From Paramount Pictures, Smile is an upcoming psychological horror movie with a very creepy premise. Written and directed by Parker Finn in his feature film debut, the movie is based on his 2020 short film Laura Hasn’t Slept, which won the Special Jury Recognition Prize for SXSW’s Midnight Short category. The 11-minute short follows a young woman (Caitlin Stasey) who seeks the help of her therapist (Lew Temple) after experiencing a reoccurring nightmare in which she is visited by a scary man whose appearance changes with every dream.
Smile builds on this idea and stars Sosie Bacon as Dr. Rose Cotter, who witnesses a traumatic event involving a patient and begins to experience frightening occurrences she can’t explain. There is a pattern with Rose’s patients that begins with them seeing something which isn’t there and ends with them dying a week later. In between these states, the patients develop a sinister smile, lending the movie its ominous title. With its release on the horizon, we look at what else to expect from Smile, including information about the cast and crew.
Smile: The Cast
Sosie Bacon, who plays the lead role of Dr. Rose Cotter, began her acting career playing 10-year-old Emily in the romance drama Loverboy, directed by her father, Kevin Bacon. Since then, she has starred in a handful of popular series and movies, including Scream, 13 Reasons Why, and Narcos: Mexico. Her recent roles are as Carrie Layden in the critically-acclaimed limited series Mare of Easttown and Mandy in the comedy-drama series As We See It.
Caitlin Stasey, who plays Rose’s patient who kills herself, is known for playing Francesca Thomas in the children’s series The Sleepover Club and Rachel Kinski in the Australian soap Neighbours. Stasey’s other roles include Kenna in the historical drama series Reign, Julia Law (the “girl”) in the TV movie The Girl in the Bathtub, and, of course, Laura in the Smile director’s short film Laura Hasn’t Slept. Joining Bacon and Stasey in Smile are actors Kal Penn (House, Designated Survivor), Jessie T. Usher (Independence Day: Resurgence, The Boys), Kyle Gallner (Jennifer’s Body, Scream 5), and Rob Morgan (Stranger Things, Don’t Look Up).
Smile: The Release Date
Smile is scheduled to be released in theatres on September 30. Fans of the psychological thriller/ horror genre will be happy to know that a week before its release, Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling will hit cinemas. Wilde’s second directed movie, Don’t Worry Darling, is set in the 50s and stars Harry Styles and Florence Pugh as a young, married couple living in the utopic town of Victory. Jack (Styles) works at the Victory company, whilst Alice (Pugh) is a housewife who becomes increasingly wary of her husband’s secret project. The trailer for Don’t Worry Darling — which sees Alice’s reality crack before her eyes — has created a lot of buzz for the movie, which looks to be part sexy, part scary.
Here’s something to smile about… #SmileMovie will kick off @fantasticfest as the Opening Night film. In theatres everywhere September 30. pic.twitter.com/KDToIrpjtA
— Smile Movie (@SmileMovie) August 16, 2022
