While Smile is a horror film that plays for a crowd and gives us jumps and intense moments, it’s also a story about trauma and how our past can torment and haunt us just as much as any movie monster. At Fantastic Fest, I was fortunate to speak with director Parker Finn and star Sosie Bacon about Smile and how they were able to tell a compelling story as well as address those important themes.
As you can see in the photo below, I geared up with my E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial shirt and got a lot of positive comments on it, and it was fun to talk about it, as well as the movie.
Smile features the work of Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr, who you may not know but would definitely recognize their work, specifically the beasties they created in the Alien franchise.
These were fun interviews to do, and you should definitely see Smile when it opens in theaters on September 30th. You can watch the interviews using the players below. Thanks for watching!
In the film, 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.
In addition to Sosie Bacon, the movie stars Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Robin Weigert, and Caitlin Stasey, with Kal Penn and Rob Morgan.
Based on Parker Finn’s short Laura Hasn’t Slept, the movie was written and directed by Finn. The producers are Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, and Robert Salerno.
Distributed by Paramount Pictures, Smile is rated R for strong violent content, and grisly images, and language.
If you would like to learn more about Smile, you can read my review here and you can watch the official trailer here. Once you see the film, be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Alan Cerny has been writing about film for more than 20 years for such sites as Ain’t It Cool News, CHUD, Birth Movies Death, and ComingSoon. He has been a member of the Houston Film Critics Society since 2011. STAR WARS biased. Steven Spielberg once called Alan a “very good writer,” and Alan has the signed letter to prove it, so it must be true.