Paramount’s Viral New Movie Tops The Box Office

Paramount’s horror film, Smile, has opened with over $20 million, reaching the top of the box office.

Smile, Say Cheese!

In a time when most horror movies released are downright awful, Paramount’s latest film, Smile, delivers a solid performance leaving audiences, at the very least, satisfied. A unique storyline combined with perfectly timed scares, solid acting from the leads, and splendid cinematography is driving the film to the top of the box office.

Unique Storyline

The story follows Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), a therapist who deals with mentally ill patients. One day, a new patient comes in, and a traumatizing incident occurs, after which Rose starts to experience paranormal activity. The rest of the film follows Rose as she turns from calm to manic, trying to figure out what is happening to her. Her fiancé, sister, friends, and colleagues don’t know what’s wrong with her, so she pushes them all away. While there are some twists and turns throughout the movie, the main plot is somewhat predictable, taking away surprise from the audience.

Leading Acting

Sosie Bacon's splendid performance carries the movie as far as acting goes. She starts off the film as a calm and collected therapist but completely transforms herself into pure paranoia and mania. By the film's end, her character is unrecognizable from the person she used to be. Portraying such a duality of emotions is incredibly challenging, which makes Bacon's performance that much more impressive. Some side characters also contributed decent performances, such as Joel (Kyle Gallner) and Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey); however, the rest of the acting is mediocre and somewhat cringe.

Horror

Now to the most crucial question: how scary was the movie? While it wasn’t as terrifying as it was creepy, it definitely does a good job of fitting the genre. The best way to describe the film as a whole is that it is very solidly built. All jump scares are perfectly timed, keeping audiences at the edge of their seats. The cinematography is fantastic and captures the moods and environment of every scene. And most importantly, the movie is very clear and makes sense. Many recent horror films lack logic and are either overly confusing or basic garbage. Smile takes the audience on a unique yet logical ride and wraps everything up with a great ending.

Closing Critiques

While it may not be the best horror film you've seen, it does the job. It features some exceptional acting, an original storyline, and capturing cinematography. While it isn't worth putting your life on a halt to see, it's a good watch if you have nothing to do this weekend.

Raving Rating: 7.1