I've said it before and I'll say it again: the reason the scares in this movie work so well is that at no point is the film trying to scare you, the audience. Every scare is pointedly directed at Rose and done with reason and purpose.
Right. Because the biggest monster in her life was the person who was supposed to love and protect her while everyone else abandoned her. Now that pain is coming back full circle, just not in a way she was expecting.
I'm borderline and decades ago my parents saved me when I attempted suicide. With that said, the Smile lore is not about suicides, but rather about victims who are murdered by the entity (that possesses them) in order to pass on the curse and to keep feeding on traumas and getting stronger. 🦊🎤🤘🏻🏳⚧🏳🌈🇧🇷
The monster design is so cool because the way it possesses people is by crawling into them through their mouth, and it's design looks like a person inside a person inside a person and they're just all decaying which is awesome they put in thought into the design like that
That really makes sense, especially since Rose sees it with long dark hair like Laura had. It actually makes it a lot scarier thinking that you’re essentially seeing the person you saw kill themselves in a horrific way cause you to do the same
A detail im surprised you guys didnt touch on is when rose is sitting in bed after the big car fight and she hears disembodied voices in a closet (?) saying "rose" and "rose look at me" and she literally just lays down as an apparition of laura appears. This further pushes the theme of rose ignoring trauma even as it closes in on it
i’m sure they would be beating themself up over this if they saw your comment! i bet they would’ve happily touched this detail. probably accidentally forgot! hard to get every detail sometimes.
As someone with chronic anxiety and depression, I felt their portrayal of mental health was well executed. I felt for the main actress a lot, as I had a partner that also cared about my mental health while it was easy for her. Once it declined, I was abandoned. Overall this movie was a good horror film with some powerful undertones. Love the channel, James and Chelsea! I hope everyone in the comments have a good day.
I skipped this movie because I hate jumpscare movies it just annoys me more than scares me, I also find the Demon/Ghost stuff very boring too I like Creature Features and Slashers the most. But as someone who also has depression and anxiety and I've also made multiple attempts, hearing how it deals accurately and in a nice way with mental health does make me interested and I think I'll watch it when it comes to streaming so I can keep the volume low.
I thought the best scare was the cat in my opinion. Its similar to the therapist where It wasn't another loud jumpscare with a scary face, it was the reveal that was more dreadful than scary.
Me too, I thought she would confront her sister and either by accident or in control of the entity kill her and be granted her life back but the next victim would be her nephew and obviously has that trauma 😅 ending was just predictable! But best scare was the audio laptop one
I haven’t seen Smile, but I work at a theater. Everyone hates cleaning after this movie. The soundtrack during credits has made me jump several time. Once, I was so startled I jumped over the railing at the top section of the theater to get out of the auditorium.
Dude I can only imagine. Those credits were ominous as fuck lol. Back when I worked at a movie theater, it was the first Jumanji reboot for me. Soundtrack itself wasn't too bad but it's when the fuckin classic drums kicked in at the very end that freaked me out. Every cleaning for that film was a Speedrun I swear 😭
As above so below was another horror movie that used the phone motif really well. Scarlet's dad also died by suicide and tried to call her for help and she didn't pick up the phone, so the catacombs haunt her with the image of a phone ringing repeatedly.
Personally I read the ending as a message of drawing the line between self-harm and retraumatization vs. genuinely dealing with one's own trauma in a way that is compassionate. Rose is quite literally *going back to the place* where all of this abuse and ultimately suicide occurred. But based on my own experience, you don't overcome trauma by *forcing* yourself to relive it. You don't overcome trauma by punishing yourself. I read the ending as a commentary on how survivors of trauma and abuse can sometimes seek that same feeling of terror, pain, and isolation over and over again because it feels familiar. Confronting trauma in a healthy way doesn't look like Rose going alone into this abandoned decrepit place that houses so much pain for her. She's just retraumatizing herself. In my mind, confronting trauma well, especially when it involves an abusive/negligent parent, looks a lot more like thinking back to your childhood self and telling them that they didn't deserve it. It involves self-compassion, sometimes to a painful degree. For Rose, I think it would involve admitting to someone what really happened - such as a therapist or trusted loved one - and beginning the process of forgiving herself. She hates herself for that choice, and thinks that everyone else would too. I think that's why this movie works so well though: for people who have survived childhood abuse, that's often all survivors know how to do. In the supernatural context, maybe it would have involved actually reconciling with this "entity" and trying to understand it, rather than trying to physically destroy it - because you can't beat fire with fire. Trauma born from violence can't be overcome with violence. You can't hate yourself out of self-hatred. Ultimately, I think that's why it gets the better of her at the end: because Rose couldn't meet her own self-destructive trauma responses with compassion.
Fuck. This comment made me have to take a minute to reassess a lot of my life 😅. Absolutely criminal that this doesn’t have more likes. Incredible analysis buddy 💜👍🏻
As we were walking out after the movie finished, one of the workers was standing by the exit smiling like from the movie. I didn’t notice it but my girlfriend freaked out and didn’t want to walk past her lmao
alright that's pretty great, might do this too! 😆😆😆 Actually now that I think about it, last week (before I saw the movie) I was smiling at a funny memory when another girl walked past me and jumped like I scared her or something. I thought that reaction was kinda odd but now I can tell myself she'd just seen this movie lol
I work at a theatre and can confirm I did the same to customers. Spooked some by taking a step towards them too. One woman screamed and said that I made her piss herself lmao
No disrespect to Jessie Usher, but this is how actors get type casted 😅 On a more serious note, he wanted a relationship that was easy on him, as long as her past trauma didn't ruin it. The second things get hard, he wants to find every excuse in the book to dip. Low key, I kind of wanted the sister to die.
i think it’s also interesting that baker-miller pink is only temporarily calming, with some researchers saying it doesn’t even have an effect at all. it kind of insinuates that rose’s dismissal is a temporary bandaid for her serious trauma, and in the end it won’t fix the issues she’s dealing with.
Came looking for a comment like this.! I wonder if Chelsea knows and just forgot to mention it or if she doesn’t and knowing would maybe change her perspective on some parts
Basically, all future studies failed to replicate his results and they've even gone so far as to say he was fundamentally biased because of internalized beliefs about the femininity of the colour. Aggression actually seemed to *increase* at one jail in Arizona. It has roughly the same status in modern psych as the 'alpha dog' theory of dog behaviour - pseudoscience that has stuck around in the popular consciousness long after being discredited. Hence why something proposed in 1978 and disproved in 1981 even has a wikipedia page.
To add to Rose asking about prescriptions: it's pretty commonplace amongst mental healthcare professionals to try to avoid giving patients drug right away not just because of the avoidance of trauma, but depending on how long it's been since Rose got therapy last, she'd probably need another screening to evaluate her mental state in order to receive that particular drug. In addition to other factors, such as lifestyle management, if she's on other controlled substances and how they'd interact, etc. I had to see my psychiatrist and prove consistent symptoms three times before they were like "ok yeah you obviously need this medicine."
And I'm not taking away the overcomplications of the process or the frustration patients feel. Me having ADHD makes it so exhausting to ask for help let alone be this persistent in getting said help so I definitely get this. This is just something I've learned; mental health professionals sometimes will act like *you* don't know what's best for you (like Chelsea stated) even when you know yourself best.
Yep - I had to fight for *years* just to get put on fucking Mood Stabilizers, drugs with zero recreational value or potential for abuse. For literally six years of my life, my job was getting a *second* doctor to recognize I had manic depression, because I missed two appointments and so lost all access to my initial doctor, and thus my diagnosis and prescriptions.
I noticed that during the scene where the therapist is slowly coming at her in her living room, she feels like she's so big and tall as she steps over the couch to make a direct line to Rose... Felt weird at the time but at the end when the demon is this huge thing whose head reaches the ceiling, it made sense why the therapist felt big too.
Interesting fact about Baker-Miller Pink: although studies did show that this particular shade of pink did calm people down, it also only worked for 15 minutes. Supposedly, after the 15 minutes, aggression levels went back to normal or were heightened. Sounds like it could have symbolized a relapse for the movie.
I watched this movie with friends on impulse without knowing anything beforehand, and it was wayyy better than I expected. The set design and the vivid blue and pinks were really great, kudos to that part of the team!
