Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Smile 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 20, 2022

Though its name may imply otherwise (and if the creepy grin on the poster art isn't any indication), Smile is not a movie designed to make its audience happy. This is a grim picture, based on the 2019 short film Laura Hasn't Slept, about a woman who witnesses a bizarre suicide and finds herself possessed by some terrible entity that is causing her to see, experience, and do things well beyond her comfort and control. Both the original short and this film are written and directed by Parker Finn, so there is some continuity in story dynamics, but at its core is a fairly mundane, paint by number psychological Horror film that strives to comment on mental health but is ultimately just a rote procedural genre picture that is too reliant on jump scares and familiarly designed creepy imagery to really make an impact on the genre landscape.

Laura (Caitlin Stasey) is visiting Psychiatrist Dr. Rose Cotter (Sossie Bacon). Laura is not crazy – she is Ph.D. candidate – but she certainly sounds crazy. She’s seeing visions of people, or they seem to be people, who smile at her in the worst way. It’s gone from scary curiosity to terrifying, perception-destroying, and life-altering trauma. Laura is convinced that she is going to die, and sure enough, she does, by her own hand. During the session, Laura begins to smile that horrible smile, slits her own throat without changing her facial expression, and dies on Dr. Cotter’s floor. It is understandably a traumatic moment in Dr. Cotter’s life. Soon, she begins experiencing visions she cannot explain, begins doing things beyond her control, and she, too, like Laura, begins a slow descent into madness.

The film's structure is very familiar: Rose witnesses the suicide and gradually finds herself plummeting into the same emotional depths as the dead patient. The film follows her descent into madness and the impact her ravings and odd behavior have on the world around her. Her story unravels as her mind unravels, offering something of an engaging parallelism that allows the viewer to experience the decay on the road to destruction, and even if the audience, and Rose, for a good bit of the film, know what awaits, the journey through the degradation, the building fear, and the scramble to make sense of it find a solution is where the movie makes its money. It's not the best thing ever introduced into the Horror genre, but it is certainly a workable picture that gives the audience reason to think and consider, not merely watch blood splatter all over the screen, but ultimately the story depth and novelty are not enough to elevate the film much about the "passable" level.

On the technical end of things, the film offers satisfying performances, particularly from its lead. Bacon capably portrays the psychiatrist whose own mental deterioration and fall into madness takes center stage, and she makes it interesting to watch her character unravel and attempt to deal with the problem as best she can. There's a depth of emotion, heart, and fear present in the role that sells the material, however derivative it may be at its core, very well. Production design offers impressive makeup and gore effects, which when combined with the film's unnerving score and Finn's eye for composition and narrative structure all make Smile a better film than it deserves to be, even if it's not a particularly great film even as it is.

Smile 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

It's easy to see that Smile's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation outclasses the companion and concurrently released Blu-ray by a fairly wide margin. As noted in the review of that disc, the Blu-ray offers a foundationally solid and fundamentally satisfying experience. It's not a world beater by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a rock-solid and well performing Blu-ray image. The UHD amplifies its best qualities and characteristics and brings home a far superior presentation of the film, which incudless less prominent noise here compared to the Blu-ray.

First, the boosts to clarity and textural finesse are obvious under the new resolution parameters. The picture is appreciably sharper, obvious throughout but especially in close-up; look at a haggard and weary Rose at the 51:02 mark. The clarity of skin, lips, hairs, and eyes are obvious with greater sharpness and definition than the Blu-ray can offer, which looks not flat but certainly far less detailed in comparison. Clothing depth and density are more refined here, too. Look at Rose's dense knitted sweater at the 1:01:49 mark for a great example. Add in the additional clarity and textural might granted to the various locations in the film, and the UHD shows its clear superiority in practically every frame, leaving the Blu-ray looking rather flat and bland in direct comparison.

The Dolby Vision color grading strengthens the picture as well. Colors are stabilized with a richer shading. Look at a barrage of natural green at the 64-minute mark in a simple overhead shot for a fine example. The palette presents here with a very natural flavor. Skin tones are a little less warm, pushing a slight gray compared to the Blu-ray, especially later in the film as the terror begins to take a toll on Rose. Overall, though, there is no missing that this is a very natural, fundamentally pleasing color spectrum with well-defined contrast levels and perfect color temperatures. Blacks impress with solid depth, whites are bright and intense, and skin tones look very good, including the aforementioned gray push on the bedraggled Rose.

Smile 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack offers excellent audio immersion. While discrete effects are not commonplace, there is some obvious overhead engagement when the moment calls for such audio help. Clarity and seamlessness are fairly good, too, when the top end offers plain use engagement. The track further enjoys robust engagement through the larger plane around the traditional listening area. Listeners will enjoy quality depth and immersion to a blaring home alarm at the 31-minute mark. A ringing phone a few moments later pushes through the stage with terrifying volume and fill. These more intense cues, paired with various sharp-edged jump scare tactics, help create an edgy listening environment that is further defined by the eerie and effective score which is not meant to sound traditionally clear but rather uneven, unnerving, and edgy. The track makes fine use of every speaker in the configuration for fully seamless sound dispersal. Dialogue is clear and center positioned for the duration. This a is high-quality listen from Paramount and Dolby.

Smile 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of Smile includes a fairly typical variety of supplements, headlined by an audio commentary track. No Blu-ray copy is included. A digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Director Parker Finn explores the film.
• Something's Wrong with Rose: Making Smile (1080p, 29:07): A lengthy exploration of the original short film that inspired Smile, adapting the short to feature length, characters, cast and performances, locations, sets and production design, narrative depth and the role of mental illness in the story, and much more.
• Flies on the Wall: Inside the Score (1080p, 8:50): As the title suggests, this piece offers access to "fly on the wall" footage featuring the creation of some of the film's unique musical elements.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Included are Panic Attack (9:03) and You're Gonna Be OK (2:36). With optional Parker Finn commentary.
• Laura Hasn't Slept - Original Short Film with Introduction by Director Parker Finn (1080p, 11:19): The original award-winning short film that inspired Smile.

Smile 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Smile doesn't rewrite the genre rulebook, but it's a confident, high energy, and watchable entry that should satisfy longtime genre fans looking for something that's familiar and easily digestible, Paramount's UHD delivers great video and excellent audio, both paired with an average allotment of bonus content. Recommended to genre fans.