in their local theater. With Tugg, fans will be able to buy tickets to premiere screenings throughout the U.S. on October 11th and October 31st. Tickets for the premiere screenings will go sale on Monday, July 16th, and fans will be able to request to host their own screenings soon after. Starting Friday, June 29th, fans will be able to pre-order SMILEY to stream on demand through the film’s website, http://www.smileymovie.com for a reduced price of five dollars. The buyers will also be prompted to select between a PG-13 or R Rated Director's Cut of the film. At 12:01am on October 11th, audiences will receive an email notification that SMILEY is now available to stream over their computers, smart TV's, smart phones and tablets in the U.S. and most international markets through Redux's Artists platform, which enables artists and filmmakers to sell video content directly to their audience across every screen. The film streams exclusively on Redux between October 11th and October 31st. In addition to the Tugg and Redux roll out, the film will be available on more traditional platforms including DVD, Blu-Ray, iTunes, Redbox and cable VOD at a later date. On Friday, June 29th, Gallagher and the filmmakers will also be at the Anaheim Convention Center at VidCon to deliver a presentation about the release in front of thousands of fans. They will also announce two contests, one that will give away invitations to the Hollywood premiere of the film, and a second to allow up to10 fans to make a cameo appearance in the final cut of the film, which is still in post- production. Said director Michael Gallagher: "We wanted to ensure SMILEY would be made available on the same day to fans worldwide. The love and support for the film has given us the confidence to move forward with an innovative release strategy, which puts the audience in the driver’s seat. If they want to see the film in theaters, they can demand it. If they want to watch it at home, they can stream it on any video device. They can even choose between a PG-13 version and an R-Rated Director's Cut. Also, because we are doing it independently, we are able to keep the costs low and the process simple. We hope to create a new model that puts the fans first and lets their interest in the film drive the distribution, not the other way around."

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Smiley (Movie Review)

Charlie's rating: ★ director: michael j. gallagher | release date: 2012.

"Smiley" is a film that has been bouncing around the news pages of horror sites for some time now. The killer's mask is disturbing and very effective at creating a sense of dread along the lines of the greatest slasher villains. This mask is the reason it's maintained interest throughout the horror community and kept me curious enough that it remained on my radar. The realization that the mask was all the movie had going for it quickly moved my interest from prolonged curiosity, to consisten dread.

Ashley (Caitlin Gerard) is a college student moving into a new house with a wild roommate named Proxy (Melanie Papalia). Ashley has always been the responsible, conservative and uptight figure but Proxy coaxes her into going to a party. This party features a collection of friends that only know each other via online video chat sites. Zane (Andrew James Allen), the party's host, proceeds to tell the tale of Smiley to Ashley and Proxy. A modern take on Bloody Mary in which during a video chat one person must type, and I'm not kidding here, "I did it for the lolz" three times into the chat box. After that Smiley then pops out and kills the receiving chatter. The girls try it out for themselves resulting in the death of a stranger online, thus sending Ashley into a paranoid nervous breakdown convinced Smiley is real and that she has to stop him.

It's hard to take the movie seriously from its cliched and groan inducing premise. An extended version of Bloody Mary morphed onto shades of other horror films with an atrocious cast, it passes being taken seriously and steam rolls into monotonous travesty. Avoiding spoilers for the poor souls that might still want to view this film, the third act offers some twists and turns for the killer. These are not good twists. The plot's finale is visible miles away from its conclusion and the narrative is so threadbare it's constantly padded with tiresome scenes of Ashley seeking out authority figures to lament her frustration. Though the biggest disappointment ultimately is the killer, Smiley. A wonderfully realized mask concept is wasted on a killer with no bite, menace or fun. The few instances inside Ashley's head where Smiley becomes a supernatural force are legitimately interesting and perked my attention. But that's all they are, instances.

The cast is lead by Caitlin Gerard, who many may recognize from her role in "The Social Network" as the intern Justin Timberlake gets caught with doing cocaine. Gerard commits to the role and does her best to play the emotional levels needed for the role, but her performance is uneven and delivery grating. Though she's the only professional amongst the cast trying to work within the material, excluding Roger Bart and Keith David's cameos. The supporting performances and bit players are disturbingly bad stereotypes of various individuals. And their ultimate motivations are insufferable and lacking in any legitimacy.

"Smiley" had me engaged from afar for what seemed like years. The ever so often image of the film's killer always gave me hope that this might be an intriguing indie that could even have legs for a sequel. To my dismay, and I imagine the horror community in general, "Smiley" is a YouTube generation's attempt at creating horror. It lacks substance, intrigue, and its final revelations are so misguided and self aggrandizing that it kills any potential for even a cult fan base.

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‘Smile’ Review: Grab and Grin

A young psychiatrist believes she’s being pursued by a malevolent force in this impressive horror feature debut.

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By Jeannette Catsoulis

A relentlessly somber, precision-tooled picture whose frights only reinforce the wit of its premise, “Smile” turns our most recognizable sign of pleasure into a terrifying rictus of pain.

And pain is something that Rose (Sosie Bacon), a young clinical psychiatrist, understands, having witnessed her mother’s suicide many years earlier. So when a hysterical patient (Caitlin Stasey) claims that she’s being stalked by a murderous, shape-shifting entity — and that this specter appeared only after she saw an acquaintance brutally kill himself — Rose is immediately empathetic. What happens next is so horrifying it will not only resurrect old terrors but engender new ones, destabilizing Rose and everyone close to her.

Increasingly convinced that she, too, is going to die in some horrible fashion, Rose is plagued by gruesome memories, nightmarish hallucinations and lost stretches of time. Her friends and family — including a distracted sister (Gillian Zinser), distant fiancé (Jessie T. Usher) and concerned supervisor (Kal Penn) — presume psychological damage. Only her ex-boyfriend (Kyle Gallner), a sympathetic police detective, is willing to help her research anyone who might have had a similar experience. And, crucially, survived.

In its thematic use of unprocessed trauma and, especially, its presentation of death as a kind of viral infection passed from one person to another, “Smile” embraces an immediately recognizable horror-movie setup. In the past, this has centered on cursed pieces of technology, like the videotape in “The Ring” (2002 ) and the cellphone in “One Missed Call” (2005) . Here, though, death is dealt simply by witnessing an act, and in that sense the movie’s closest cousin may be David Robert Mitchell’s immensely creepy “It Follows” (2015) . In that film, the malevolent virus was transferred through sex; here, the medium is suicide, and the bloodier the better.

Yet this first feature from the writer and director Parker Finn (expanding his 2020 short film, “Laura Hasn’t Slept”) doesn’t feel like a retread: Even the familiar luckless pet seems included more as a wink-wink to the audience than a lazy crib. The jump scares are shockingly persuasive, gaining considerable oomph from Tom Woodruff Jr.’s imaginative practical effects and Charlie Sarroff’s tipsy camera angles. An unexpected color palette sets a dolorous tone without being suffocatingly gloomy, and Bacon’s performance , both shaky and determined, ensures that the very real agony of mental illness and its stigmatization register as strongly as any supernatural pain. Like the emotional injury they represent, the smiles in “Smile” are — in one case, quite literally — bleeding wounds that can’t be stanched.

Smile Rated R for scary teeth and shocking deaths. Running time: 1 hour 55 minutes. In theaters.

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About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures ... Read all About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her past. About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her past.

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