My girlfriend brought up the blue color too and then here chelsea reminded me of the pink. Very interesting. Im like James, i dont notice the colod themes on a first watch
Can't find anyone talking about the yellows even after all this time. The entity in human form always had yellow. The most obvious is Rose's boss changes tie color to a bright yellow when in room & out at the car it's his normal greenish tie again. Girl at bday party during scares towards Rose now has yellow flowers on shirt. Then u notice Rose child hood home mailbox w the #s 409 on box in yellow. I wish I could find someone that noticed the purposeful yellow colors.
The best part about the audio playback scene is when laura says "rose" quietly, when rose plays it back it skils over the part where we heard it. It gives you a split second to realise that what she heard didnt come from the recording.
You nailed it with the stress part. I've never been this on-edge in a movie. After a few of the scares, I even started questioning what reality was in the film. Creepy movie... I loved it
I feel super lucky that I went into this movie knowing nothing about it and never watching a trailer so I got to experience all the jump scares organically. It was such a great experience
Same and it was great. After I saw it, I was advising ppl to not watch the trailer. The trailer is so horribly done but I guess I get it. They’re working with what they have and the premise itself is already kinda silly sounding so they have to try to bring in people somehow.
@@endearingart I understand the need for trailers in a marketing sense but they use too many of the best moments in them. And you can start to piece together the plot or even twist from the trailer. Now I try to either avoid trailers altogether or find the shortest one and watch half. I hope more studios go in the direction of Scream (2022) where they filmed fake scenes for the trailer which was such an effective method
@@patriciacampbell3300 I really enjoy horror movies and I love them even more when I have no clue what's going on or where the scares are going to come from. Did it recently with Barbarian and I loved it
My friend and I were pleasantly surprised at how good this movie was. It reminded me a lot of ‘It Follows’, ‘The Ring’ and a little bit of ‘Perfect Blue’ with how the main character’s hallucinations worked in the film. I feel like it did a good job of taking the influences from those films and implementing them in a way that it’s able to stand out and not come off as trope-like.
The advertising for this movie was so interesting too! They would stand in the background of live sporting events/morning news shows and just stare and smile into the camera for hours on end. They did a good job going viral and got me from there!!
I loved this movie UNTIL the end and here's why. Her ex KNOWS what is going on. He KNOWS what this thing feeds on. When he comes in and he sees her and OBVIOUSLY she is smiling, he had the opportunity to pull himself together and leave that cabin and NOT see it happen. He didn't. If he wasn't aware of what was going on or he had fought her on this the whole time, I could understand how the shock would cause him to stare, but that isn't the case. Still a solid movie, but man...to me that end was a misstep. However, even at home, it was deeply disturbing, I jumped a couple of times and I'm not easily scared. I think the last one that unnerved me this way was Hereditary. Also..RIP Moustache.
I'd be inclined to agree if it weren't for fight or flight response. I said the same thing until I thought about how I'd react, and I do tend to have a freeze up reaction during traumatic sequences. Given that not only is his ex burning in front of him, from the previous victims, you could see he was disturbed by their deaths, so seeing Rose burn right in front of him with the most unnatural smile that obviously wasn't her, I could kinda see him just shutting down mental capacity right then and there as if he can't actually believe it's happening to her, especially after telling her "what happened to them won't happen to you."
@Wisteria Fawkes yeah no you just took what I said out of context and ran with it sorry lol. It was a short comment where I barely explained my opinion properly and I get a novel in response.
Saw this movie on Halloween and loved it. The best or worst thing, depending how you look at it, was that I was only one in the theater so the anxiety levels we're definitely higher than normal
The part where Rose sees Laure in the dark when she breaks the wine glass reminded me of Hereditary when Annie see her dead mom in the room tell she turn the light on. Another great horror movie!!!
That and the Babadook. I'm actually really surprised no one as mentioned the Babadook because of it's similar mental health themes, but especially how Smile rips at least two scares directly from it: the dead pet being accidentally wrapped up and given as a birthday gift specifically at a nieces/nephews party and the alarm thing, when she's on the phone trying to disarm it and its not real. I feel like the screenwriters saw The Babadook and wanted to make a better version, which ya know they succeeded. It's scary how downright similar those scenes were tho.
I also really like the ending and dont think it’s disappointing. It drives the point home for me that everyday people tell you to put a smile on your face not realizing what you’re going through, as Sosie Bacon’s character is forced to stay home from work and sit in her thoughts and constantly compare her life to her sister who is better off, its all very relatable to people suffering with depression. The end ties it all together for me, im at the part where chelsea said she had a different reading on the ending so im excited to see what Chelsea thinks!
It's cool that they thought through the logic of the ending as it pertained to the opening because Laura screams upon seeing the entity then while the camera is still on her she never actually stops screaming because her expression doesn't change. It looks like she's fighting against something. Her legs are trying to push away from something but she can't move. Then her screaming abruptly stops and it sounds like she's being choked or gasping for air but still flailing about as if the creature is holding her down and is now crawling down her throat blocking her screams as she struggles against it. Another great performance from Caitlin Stasey. Once you know what's happening everything she does makes perfect sense. It both looks exactly like what is happening in the reality of the scene while being vague enough that we don't immediately catch on to what is happening to her in that moment. It's perfect.
i absolutely loved this movie! as someone who struggles with depression it hit home a few times and made it even more unsettling. seeing how people don’t believe someone just because they may have mental health issues. love the episode and your hair looks great chelsea!!!
The best scares, or rather the creepiest visuals in my opinion were in the trailer, and half the jumps were cheaply done, literally LOUD SMASH CUT TO NEXT SCENE AAAAAAA, but I still had a good time. It created a super tense atmosphere throughout and the lead acted so incredibly well. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't as silly as the trailer suggested, it was definitely unsettling so it did its job pretty well :) I wasn't overly enamoured, but had a good time, glad you guys like it too. I always love hearing your thoughts:)
I don’t get how people act on TikTok like they’re freaking traumatized by the movie I haven’t watched the movie myself but I find the way they smiled for the horror movie rather cringe and weird than creepy or scary I’ve watched far better horror movies with better actors/actresses and there were way more brutal, gruesome or even disturbing scenes than Smile I really think people make the movie seem the worst thing to ever watch but it’s definitely not even worth watching I’m also super jumpy as hell especially in horror games but I’ve always been fine afterwards
The big creature at the end, the laptop scene, and the therapist phone call definitely were not in the trailers and those were the stand out moments to me.
@@markusfeindt so…you haven’t seen the movie yet you review as if you have…I’ll never understand people like you on the internet. If you’ve never seen it don’t comment on it.
@@CerotheDemon I’ve seen many people share the same opinion that they don’t like it and honestly many horror movies don’t spark my interest anymore these days cuz idk I’ve lost interest in them
@@CerotheDemon I’ve seen many people share the same opinion that they don’t like it and honestly many horror movies don’t spark my interest anymore these days cuz idk I’ve lost interest in them
As someone who went through almost the exact same situation with my own mother, this movie hit me REALLY fucking hard emotionally. I didn't find my mom, but I did leave her to live with my dad. I was really rooting for Rose to overcome the whole ordeal. I cried for her.
Hey Seleniebeanie, I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, both in real life and 2nd hand from the movie. It sounds like you had a safer childhood with your dad. I hope that you are a healthier and stronger person having gone through such an experience. And thank you for sharing your thoughts, opinions and personal experience. Someone else might need to see that and know that they are not alone.
I’m with wolfman in thank you for sharing and I hope life is being good to you. Did you enjoy the movie or like it enough to watch it again on occasion?
Thank you as well. It's definitely a move I would rewatch later down the road. I plan to watch it with my boyfriend at some point. Overall, I did like the movie and personally found it very complex and deep.
14:50 so happy to see that my favorite horror podcasters are on the same wave length as me and my gf when we walked out of our first time seeing this movie. The whole reason it's the 'smile' demon is because that is the face that traumatized people or those with mental illness feel like they have to put on so that just even a bit of the pressure goes away. Rather than it just being a creepy gimmick like the way Truth or Dare used it. Love you guys! Thank you so much for every upload and all the hard work you do! ♡♡♡
I was WAITING for this episode, I was looking forward to hearing your guy’s opinions on this film. Personally I think it had some solid scares, definitely an enjoyable theater experience.
