Smile
The brief
Parker Finn's feature debut builds genuine dread through an insidious premise that gets under your skin and stays there, following Sosie Bacon's psychiatrist as smiling faces become increasingly sinister. The film earns its scares through sustained psychological tension rather than cheap jump scares, though it definitely has those too when you least expect them. Bacon anchors the escalating paranoia with a performance that makes you feel her grip on reality slipping in real time. Perfect for fans of The Ring or Sinister who want their horror with actual psychological weight behind the supernatural nonsense.
The verdict
If you crave horror that builds genuine psychological dread and can handle nearly two hours of sustained paranoia with a stellar lead performance, this is exactly what you're looking for. If you prefer quick scares or get impatient with slow-burn psychological horror, you'll find this too drawn out and mentally exhausting.
Watch with
- 👥 Horror fans who appreciate slow-burn scares
- ⚠️ Skip if you're sensitive to psychological horror
Heads up
- Frequent jump scares throughout (frequent)
- Self-harm and suicide themes (moderate)
- Disturbing medical/psychiatric imagery (moderate)
- Graphic violence in climactic scenes (moderate)
Credits
- Director
- Parker Finn
- Cast
- Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner, Jessie T. Usher, Robin Weigert, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn, Rob Morgan
Official synopsis
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening
The Double
Make a night of it
Pair this with Perfect Blue (1998)
Both explore psychological deterioration through disturbing identity distortion and paranoia.
Total runtime: 1h 55m + 1h 22m = 3h 17m
