Given a theatrical release by Paramount Players back on the last day of September, writer/director Parker Finn’s horror film Smile is now set to reach home screens this Tuesday, November 15th. The film is receiving a digital release on that date, and will also be available to watch on the Paramount+ streaming service in the US and Canada. Smile will be reaching most Paramount+ markets outside the US sometime in 2023.
Smile is based on Finn’s short film Laura Hasn’t Slept, which won the Special Jury Recognition Prize in SXSW’s Midnight Short category. Caitlin Stasey (Neighbours) played the title character in that short, and it seems like she might be reprising the role in Smile (briefly, judging by the marketing), making this a follow-up of sorts.
Smile has the following synopsis:
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.
Stasey and Sosie Bacon (Charlie Says) are joined in the cast by Kal Penn (the Harold & Kumar movies), Kyle Gallner (Red State), Jessie T. Usher (The Boys), Rob Morgan (Mudbound), Judy Reyes (Scrubs), and Gillian Zinser (90210).
Smile was produced by Temple Hill, with Nathan Samdahl and Natalia Maymi overseeing the project for Paramount Players. In a featurette, Parker Finn promised that nothing can prepare you for what’s going to happen in his movie, which he wanted to feel “like an escalating nightmare”.
I didn’t catch Smile in theatres, but I have been looking forward to watching the movie and will definitely have done so by the end of this week. Have you seen Smile? If so, let us know what you thought of it by leaving a comment below.
Our own JimmyO gave the film a 7/10 review that you can read at THIS LINK.