Regarding that shade of pink: I recall reading that not only is the relaxing effect temporary, but once the subject is no longer exposed to it they will become more easily agitated as if subconsciously they feel they were tricked or deceived into calmness. The brain is weird, man
So, interesting note, you guys don’t spoil movies for me. You help me decide if I want to watch them. Watching a movie with what I know from your analysis, after watching your video, gives me a context and things to look for. If I really want to watch it, I will drop out half way through, so the ending isn’t spoiled… but, I’m very busy and don’t have much time to get to the theaters. So, I appreciate you helping me use my free time in a good way
The performance artist Chelsea mentioned is Marina Abramovic and the specific art piece is called The Artist is Present. Incredibly moving, confronting piece (as performance art lovers are used to from her) .
I'll be honest, I didn't know that this was a real thing. There's a really funny episode of the Animaniacs reboot where the Warner Brothers (and sister Dot) go to one of Marina's performances. They then proceed to try and get a reaction from Marina. I just thought that it was a riff on Shia Lebouf's performance piece "I am not famous anymore" but I'm glad to learn something new today.
As a Midwesterner, it is not all that common for people to not consistently go to theaters. It is much more of a date night/special occasion thing so people aren’t always the most respectful unless you’re watching a niche movie. I saw don’t worry darling on opening night and most of the audience was giggling during a scene that was rather serious and very important to the movie.
1:06:08 I think the message is about dealing with trauma as it happens or just earlier than rose did, and i think it is communicated earliest when she picks up the phone call about Laura. If rose had accepted that she can put her health before others she would have been able to continue walking i stead of running back to take the call and involve herself.
I kinda look at the ending like this: In the medical field, a cut (one involving stitches, at least) is treated specifically so that it doesn't leave a scar, otherwise that scar is permanent, leaving a vulnerable area on your skin. Likewise, not dealing with your trauma early on and in a healthy way will never allow those wounds to heal. Rose had the trauma of leaving her mom to die, but never dealt with it. When she tried to do so on her own, it wasn't in a healthy way with her therapist, and so those "scars" remained, which the entity exploited.
One of those movies that I notice something different every time I rewatch a scene or hear someone talk about it, the fact that Laura chokes during her death because it crawled inside her is terrifying 😂
personally, i think the part that got me the most was when rose was listening to the session recording. i had super bad hearing so i leaned forward to hear it better because i genuinely wanted to know what was being said, and then that fucking jumpscare happened and i never jolted back so hard 😭😭
I had a really unintentionally funny moment during the scene where she's listening back to her patient on he laptop, cause I sneezed while she was doing it, and pretty much everyone in that damn theater got distracted by it so when the jumpscare came it scared the shit out of them
I’d really love to see you guys cover Mike Flanagan’s amazing run that he’s been dominating with the past few years. Particularly Midnight Mass and the Haunting of Hill House, as those are my favorites.
Unfortunately i had no idea what the movie was about and was very much dragged to the theatre by my friends. As someone that struggles with mental health this movie scared me shitless. It’s very good and well executed, but holy shit this messed me up
The themes in this movie are very similar to The Vigil (2019) which also deals with trauma and forgiveness, but from a Jewish perspective. It would be awesome to hear you guys cover that someday
I've seen a lot of horror, but this is the only horror movie to make me shed a tear. They Look Like People did something similar, but it wasn't anywhere near this level for me. Quite amazing.
I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about it, had only seen the first trailer once, and thought the whole movie was going to be with the first victim we see. Not knowing anything made this movie amazing! We had so much fun in the theater! Also Chelsea didn’t touch on this, but that shade of pink while it does temporarily reduce aggression, long term exposure makes people more aggressive, agitated, and easily stressed! While the blue that the main characters house is painted, as well as a lot of the blue clothes she wears, is a color that does genuinely reduce stress and agitation the longer you’re exposed! Showing how the main character not only wants to be that for others, but also herself.
saw this movie in a completely empty theater and i felt like was experiencing a nightmare. somehow it's familiarity was its biggest weakness and one of its stronger points too, it allowed me to somewhat feel comfortable but then did a complete 180 with how i was expecting the scare. i was tense throughout and i left the theater shaking. loved it
Like the sheer genius I am I decided to watch 'Smile' for the first time. Just now. At 8pm. By myself. It scares aren't lingering with me as much as I thought they would though that's not to say it isn't staying with me for other reasons. It could have been ridiculous but oddly enough it's the shot of the entity climbing into Rose's mouth that's playing over and over. I was so hoping Joel wouldn't break down that door. Why couldn't Trevor get it? I was very disappointed in him for turning on her immediately. Even if he didn't believe her that shouldn't matter. She needed help. Pissed me off. I thought the way the story played out with her discovering the way "Smile" was passed along played out at the perfect pace. The fakeouts were really well done. I'm not sure it's a movie that'll end up in rotation after this as figuring it out was kind of integral to my enjoyment and now that I know it could lose a little something. I am trying to get a friend of mine to watch it and she will probably freak out which will be fun to see so there's that. Great movie though. Looks good, some really nice cinematography. Funnily enough once the entity revealed itself it wasn't all that scary. The creepy smiles are far worse. It's a neat twist on the "get curse then pass on curse before you die in about a week" genre though it does have some similarities to both 'The Ring' and 'It Follows' (P.S. I wrote this before starting the video, came up with those on my own as they are the most obviously similar movies, didn't copy Jame or Chelsea) it's different enough that it never bothered me. I feel like they left that door open for a sequel but I'd be just as happy with a one and done. A great little horror movie that captured the attention of a jaded audience and beat out the "final" (we'll see) film in one of the biggest horror franchises in history which deserves all the recognition it gets because that's no easy task. Well done to everyone involved. I look forward to whatever comes next as this group will be one to watch moving forward.
The car window scene will go down as one of the most iconic horror film scenes in history. That scene, despite seeing it in trailers, still made me yelp and I don’t do that often with horror movies. This one messes you up. I was skeptic when it first came out because Truth or Die fucking overdid the whole “demonic smile” crap but this movie - man. Gave me chills anytime someone had that smile before shit went to 100
Yea it definitely sucks that they used literally the best Jumpscare in the trailer but even though I knew it was gonna happen and braced myself, I still screamed😅
Weird fact about this movie the official/ unofficial sub title to this movie is "Something Is Wrong With Rose" I only know this because I work at theater and I got to upload the movie
This was the first horror movie I ever watched in theatre, and, since it was a slow day at the theatre and my friend works at the theatre. We go to watch it for free there....and were the only 3 watching the movie. Our stress levels were through the r o o f.
Sounds similar to my experience watching Paranormal Activity. I had a ticket to see it for free, and I was completely alone in the theatre. Watching a horror movie in an empty theatre definitely ramps up the tension.
my mom and i were the only two in the theater we went to. we were on high alert the whole time and jumped/exclaimed so much. The most fun theater going experience I’ve had in a while.
I was scared by most of it. The opening scene was the peak for me. most of the smiles just came off as funny for some reason especially carl and the therapist.I love the scares where stuff doesnt like make sense like the phone call scares and the slow pans. Movies that really scared me: Rosemary's Baby Annihilation The Babadook Scream
I just want to let James know I never talk over or look away from his Kill Counts. First to pause or rewind if watching with someone else, too. Just so you know that some of us are hanging on your every word really neurotically 😂 Love you guys! This episode was great
that fucking car scene wrecked me in the trailers. i feel like it was even scarier during the movie because i knew it was going to happen and so the suspense made it more intense. my friends walked me out of the theater wrapped in a blanket because i was so scared😂 one of my favorites!
I don't scare easily with horror movies but that car scene got me. I was not expecting it! I thought the sister was coming out to talk further or try to get her help.
Spoilers**- but OMG that scene with our lead actress in the car towards the end with the Carl jump scare was one of the only ones that made me jump out of my seat 😂 a lot of the scares were done well but that one got me too. My reaction felt the exact same to your guys' 😂👍
I definitely thought of It Follows and The Ring while watching this movie. The Ring especially, when Rose's ex tells her that no one has survived this curse for longer than 4 days & Rose comments how it's been 4 days for her.
I didn't think of The Ring, but the Babadook. I've gone to every comment seeing if someone else made the same connection cause no one even mentions it 😭. Specifically the birthday scene which is literally straight from the Babadook.
the part where Rose runs out of Joel's house and ends up back in the woods and it turns around and you see that the cabin is still there literally made me tear up in the theatre! She finally opened up to someone and then when she finds out it's not real is so heartbreaking!!! I wanted so badly to believe that she was okay, that was super effective, ugh. also! The shot of Joel's horrified face with the fire reflected in his eyes was INCREDIBLE!!!
