When a patient who claims to have been pursued by a supernatural entity with a terrifying smile commits suicide, while grinning, in front of her, psychiatrist Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) seemingly inherits the same curse, triggering a frantic effort on Rose's part to solve the mystery and escape her own impending fate. An intensely creepy experience in the mold of "It Follows" and "The Ring", Parken Finn's "Smile" is enhanced by Sosie Bacon's phenomenal performance and some excellent practical effects work, as well as an ominous, oppressive tone that makes up for the movie's less successful attempts to be more overtly frightening. Where the real problem lies is in an excessive 115 minute runtime that the movie's content doesn't justify, and which leads to "Smile" slackening in the home stretch when it really ought to be hurtling towards its still haunting conclusion. And if not every actor here quite pulls off the sinister smile that the movie's shapeshifting monster wears as its calling card, "Smile" does boast more quality performances outside of Bacon's star turn, with the likes of Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey and Kal Penn standing out. Ultimately, this is a good movie that might have been great were the filmmakers not making a conscious effort to stretch it thin over an unjustifiable runtime.
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