>>213523400 (OP)
I like the first Smile movie; I think it’s a pretty good riff on the “curse” idea. They find a balance of throwing plenty of scares at the viewer while also applying enough moderation to maintain fear based off suspense and atmosphere. The demon reveal at the end is pretty trippy compared to the (comparatively) grounded nature of the rest of the film and I think the sharp contrast works well in showing how supernatural the demon really is. Rose the psychiatrist was engaging because we got to see someone who you’d think would understand how to navigate potential sympoms of mental illness quickly crumble under the psycological squeeze that the demon puts on the victim. The actors all played their parts well and I honestly wish they did more with Joel’s character in the sequel (which was okay but felt like an inferior version of the original movie).