I won't watch this movie because of my past experiences and triggers, but I love how it was made and the care put into it. Fantastic job as usual, James and Chelsea!
Smile and Halloween ends has been my 2 most anticipated pod cast episodes. I was lucky enough to go see this film without seeing the trailer with my fellow cast members of the haunted house we work at, lot of good discussion about it
I have such high respect for this movie. Someone finally managed to make a movie where it's centered around people who struggle with their mental health, but they aren't the antagonists; fully showing that it in fact doesn't have anything to do with them as people. The subtlety of the smiles throughout the entire movie and how it ties back to the point is phenomenal as well. No matter how someone appears as to the waiter at a restaurant, coworkers at their workplace, or even to their own family members, nobody will ever truly know what goes on inside their head until they get to the point that a lot of the movie's victims were before they died. Written off as insane and just a ticking time bomb that's destined to explode instead of a living, breathing person that deserved the help they didn't receive. One of my favorite details, too, is how very early on, Rose's therapist says that many people will never fully heal from their trauma. At the very end where Rose confronts her mother, she makes the steps in order to start healing after so long of holding that guilt with her. And in her first fight with the entity, nobody can blame her for "not putting up a fight" because dear god did she fight to live through that. But the way she couldn't escape the house and was brought back even after she got away and had faced the biggest turning point in her life really reiterates how difficult it is to live with trauma and, as associated, the mental disorders caused by trauma. How horrific it is to be taken back to that one or more moment(s) in time as if you had never left when you thought that it was finally over. As someone with that reality, I highly applaud everyone involved in the making of this movie. Trauma is an incredibly powerful thing and sometimes it can pull you under when you thought you had moved from that period in your life. They encapurted it perfectly here. On top of everything else, the actor playing Rose did an outstanding job at portraying that slow and incredibly painful decent. I could feel myself losing my mind with her and I don't think I've ever been that immersed in a movie. Overall? Majorly recommend. The sound design is expertly done and while the gore seems to be further down budget wise, it doesn't lower the quality in the slightest (in my opinion at least). More or less, just be safe if you to have trauma and/or you struggle with your mental health. It's intense but in a very non-exploitive way.
The thing that made this movie so scary was how realistic the situation felt, nobody believed her and now she understood the frustration the girl felt in the beginning (also random people could start smiling in people knowing a lot of people have seen this movie which is messed up but funny)
I didn't understand why she didn't kill herself without anyone present to traumatise... Also, I don't understand why the MC immediately thought of 'guilt' instead of grief
I would love to see a sequel following the cop’s time with the curse. It seems like he’s setup with knowing the most about the curse and might have a legit chance to survive it. That or if it follows the kid in the future since it paralleled Rose’ experience as a kid and her mom.
i definitely feel like my viewing experience had an impact on how i felt about this movie for sure. i was lucky to have a literally empty theater for it and i loved it! best experience tbh
I honestly love this movie. It scared the shit out of me where I couldn't sleep by myself for a few days. I thought the jump scares were really well done and also just the atmosphere where she has no idea what's real or nor anymore is so unsettling. Some of the imagery as well still stays with me like the very end with the entity and how it entered her was just so disturbing to me. Listening to the scares again as well just gave me chills cause even though it has jumpscares the way they are framed is creepy as well such as the home alarm system phone call and the therapist one. This movie just set me so on edge and the tension was so real the entire time. In my theater as well someone near the end walked out and literally exclaimed sorry guys I can't do this and left. Which made us all laugh and was that break in tension the movie doesn't give. I'm just so excited that Dead Meat covered this cause I've been talking about this movie since I saw it late September just cause of how much of a visceral reaction I had due to it.
As someome who wasn't scared by this movie, I can still say that posession is undoubtedly one of the scariest themes in horror because it's genuinely believeable. For me, the more something can be compared to reality, the more scary it is.
I have no problem with you talking about movies you could potentially be "biased" about. Something I love about this podcast is that you almost always give me a newfound appreciation for movies that I may not have fully understood watching on my own. I don't like this idea that we *have* to be critical in our opinions for those opinions to be taken seriously. I mean aren't we all here to enjoy ourselves?
a couple friends and i watched this movie together and god damn this movie got me good the part with the sister and the car window got a legitimate yell from me but i really enjoyed this movie and was waiting for yall to review this movie. love the pod and keep up the amazing work
i think an important point that wasnt mentioned about that specific shade of pink is that it was studied and proven to reduce aggression, BUUUT it was later discovered that the shade creates a sense of calm for a brief period, then actually ends up increasing aggression when there's long term exposure!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: the reason the scares in this movie work so well is that at no point is the film trying to scare you, the audience. Every scare is pointedly directed at Rose and done with reason and purpose.
@user-nn5st2lo8ustop the scam
Right. Because the biggest monster in her life was the person who was supposed to love and protect her while everyone else abandoned her. Now that pain is coming back full circle, just not in a way she was expecting.
... that's a really, really good point. Holy shit.
@user-nn5st2lo8uYou are a Nigerian scammer.
Yes. This should be jumpscare 101 advice always and forever. Scare the characters, not the audience.
I'm borderline and decades ago my parents saved me when I attempted suicide.
With that said, the Smile lore is not about suicides, but rather about victims who are murdered by the entity (that possesses them) in order to pass on the curse and to keep feeding on traumas and getting stronger.
🦊🎤🤘🏻🏳⚧🏳🌈🇧🇷
The monster design is so cool because the way it possesses people is by crawling into them through their mouth, and it's design looks like a person inside a person inside a person and they're just all decaying which is awesome they put in thought into the design like that
The design was really sick looked like a SCP of some sort
@@Gary_a_normal_human_being It really does, lmao
And they nailed what trauma feels like
That really makes sense, especially since Rose sees it with long dark hair like Laura had. It actually makes it a lot scarier thinking that you’re essentially seeing the person you saw kill themselves in a horrific way cause you to do the same
A detail im surprised you guys didnt touch on is when rose is sitting in bed after the big car fight and she hears disembodied voices in a closet (?) saying "rose" and "rose look at me" and she literally just lays down as an apparition of laura appears. This further pushes the theme of rose ignoring trauma even as it closes in on it
i’m sure they would be beating themself up over this if they saw your comment! i bet they would’ve happily touched this detail. probably accidentally forgot! hard to get every detail sometimes.
I think that was her mom in the doorway who was calling out to her and she ignored it and went to the doctors widow the next day I think
As someone with chronic anxiety and depression, I felt their portrayal of mental health was well executed. I felt for the main actress a lot, as I had a partner that also cared about my mental health while it was easy for her. Once it declined, I was abandoned. Overall this movie was a good horror film with some powerful undertones. Love the channel, James and Chelsea! I hope everyone in the comments have a good day.
have a nice day as well sweetheart
the honesty of people not caring to do the work, or feeling that they are "helping" by not given in in their minds.
I skipped this movie because I hate jumpscare movies it just annoys me more than scares me, I also find the Demon/Ghost stuff very boring too I like Creature Features and Slashers the most.
But as someone who also has depression and anxiety and I've also made multiple attempts, hearing how it deals accurately and in a nice way with mental health does make me interested and I think I'll watch it when it comes to streaming so I can keep the volume low.
What
Lol baby
Smile was great. I was actually expecting the nephew to be the next victim. For me the best scare was when the entity pretended to be the therapist
I thought the best scare was the cat in my opinion. Its similar to the therapist where It wasn't another loud jumpscare with a scary face, it was the reveal that was more dreadful than scary.
Me too, I thought she would confront her sister and either by accident or in control of the entity kill her and be granted her life back but the next victim would be her nephew and obviously has that trauma 😅 ending was just predictable! But best scare was the audio laptop one
I was waiting for a twist where she actually killed the cat and this allowed the curse to skip to the nephew lol
that was 100% the best scare and my favorite part
For real
I haven’t seen Smile, but I work at a theater. Everyone hates cleaning after this movie. The soundtrack during credits has made me jump several time. Once, I was so startled I jumped over the railing at the top section of the theater to get out of the auditorium.
I used to hate cleaning theaters after Elvis and Minions, the music during the credits for those movies is so loud and obnoxious
Yeah, usually though I've heard it enough times to where I just really like the vibes, better than most horror movie scores
I always send someone else in, it’s really unsettling
Theatre worker here too
Dude I can only imagine. Those credits were ominous as fuck lol. Back when I worked at a movie theater, it was the first Jumanji reboot for me. Soundtrack itself wasn't too bad but it's when the fuckin classic drums kicked in at the very end that freaked me out. Every cleaning for that film was a Speedrun I swear 😭
when the nephew unwrap his birthday gift, it was such a Nightmare before Christmas moment "What did Santa bring you?"
