Mental trauma through the lens of horror, ‘Smile‘ puts in the two most disturbing themes in its 115-minute run. The Parker Finn directional debut film is based on the 2020 short film, ‘Laura Hasn’t Slept‘. More than scary, ‘Smile‘ radiates a more disturbing vibe. Although, its jump scares and intense score, may remind one of ‘The Ring‘ and ‘It follows‘.
The movie follows Dr. Rose Cotter, a therapist who begins experiencing hallucinations after witnessing a patient take her own life. The patient, Laura, saw her professor die by suicide, after which she became the target of a presence with a sinister smile. Following Laura’s death, Rose starts experiencing visions of her own and begins seeing the smile-themed creature. This strains her relationships with her sister Holly and her fiancé, Trevor.
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The Movie Ending: Does Joel Survive?
‘Smile‘ has been linked with ‘The Ring‘ for their similarities, but the former has a quite different take on psychological trauma. Unlike other horror movies, its aim is not to frighten the audience, but rather delivers consistent misdirections and unpredictable plot twist. Rose learns that the entity feeds on trauma and that the only way to escape the chain is to kill another person in the presence of a witness. But to avoid that Ross secluded herself in her childhood home, but she could not outrun the entity.
As it appeared in the form of her mother revealing how Ross let her die, she slowly losses grip on her sanity. When the creature takes the form of her monstrous mother, Ross set the creature on fire and runs away. In the film finale, she believes that the entity has gone for good, and Ross visits Joel to apologize for pushing him away. But the best reveal of ‘Smile‘ is yet to come.
As it turns out Joel was the creature in disguise, and Rose never left the house. The entire escape was in her head, almost erasing the lines between reality and delusion. In the real world, Joel arrives at Rose’s childhood home, and when he enters, she turns around with an evil grin on her face. She then takes her own life in front of Joel, effectively passing the curse on to him. The ‘Smile‘ ending closes as the camera focuses on Rose’s death being reflected in Joel’s terrified eye, showing that her fate will continue to happen to other people.
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‘Smile’ Theme: An Allegory Of Trauma
‘Smile’ serves as a metaphor for a person’s control over their mind as a response to repress trauma. Generally, people attempt to mask a smile to cover up their trauma and suffering. The film responds to this coping mechanism with an unhealthy way to deal with trauma, resulting in fake happiness that will lead to the death of a person. But to be precise, the entity does not attack Rose physically. Instead, it creates various visions leading Rose to harm herself ad lose grip on reality.
The entity is a metaphor for emotional pain, delivering poignant messages about the unavoidable nature of trauma. The horror movie curse is quite literally trauma being passed on from one emotionally hurt person to another, as something many victims have in common is witnessing a loved one die. Almost on the same line as Jeff Wadlow’s ‘Truth or Dare‘. Then, there are those who knowingly inflict their pain on others in a futile effort to rid themselves of their difficulties. Concluding ‘Smile’ entity is an interpretation of the pain and sorrow that results in handling trauma in unhealthy ways.
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