Smile (2022)
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A therapist becomes haunted by a terrifying supernatural entity after witnessing a patient's bizarre suicide.
The story
After witnessing the bizarre suicide of a patient, therapist Rose Cotter begins to experience a series of increasingly disturbing and terrifying visions. These visions, involving people with haunting smiles, lead her to believe she is being haunted by a supernatural entity. As the visions intensify, Rose must navigate a growing sense of dread and the realization that she may be caught in a cycle of trauma and a mysterious, spreading curse.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Rose Cotter, a therapist in Newark, New Jersey, treats Laura Weaver, who witnessed her professor's suicide. Laura then kills herself in front of Rose after a terrifying vision. Rose begins seeing a smiling Laura and other patients who warn her of her impending death. She discovers a pattern of suicides linked to a shared vision of a smiling figure. Seeking answers, she consults a prisoner, Robert Talley, who explains that the entity feeds on trauma and can only be escaped by passing the curse to another person by forcing them to witness a brutal act. Rose eventually retreats to her family home to isolate herself, but the entity manifests as her mother. In a final confrontation, the entity reveals its true form—a skinless, multi-jawed monstrosity—and possesses her. When her ex-boyfriend Joel finds her, Rose douses herself in fuel and sets herself on fire, smiling as she passes the curse to him.
- First release year
- 2022
- Runtime (minutes)
- 115
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Parker Finn
- Writers
- Parker Finn · writer
- Cast and characters
- Sosie Bacon · Rose Cotter; Jessie T. Usher; Kyle Gallner; Kal Penn; Rob Morgan; Caitlin Stasey
- Genres
- supernatural; psychological horror
- Themes
- trauma; curse
- Tone and mood
- creepy; unsettling
- Setting
- Newark, New Jersey
- Premise and plot tags
- supernatural; psychological; horror; curse; trauma
- Source material / true-story basis
- Laura Hasn't Slept (2020)
- Franchise connections
- Smile
- Content notes
- horror
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews and was noted for its creepy visuals and exploration of trauma.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 80% · scale: percentage · review count: 196; Metacritic · score: 68 · scale: 100 · review count: 32; PostTrak · score: 69% · scale: percentage
- Awards and nominations
- Best Movie · MTV Movie & TV Awards · 2023 · nomination; Most Frightened Performance (Bacon) · MTV Movie & TV Awards · 2023 · nomination; Best Horror Film · Saturn Awards · 51st · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled Something's Wrong with Rose.; The score features an obscure musical instrument called the daxophone.; The film was originally intended for a streaming-only release on Paramount+.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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