No cuz the set up with the open door and the couple tryna find the cat….. like I wasn’t expecting the cat to be in the box.
@@akanewang2350 I was lol I remember leaning over to my nephew and whispering "that cat's in the box" and he was so shocked I was right.
@@BoxOKittens ha! You said that to your nephew about a nephew gift? I hope you can find that wrapping paper for his next birthday.
Love the set up, feels like parents sitting down to tell you a tale
As above so below was another horror movie that used the phone motif really well. Scarlet's dad also died by suicide and tried to call her for help and she didn't pick up the phone, so the catacombs haunt her with the image of a phone ringing repeatedly.
cool movie
running through dante’s inferno, what a FILM
Love that movie.
@@NachosMachos ngl I really enjoyed the movie
That movie is Goated I love it
Personally I read the ending as a message of drawing the line between self-harm and retraumatization vs. genuinely dealing with one's own trauma in a way that is compassionate. Rose is quite literally *going back to the place* where all of this abuse and ultimately suicide occurred. But based on my own experience, you don't overcome trauma by *forcing* yourself to relive it. You don't overcome trauma by punishing yourself. I read the ending as a commentary on how survivors of trauma and abuse can sometimes seek that same feeling of terror, pain, and isolation over and over again because it feels familiar. Confronting trauma in a healthy way doesn't look like Rose going alone into this abandoned decrepit place that houses so much pain for her. She's just retraumatizing herself. In my mind, confronting trauma well, especially when it involves an abusive/negligent parent, looks a lot more like thinking back to your childhood self and telling them that they didn't deserve it. It involves self-compassion, sometimes to a painful degree. For Rose, I think it would involve admitting to someone what really happened - such as a therapist or trusted loved one - and beginning the process of forgiving herself. She hates herself for that choice, and thinks that everyone else would too. I think that's why this movie works so well though: for people who have survived childhood abuse, that's often all survivors know how to do. In the supernatural context, maybe it would have involved actually reconciling with this "entity" and trying to understand it, rather than trying to physically destroy it - because you can't beat fire with fire. Trauma born from violence can't be overcome with violence. You can't hate yourself out of self-hatred. Ultimately, I think that's why it gets the better of her at the end: because Rose couldn't meet her own self-destructive trauma responses with compassion.
well damn, I think you've changed my opinion on the ending
This was very beautifully said.
Great Comment, enjoyed reading that!
Fuck. This comment made me have to take a minute to reassess a lot of my life 😅. Absolutely criminal that this doesn’t have more likes. Incredible analysis buddy 💜👍🏻
As we were walking out after the movie finished, one of the workers was standing by the exit smiling like from the movie. I didn’t notice it but my girlfriend freaked out and didn’t want to walk past her lmao
alright that's pretty great, might do this too! 😆😆😆
Actually now that I think about it, last week (before I saw the movie) I was smiling at a funny memory when another girl walked past me and jumped like I scared her or something. I thought that reaction was kinda odd but now I can tell myself she'd just seen this movie lol
i tried doing that at my theater i work at, think i induced more cringe than scares sadly :/
I work at a theatre and can confirm I did the same to customers. Spooked some by taking a step towards them too. One woman screamed and said that I made her piss herself lmao
the guy bringing us our food looked at us and said "stay smiling" in a creepy voice and I was like hell nah lol
😭 while leaving the theatre i smiled creepily at a staff person but he didn't get it and just waved and said have a good day
Everybody in the theater gasped and wanted the fiance to die after he brought up Rose's mom and said she's like her
His A-Train was showing!
@@MasterGriefSr 😂
No disrespect to Jessie Usher, but this is how actors get type casted 😅
On a more serious note, he wanted a relationship that was easy on him, as long as her past trauma didn't ruin it. The second things get hard, he wants to find every excuse in the book to dip. Low key, I kind of wanted the sister to die.
You read all the other theaters goers minds and knew that they wanted him dead?
@@MasterGriefSr *slow clap*
i think it’s also interesting that baker-miller pink is only temporarily calming, with some researchers saying it doesn’t even have an effect at all. it kind of insinuates that rose’s dismissal is a temporary bandaid for her serious trauma, and in the end it won’t fix the issues she’s dealing with.
Came looking for a comment like this.! I wonder if Chelsea knows and just forgot to mention it or if she doesn’t and knowing would maybe change her perspective on some parts
Basically, all future studies failed to replicate his results and they've even gone so far as to say he was fundamentally biased because of internalized beliefs about the femininity of the colour. Aggression actually seemed to *increase* at one jail in Arizona. It has roughly the same status in modern psych as the 'alpha dog' theory of dog behaviour - pseudoscience that has stuck around in the popular consciousness long after being discredited. Hence why something proposed in 1978 and disproved in 1981 even has a wikipedia page.
"It Follows is just vibes" is the best description of the movie I've seen
Like if someone saw "It Follows" and "The Babadook" and thought, "Ya know what? I have an idea 💡"
@@blueismylove3128 And the idea was those movies but worse
To add to Rose asking about prescriptions: it's pretty commonplace amongst mental healthcare professionals to try to avoid giving patients drug right away not just because of the avoidance of trauma, but depending on how long it's been since Rose got therapy last, she'd probably need another screening to evaluate her mental state in order to receive that particular drug. In addition to other factors, such as lifestyle management, if she's on other controlled substances and how they'd interact, etc. I had to see my psychiatrist and prove consistent symptoms three times before they were like "ok yeah you obviously need this medicine."
And I'm not taking away the overcomplications of the process or the frustration patients feel. Me having ADHD makes it so exhausting to ask for help let alone be this persistent in getting said help so I definitely get this. This is just something I've learned; mental health professionals sometimes will act like *you* don't know what's best for you (like Chelsea stated) even when you know yourself best.
Yep - I had to fight for *years* just to get put on fucking Mood Stabilizers, drugs with zero recreational value or potential for abuse. For literally six years of my life, my job was getting a *second* doctor to recognize I had manic depression, because I missed two appointments and so lost all access to my initial doctor, and thus my diagnosis and prescriptions.
I noticed that during the scene where the therapist is slowly coming at her in her living room, she feels like she's so big and tall as she steps over the couch to make a direct line to Rose... Felt weird at the time but at the end when the demon is this huge thing whose head reaches the ceiling, it made sense why the therapist felt big too.
Nice didn’t expect this one to be out so soon. You got to give Chelsea props, she’s on it! CHELSEA’S GONE SHORT AGAIN 🥳
Wait was she gone lol, I don't keep up with all the podcasts
@@highdefinition450 she wasn't gone... i think this user is just saying the movie was so recent and their review was so quick to be posted.
@@sydneyrsmiley her hair. She was growing it out, but cut it short again. Not that it matters, but if she sees this it looks really nice. :)
@@highdefinition450 yeah was just saying the review came out pretty quick as here in Uk it’s still in cinema’s 🙂 I love her new hair!
@@julianneboleyn Yeah! I think the hair looks great too :)
Interesting fact about Baker-Miller Pink: although studies did show that this particular shade of pink did calm people down, it also only worked for 15 minutes. Supposedly, after the 15 minutes, aggression levels went back to normal or were heightened. Sounds like it could have symbolized a relapse for the movie.
I watched this movie with friends on impulse without knowing anything beforehand, and it was wayyy better than I expected. The set design and the vivid blue and pinks were really great, kudos to that part of the team!
My girlfriend brought up the blue color too and then here chelsea reminded me of the pink. Very interesting. Im like James, i dont notice the colod themes on a first watch
I do food reviews while I’m high off that zaza on my yöutube chånnel ☝️☝️
Can't find anyone talking about the yellows even after all this time. The entity in human form always had yellow. The most obvious is Rose's boss changes tie color to a bright yellow when in room & out at the car it's his normal greenish tie again. Girl at bday party during scares towards Rose now has yellow flowers on shirt. Then u notice Rose child hood home mailbox w the #s 409 on box in yellow. I wish I could find someone that noticed the purposeful yellow colors.
The best part about the audio playback scene is when laura says "rose" quietly, when rose plays it back it skils over the part where we heard it. It gives you a split second to realise that what she heard didnt come from the recording.
