Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson , based on child development research. How do we rate?
age 16+
Lots of gore and noisy jump scares in disappointing chiller.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
Extreme blood and gore. Character slices own face, with blood gurgling out. Oozing blood puddle. Blood stains. Blood spurts. Dead cat wrapped inside child's birthday present. Multiple stabbings. Character rips own face off more than once. Several jump scares. Extremely gory crime scene photos. Gory surveillance footage (person spears own head with gardening shears). Character falls, crashing through a glass coffee table and slicing up wrists (lots of blood). Person's neck bends in an unnatural way. Character bites off own thumbnail, bleeding wound. Scary monster. Monster on fire. Burning cabin. Unsettling imagery. Creepy drawings. Screaming, panic. Nightmares, hallucinations. Suicide is discussed. Dialogue describing violent events. Arguing.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Language
a lot
Strong language, with uses of "f--k," "s--t," "goddamn," "shut up," "head case," "nutcase." "Jesus Christ" as an exclamation. A character is labeled as and called "crazy."
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a little
Main character tries to get a prescription for a medicine used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc. Character gulps glasses of wine to ease stress. Wine at dinner.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
very little
Women in bra and/or panties. Woman taking shower, her back to the camera.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Positive Role Models
very little
The main character is a psychiatrist who loves helping others but hasn't dealt with her own issues. She descends into an unstable state and acts erratically as she struggles with hallucinations and nightmares.
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Diverse Representations
very little
Movie focuses on a woman, although she's largely a victim. An interracial relationship falls apart in a way that paints a Black character as unsympathetic. Black supporting characters include a nurse, a prison guard, and a man incarcerated for murder; none have much agency.
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Positive Messages
none
No messages here: This is just about a "curse" that randomly happens to a person. The movie tries to explain that the curse feeds on trauma, but it doesn't do anything interesting or useful with this information (i.e., What is trauma? What kinds of trauma are "deserving" of the curse? Doesn't everyone have trauma of some kind?).
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Smile is a horror movie about a psychiatrist (Sosie Bacon) who falls under a mysterious curse; unless she can find a way to break it, she's destined to die by suicide while passing on the curse to someone else. It has chilling moments but is mostly a collection of borrowed ideas and loud jump scares. Expect extreme amounts of gore and violence, with face-slicing, face-ripping, gurgling blood, blood stains, blood spurts, a dead cat wrapped inside a child's birthday present, stabbings, gory crime scene photos, someone crashing through a glass coffee table, a scary monster, a neck bending in an unnatural way, fire, screaming, panic, nightmares, and more. Language is also strong, with uses of "f--k," "s--t," "goddamn," etc. A woman showers with her back to viewers, and women are shown in bras and panties. There's social drinking, and a character gulps wine after a stressful day and asks for a prescription for a medicine used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and more. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
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Smile
Parent and Kid Reviews
- Parents say (27)
- Kids say (89)
age 17+
Based on 27 parent reviews
Flippsie_woof_woof Parent of 15-year-old
October 4, 2022
age 18+
MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS!
So.. I went and saw this movie with my boyfriend (23yr, 24yr) and cousin (15yr). I have watched scary movies my whole life. Been into scary things in general. I'm the type that likes being scared. This movie was on another level, not because of the heavy gore or cursing but the psychological side of it really made me think about it. The movie contains superb auditory effects which make you anxious, overwhelmed, even disoriented and on the verge of a breakdown yourself without realizing whats happening until its obvious. I believe they wanted you to feel what the character feels throughout the movie. There were also numerous groups walk out of the theater as we watched on. Watching this made me ponder whether I should continue watching scary movies because it made me really think about what I'm allowing inside my mind. It really bothered me more hours after the movie even into the next day as well. I won't ever watch it again. Do not watch it if you're not mentally healthy and or strong minded.
Dominic B. Parent of 1 and 3-year-old
October 9, 2022
age 17+
Very scary horror
This is an extremely scary, graphic horror movie that should not be taken lightly. I have seen my fair share of horror movies over the years but this one definitely has a different feel to it. It is chilling, unnerving, and very difficult to watch sometimes. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire movie. About half the theatre got up and left throughout the movie. The movie focuses on mental health and trauma and it does that very well. Not for the easily rattled, lots of gore and jump-scares. I would not recommend for kids.
What's the Story?
In SMILE, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), a psychiatrist, has been working a long shift and is just about to go home when she agrees to see a distraught patient, Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey). Laura claims that she's being followed by some malevolent force that appears to her in different bodies, all of them smiling sinister smiles. While talking, she suddenly screams and then goes quiet. A smile appears on her face, and she slices her own throat. Not long after, Rose starts seeing things herself. She enlists the help of her ex, Joel (Kyle Gallner), the police detective assigned to Laura's case, to learn more. They discover that there's a pattern, going back 20 victims, each a witness to a previous suicide. Then Rose gets the idea that, as long as she's alone, no one can witness her death by suicide, so the curse won't get passed on. She heads up to a remote cabin in the woods for a showdown with the thing that's responsible.
Is It Any Good?
The image of a creepy, sinister smile is so primal and so chilling that it might have inspired something truly penetrating, but, sadly, this horror movie is content to fall back on noisy jump scares. The feature writing and directing debut of Parker Finn, Smile isn't without its spine tingles, but they're few and fleeting as the movie treads through a collection of well-worn clichés. The idea of a curse passed from one person to another has been better used in Final Destination, The Ring, It Follows, and more; when that idea succeeds, it's because the evil force remains a mystery. Here, it's explained and detailed down to the last bit, revealing the monster as a stringy-haired thing (just like in The Ring) that's up to no good. Cheap, cacophonous jump scares accompany its every move.
The typical, frantic race against time to find a way to break the curse is here, too, but the long overnight drive to a prison to speak to the one man who managed to survive is a complete waste of time; nothing is learned that viewers didn't already know. (The movie's bulky 115 minutes could have used some trimming.) It even uses the old upside-down-drone-shot driving footage that was featured in Midsommar and other movies. Most of the heavy lifting in Smile is handed to Bacon, whose descent into madness -- everyone she encounters calls her "crazy" -- is ultimately more wearying than touching. Even the smile itself, used so effectively in the movie's opening sequence, is wasted throughout the rest of it. Smile leaves off with the potential for a sequel, but this entry is already pretty sparse, like a mouth without teeth.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Smile's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes enjoy being scared?
It's said that the monster in the movie feeds on trauma. What is trauma? Are there different degrees of trauma? Does everyone experience it at some point?
How can a smile be so scary when its typically intended to convey joy and happiness?
Movie Details
- In theaters: September 30, 2022
- On DVD or streaming: December 13, 2022
- Cast: Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey
- Director: Parker Finn
- Inclusion Information: Female actors, Gay actors
- Studio: Paramount
- Genre: Horror
- Topics: Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Run time: 115 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: strong violent content and grisly images, and language
- Last updated: August 29, 2024
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
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