You nailed it with the stress part. I've never been this on-edge in a movie. After a few of the scares, I even started questioning what reality was in the film. Creepy movie... I loved it
I feel super lucky that I went into this movie knowing nothing about it and never watching a trailer so I got to experience all the jump scares organically. It was such a great experience
Your brave
Same and it was great. After I saw it, I was advising ppl to not watch the trailer. The trailer is so horribly done but I guess I get it. They’re working with what they have and the premise itself is already kinda silly sounding so they have to try to bring in people somehow.
@@endearingart I understand the need for trailers in a marketing sense but they use too many of the best moments in them. And you can start to piece together the plot or even twist from the trailer. Now I try to either avoid trailers altogether or find the shortest one and watch half. I hope more studios go in the direction of Scream (2022) where they filmed fake scenes for the trailer which was such an effective method
@@patriciacampbell3300 I really enjoy horror movies and I love them even more when I have no clue what's going on or where the scares are going to come from. Did it recently with Barbarian and I loved it
Same I shit myself
My friend and I were pleasantly surprised at how good this movie was. It reminded me a lot of ‘It Follows’, ‘The Ring’ and a little bit of ‘Perfect Blue’ with how the main character’s hallucinations worked in the film. I feel like it did a good job of taking the influences from those films and implementing them in a way that it’s able to stand out and not come off as trope-like.
The advertising for this movie was so interesting too! They would stand in the background of live sporting events/morning news shows and just stare and smile into the camera for hours on end. They did a good job going viral and got me from there!!
I loved this movie UNTIL the end and here's why. Her ex KNOWS what is going on. He KNOWS what this thing feeds on. When he comes in and he sees her and OBVIOUSLY she is smiling, he had the opportunity to pull himself together and leave that cabin and NOT see it happen. He didn't. If he wasn't aware of what was going on or he had fought her on this the whole time, I could understand how the shock would cause him to stare, but that isn't the case. Still a solid movie, but man...to me that end was a misstep. However, even at home, it was deeply disturbing, I jumped a couple of times and I'm not easily scared. I think the last one that unnerved me this way was Hereditary.
Also..RIP Moustache.
Literally couldn't agree more. They had me right up until that moment where he just stands there watching!
I'd be inclined to agree if it weren't for fight or flight response. I said the same thing until I thought about how I'd react, and I do tend to have a freeze up reaction during traumatic sequences. Given that not only is his ex burning in front of him, from the previous victims, you could see he was disturbed by their deaths, so seeing Rose burn right in front of him with the most unnatural smile that obviously wasn't her, I could kinda see him just shutting down mental capacity right then and there as if he can't actually believe it's happening to her, especially after telling her "what happened to them won't happen to you."
i think the ending in general was mediocre
@Wisteria Fawkes yeah no you just took what I said out of context and ran with it sorry lol. It was a short comment where I barely explained my opinion properly and I get a novel in response.
Poor moustache
Saw this movie on Halloween and loved it. The best or worst thing, depending how you look at it, was that I was only one in the theater so the anxiety levels we're definitely higher than normal
Omg that sounds both awful and fantastic. Did you go by yourself too?
@@lototheflo9640 I did, tried to get a couple of friends to tag along but they're were busy.
That sounds like a fucking awesome experience
This is random, but I love Chelsea’s hair here. Giving me swoopy little mermaid vibes!
It’s such a pretty color, too.
The part where Rose sees Laure in the dark when she breaks the wine glass reminded me of Hereditary when Annie see her dead mom in the room tell she turn the light on. Another great horror movie!!!
Me too! That was the scariest part of Hereditary for me
That and the Babadook. I'm actually really surprised no one as mentioned the Babadook because of it's similar mental health themes, but especially how Smile rips at least two scares directly from it: the dead pet being accidentally wrapped up and given as a birthday gift specifically at a nieces/nephews party and the alarm thing, when she's on the phone trying to disarm it and its not real. I feel like the screenwriters saw The Babadook and wanted to make a better version, which ya know they succeeded. It's scary how downright similar those scenes were tho.
I also really like the ending and dont think it’s disappointing. It drives the point home for me that everyday people tell you to put a smile on your face not realizing what you’re going through, as Sosie Bacon’s character is forced to stay home from work and sit in her thoughts and constantly compare her life to her sister who is better off, its all very relatable to people suffering with depression. The end ties it all together for me, im at the part where chelsea said she had a different reading on the ending so im excited to see what Chelsea thinks!
Big smiles are scary for a reason. Baring your teeth to someone is always a threatening display for animals
Yeah, it awakens primal instincts from our prehistoric ancestors
Not to mention, it definitely lands in the uncanny valley. Something with a smile that isn't friendly
It's cool that they thought through the logic of the ending as it pertained to the opening because Laura screams upon seeing the entity then while the camera is still on her she never actually stops screaming because her expression doesn't change. It looks like she's fighting against something. Her legs are trying to push away from something but she can't move. Then her screaming abruptly stops and it sounds like she's being choked or gasping for air but still flailing about as if the creature is holding her down and is now crawling down her throat blocking her screams as she struggles against it. Another great performance from Caitlin Stasey. Once you know what's happening everything she does makes perfect sense. It both looks exactly like what is happening in the reality of the scene while being vague enough that we don't immediately catch on to what is happening to her in that moment. It's perfect.
Gotta love the way James and Chelsea go into depth on every movie they review, I love learning more about the horror genre from those two
Chelsea, I just wanted to say I'm loving the hair. Not that you need confirmation or anything. I just can't get over how much I love it.
Hearing Chelsea say peace up A-town down is something I didn't know I needed until now lol
i absolutely loved this movie! as someone who struggles with depression it hit home a few times and made it even more unsettling. seeing how people don’t believe someone just because they may have mental health issues. love the episode and your hair looks great chelsea!!!
The best scares, or rather the creepiest visuals in my opinion were in the trailer, and half the jumps were cheaply done, literally LOUD SMASH CUT TO NEXT SCENE AAAAAAA, but I still had a good time. It created a super tense atmosphere throughout and the lead acted so incredibly well. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't as silly as the trailer suggested, it was definitely unsettling so it did its job pretty well :) I wasn't overly enamoured, but had a good time, glad you guys like it too. I always love hearing your thoughts:)
I don’t get how people act on TikTok like they’re freaking traumatized by the movie I haven’t watched the movie myself but I find the way they smiled for the horror movie rather cringe and weird than creepy or scary I’ve watched far better horror movies with better actors/actresses and there were way more brutal, gruesome or even disturbing scenes than Smile I really think people make the movie seem the worst thing to ever watch but it’s definitely not even worth watching I’m also super jumpy as hell especially in horror games but I’ve always been fine afterwards
The big creature at the end, the laptop scene, and the therapist phone call definitely were not in the trailers and those were the stand out moments to me.
@@markusfeindt so…you haven’t seen the movie yet you review as if you have…I’ll never understand people like you on the internet. If you’ve never seen it don’t comment on it.
@@CerotheDemon I’ve seen many people share the same opinion that they don’t like it and honestly many horror movies don’t spark my interest anymore these days cuz idk I’ve lost interest in them
@@CerotheDemon I’ve seen many people share the same opinion that they don’t like it and honestly many horror movies don’t spark my interest anymore these days cuz idk I’ve lost interest in them
Even without the horror elements, Smile works as a drama.
As someone who went through almost the exact same situation with my own mother, this movie hit me REALLY fucking hard emotionally. I didn't find my mom, but I did leave her to live with my dad. I was really rooting for Rose to overcome the whole ordeal. I cried for her.
Hey Seleniebeanie, I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, both in real life and 2nd hand from the movie. It sounds like you had a safer childhood with your dad. I hope that you are a healthier and stronger person having gone through such an experience. And thank you for sharing your thoughts, opinions and personal experience. Someone else might need to see that and know that they are not alone.
@@rdp16rulez Thank you for your support.
I’m with wolfman in thank you for sharing and I hope life is being good to you.
Did you enjoy the movie or like it enough to watch it again on occasion?
Thank you as well. It's definitely a move I would rewatch later down the road. I plan to watch it with my boyfriend at some point. Overall, I did like the movie and personally found it very complex and deep.
14:50 so happy to see that my favorite horror podcasters are on the same wave length as me and my gf when we walked out of our first time seeing this movie. The whole reason it's the 'smile' demon is because that is the face that traumatized people or those with mental illness feel like they have to put on so that just even a bit of the pressure goes away. Rather than it just being a creepy gimmick like the way Truth or Dare used it. Love you guys! Thank you so much for every upload and all the hard work you do! ♡♡♡
I was WAITING for this episode, I was looking forward to hearing your guy’s opinions on this film. Personally I think it had some solid scares, definitely an enjoyable theater experience.
Honestly a perfect theatre October movie
Bro the scene with the therapist calling her WHILE she’s talking TO the therapist was awesome!
@@Sm0k3turt fr
@@FilmCrowStudios loved that bit! I turned to my friend and was whisper shouting her f*cking therapist is calling her!!!!
@@FilmCrowStudios this scene fucked with my head
Regarding that shade of pink: I recall reading that not only is the relaxing effect temporary, but once the subject is no longer exposed to it they will become more easily agitated as if subconsciously they feel they were tricked or deceived into calmness.
The brain is weird, man
So, interesting note, you guys don’t spoil movies for me. You help me decide if I want to watch them. Watching a movie with what I know from your analysis, after watching your video, gives me a context and things to look for. If I really want to watch it, I will drop out half way through, so the ending isn’t spoiled… but, I’m very busy and don’t have much time to get to the theaters. So, I appreciate you helping me use my free time in a good way
The performance artist Chelsea mentioned is Marina Abramovic and the specific art piece is called The Artist is Present. Incredibly moving, confronting piece (as performance art lovers are used to from her) .
I'll be honest, I didn't know that this was a real thing. There's a really funny episode of the Animaniacs reboot where the Warner Brothers (and sister Dot) go to one of Marina's performances. They then proceed to try and get a reaction from Marina. I just thought that it was a riff on Shia Lebouf's performance piece "I am not famous anymore" but I'm glad to learn something new today.
As a Midwesterner, it is not all that common for people to not consistently go to theaters. It is much more of a date night/special occasion thing so people aren’t always the most respectful unless you’re watching a niche movie. I saw don’t worry darling on opening night and most of the audience was giggling during a scene that was rather serious and very important to the movie.
1:06:08 I think the message is about dealing with trauma as it happens or just earlier than rose did, and i think it is communicated earliest when she picks up the phone call about Laura. If rose had accepted that she can put her health before others she would have been able to continue walking i stead of running back to take the call and involve herself.
I thought of the upside down drone shots as “turning that frown upside down”
I kinda look at the ending like this: In the medical field, a cut (one involving stitches, at least) is treated specifically so that it doesn't leave a scar, otherwise that scar is permanent, leaving a vulnerable area on your skin. Likewise, not dealing with your trauma early on and in a healthy way will never allow those wounds to heal. Rose had the trauma of leaving her mom to die, but never dealt with it. When she tried to do so on her own, it wasn't in a healthy way with her therapist, and so those "scars" remained, which the entity exploited.
One of those movies that I notice something different every time I rewatch a scene or hear someone talk about it, the fact that Laura chokes during her death because it crawled inside her is terrifying 😂
This was the first movie I've seen in theaters that made me have to go to the bathroom to catch a break. It gave me so much anxiety LOL
Honestly going to the bathroom alone sounds like more hell to me
personally, i think the part that got me the most was when rose was listening to the session recording. i had super bad hearing so i leaned forward to hear it better because i genuinely wanted to know what was being said, and then that fucking jumpscare happened and i never jolted back so hard 😭😭
What an amazing year for horror movies!
I had a really unintentionally funny moment during the scene where she's listening back to her patient on he laptop, cause I sneezed while she was doing it, and pretty much everyone in that damn theater got distracted by it so when the jumpscare came it scared the shit out of them
Did it happen again during smile 2
Huge, I was a second away from heading to work but now I can download this and listen to it during it, thank you so much
I’d really love to see you guys cover Mike Flanagan’s amazing run that he’s been dominating with the past few years. Particularly Midnight Mass and the Haunting of Hill House, as those are my favorites.
Unfortunately i had no idea what the movie was about and was very much dragged to the theatre by my friends. As someone that struggles with mental health this movie scared me shitless. It’s very good and well executed, but holy shit this messed me up
The themes in this movie are very similar to The Vigil (2019) which also deals with trauma and forgiveness, but from a Jewish perspective. It would be awesome to hear you guys cover that someday
Just wanna say I LOVE Chelsea’s hair! It looks so good in that longer strawberry blonde bob
I've seen a lot of horror, but this is the only horror movie to make me shed a tear. They Look Like People did something similar, but it wasn't anywhere near this level for me. Quite amazing.
Wow, I never hear people talk about They Look Like People. I remember tweeting the main actor and he replied, seemed like a nice guy.
I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about it, had only seen the first trailer once, and thought the whole movie was going to be with the first victim we see. Not knowing anything made this movie amazing! We had so much fun in the theater!
Also Chelsea didn’t touch on this, but that shade of pink while it does temporarily reduce aggression, long term exposure makes people more aggressive, agitated, and easily stressed! While the blue that the main characters house is painted, as well as a lot of the blue clothes she wears, is a color that does genuinely reduce stress and agitation the longer you’re exposed! Showing how the main character not only wants to be that for others, but also herself.
saw this movie in a completely empty theater and i felt like was experiencing a nightmare. somehow it's familiarity was its biggest weakness and one of its stronger points too, it allowed me to somewhat feel comfortable but then did a complete 180 with how i was expecting the scare. i was tense throughout and i left the theater shaking. loved it
Saw it alone too! It was so damn scary! And at one point a cinema guy comes in it scared the shit out of me
Like the sheer genius I am I decided to watch 'Smile' for the first time.
Just now.
At 8pm.
By myself.
It scares aren't lingering with me as much as I thought they would though that's not to say it isn't staying with me for other reasons. It could have been ridiculous but oddly enough it's the shot of the entity climbing into Rose's mouth that's playing over and over. I was so hoping Joel wouldn't break down that door. Why couldn't Trevor get it? I was very disappointed in him for turning on her immediately. Even if he didn't believe her that shouldn't matter. She needed help. Pissed me off.
I thought the way the story played out with her discovering the way "Smile" was passed along played out at the perfect pace. The fakeouts were really well done. I'm not sure it's a movie that'll end up in rotation after this as figuring it out was kind of integral to my enjoyment and now that I know it could lose a little something. I am trying to get a friend of mine to watch it and she will probably freak out which will be fun to see so there's that. Great movie though. Looks good, some really nice cinematography. Funnily enough once the entity revealed itself it wasn't all that scary. The creepy smiles are far worse. It's a neat twist on the "get curse then pass on curse before you die in about a week" genre though it does have some similarities to both 'The Ring' and 'It Follows' (P.S. I wrote this before starting the video, came up with those on my own as they are the most obviously similar movies, didn't copy Jame or Chelsea) it's different enough that it never bothered me. I feel like they left that door open for a sequel but I'd be just as happy with a one and done. A great little horror movie that captured the attention of a jaded audience and beat out the "final" (we'll see) film in one of the biggest horror franchises in history which deserves all the recognition it gets because that's no easy task. Well done to everyone involved. I look forward to whatever comes next as this group will be one to watch moving forward.
The car window scene will go down as one of the most iconic horror film scenes in history. That scene, despite seeing it in trailers, still made me yelp and I don’t do that often with horror movies. This one messes you up. I was skeptic when it first came out because Truth or Die fucking overdid the whole “demonic smile” crap but this movie - man. Gave me chills anytime someone had that smile before shit went to 100
Yea it definitely sucks that they used literally the best Jumpscare in the trailer but even though I knew it was gonna happen and braced myself, I still screamed😅
@@alternativesixteen1222 it’s one of those scenes that no matter how many times you watch it, it still gets you lmao
i watched this at home and was TERRIFIED (rare for me after seeing horror movies) because i wasnt in a theater with others, i was ALONE.
Love your pfp
-fellow bi peep
Bruh I'm 18 and I basically live alone and I watch it at night 😅 making great decisions out here
I saw this movie, and the movie never let you feel safe with constant mini jump scares. The ending was by far the best part of the movie.
Weird fact about this movie the official/ unofficial sub title to this movie is "Something Is Wrong With Rose" I only know this because I work at theater and I got to upload the movie
This was the first horror movie I ever watched in theatre, and, since it was a slow day at the theatre and my friend works at the theatre.
We go to watch it for free there....and were the only 3 watching the movie.
Our stress levels were through the r o o f.
Sounds similar to my experience watching Paranormal Activity. I had a ticket to see it for free, and I was completely alone in the theatre. Watching a horror movie in an empty theatre definitely ramps up the tension.
@@ceilinh6004 Indeed it does. At least I had two friends with me, while watching it so i wasn't COMPLETELY alone lol.
my mom and i were the only two in the theater we went to. we were on high alert the whole time and jumped/exclaimed so much. The most fun theater going experience I’ve had in a while.
The way it suddenly cut to graphic things like the professor who smashed his face in reminded me of the ring where it just cuts to her face
I was scared by most of it. The opening scene was the peak for me. most of the smiles just came off as funny for some reason especially carl and the therapist.I love the scares where stuff doesnt like make sense like the phone call scares and the slow pans.
Movies that really scared me:
Rosemary's Baby
Annihilation
The Babadook
Scream
This movie scared the hell out of me, loved every moment and really appreciated the social commentary too!
I just want to let James know I never talk over or look away from his Kill Counts. First to pause or rewind if watching with someone else, too. Just so you know that some of us are hanging on your every word really neurotically 😂 Love you guys! This episode was great
that fucking car scene wrecked me in the trailers. i feel like it was even scarier during the movie because i knew it was going to happen and so the suspense made it more intense. my friends walked me out of the theater wrapped in a blanket because i was so scared😂 one of my favorites!
I don't scare easily with horror movies but that car scene got me. I was not expecting it! I thought the sister was coming out to talk further or try to get her help.
@@Claire_Loves_MusicI thought the same but that was waaayyyy good to be true
Chelsea your hair looks SO GOOD
Spoilers**- but OMG that scene with our lead actress in the car towards the end with the Carl jump scare was one of the only ones that made me jump out of my seat 😂 a lot of the scares were done well but that one got me too. My reaction felt the exact same to your guys' 😂👍
I definitely thought of It Follows and The Ring while watching this movie. The Ring especially, when Rose's ex tells her that no one has survived this curse for longer than 4 days & Rose comments how it's been 4 days for her.
I didn't think of The Ring, but the Babadook. I've gone to every comment seeing if someone else made the same connection cause no one even mentions it 😭. Specifically the birthday scene which is literally straight from the Babadook.
I haven’t been jump scared in years but this movie got me once or twice. Loved it.
the part where Rose runs out of Joel's house and ends up back in the woods and it turns around and you see that the cabin is still there literally made me tear up in the theatre! She finally opened up to someone and then when she finds out it's not real is so heartbreaking!!! I wanted so badly to believe that she was okay, that was super effective, ugh.
also! The shot of Joel's horrified face with the fire reflected in his eyes was INCREDIBLE!!!
the movie really scared my mom, so when she went to the restroom me and my sister stood right outside the door with the biggest smile on our faces.
If you asking where money goes in 1:04:30, the answer is clearly obvious. Marketing. In Ecupre it was massiv.
The car scare honestly had me screaming in the theatre lmao
I like the way you talk about depression and mental illnesses. I related to it more then I should but it does make me feel less alone so thanks.
So excited for this one! I love Chelsea’s hair so much, it looks amazing.
I won't watch this movie because of my past experiences and triggers, but I love how it was made and the care put into it. Fantastic job as usual, James and Chelsea!
Smile and Halloween ends has been my 2 most anticipated pod cast episodes. I was lucky enough to go see this film without seeing the trailer with my fellow cast members of the haunted house we work at, lot of good discussion about it
I have such high respect for this movie. Someone finally managed to make a movie where it's centered around people who struggle with their mental health, but they aren't the antagonists; fully showing that it in fact doesn't have anything to do with them as people. The subtlety of the smiles throughout the entire movie and how it ties back to the point is phenomenal as well. No matter how someone appears as to the waiter at a restaurant, coworkers at their workplace, or even to their own family members, nobody will ever truly know what goes on inside their head until they get to the point that a lot of the movie's victims were before they died. Written off as insane and just a ticking time bomb that's destined to explode instead of a living, breathing person that deserved the help they didn't receive. One of my favorite details, too, is how very early on, Rose's therapist says that many people will never fully heal from their trauma. At the very end where Rose confronts her mother, she makes the steps in order to start healing after so long of holding that guilt with her. And in her first fight with the entity, nobody can blame her for "not putting up a fight" because dear god did she fight to live through that. But the way she couldn't escape the house and was brought back even after she got away and had faced the biggest turning point in her life really reiterates how difficult it is to live with trauma and, as associated, the mental disorders caused by trauma. How horrific it is to be taken back to that one or more moment(s) in time as if you had never left when you thought that it was finally over. As someone with that reality, I highly applaud everyone involved in the making of this movie. Trauma is an incredibly powerful thing and sometimes it can pull you under when you thought you had moved from that period in your life. They encapurted it perfectly here. On top of everything else, the actor playing Rose did an outstanding job at portraying that slow and incredibly painful decent. I could feel myself losing my mind with her and I don't think I've ever been that immersed in a movie. Overall? Majorly recommend. The sound design is expertly done and while the gore seems to be further down budget wise, it doesn't lower the quality in the slightest (in my opinion at least). More or less, just be safe if you to have trauma and/or you struggle with your mental health. It's intense but in a very non-exploitive way.
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The thing that made this movie so scary was how realistic the situation felt, nobody believed her and now she understood the frustration the girl felt in the beginning (also random people could start smiling in people knowing a lot of people have seen this movie which is messed up but funny)
I really liked the movie. One of the scariest endings ever. Had chills for a solid minute at the end.
I didn't understand why she didn't kill herself without anyone present to traumatise...
Also, I don't understand why the MC immediately thought of 'guilt' instead of grief
the ending was pure trash wtf lol
@@MyPotatoAim you gotta have the most common mexican ass name possible
*yawn*
@@MyPotatoAim wasn’t trash because it had some good creepy moments but having her die at the end was such a horrible decision on their part
I love the scenes in her head (The Computer & Phone Call)
The ending is upsetting for me
I would love to see a sequel following the cop’s time with the curse. It seems like he’s setup with knowing the most about the curse and might have a legit chance to survive it. That or if it follows the kid in the future since it paralleled Rose’ experience as a kid and her mom.
There was a cut in this movie to the loudest can of cat food I've ever heard. I was already so on-edge that I jumped 2 feet in the air out of my seat.
Chelsea’s hair is so cute 🥺
i definitely feel like my viewing experience had an impact on how i felt about this movie for sure. i was lucky to have a literally empty theater for it and i loved it! best experience tbh
I honestly love this movie. It scared the shit out of me where I couldn't sleep by myself for a few days. I thought the jump scares were really well done and also just the atmosphere where she has no idea what's real or nor anymore is so unsettling. Some of the imagery as well still stays with me like the very end with the entity and how it entered her was just so disturbing to me. Listening to the scares again as well just gave me chills cause even though it has jumpscares the way they are framed is creepy as well such as the home alarm system phone call and the therapist one. This movie just set me so on edge and the tension was so real the entire time. In my theater as well someone near the end walked out and literally exclaimed sorry guys I can't do this and left. Which made us all laugh and was that break in tension the movie doesn't give. I'm just so excited that Dead Meat covered this cause I've been talking about this movie since I saw it late September just cause of how much of a visceral reaction I had due to it.
As someome who wasn't scared by this movie, I can still say that posession is undoubtedly one of the scariest themes in horror because it's genuinely believeable. For me, the more something can be compared to reality, the more scary it is.
I went to the theater and had no idea what to watch, and I chose smile, and MY GOSH, I didn't expect that to be so terrifying!!
It's James's smile that always makes me laugh
I have no problem with you talking about movies you could potentially be "biased" about. Something I love about this podcast is that you almost always give me a newfound appreciation for movies that I may not have fully understood watching on my own. I don't like this idea that we *have* to be critical in our opinions for those opinions to be taken seriously. I mean aren't we all here to enjoy ourselves?
a couple friends and i watched this movie together and god damn this movie got me good the part with the sister and the car window got a legitimate yell from me but i really enjoyed this movie and was waiting for yall to review this movie. love the pod and keep up the amazing work
i think an important point that wasnt mentioned about that specific shade of pink is that it was studied and proven to reduce aggression, BUUUT it was later discovered that the shade creates a sense of calm for a brief period, then actually ends up increasing aggression when there's long term exposure!
My uncle made my whole family got watch this movie. Im pretty exited to see your opinion on it.