68
Metascore
32 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 92TheWrapWilliam BibbianiTheWrapWilliam BibbianiThis isn’t just a great horror story; it’s genuinely scary. You may be able to recognize familiar elements in its DNA, but it’s mutated into something distinct and unsettling. What a showcase of shocks. What a devilish debut.
- 87PolygonTasha RobinsonPolygonTasha RobinsonNo matter how excessively the legitimate scares pile up, they’re startling and convincing. The editing and music are impressively tuned for maximum impact whenever the slow-burning tension resolves with an abrupt, ugly surprise. All of which makes Smile an efficient ride, if an unusually unrelenting one.
- 83ColliderAlyse WaxColliderAlyse WaxSmile holds no surprises. No big twists. You know what you are getting going into this movie. It is predictable from the first minute. But it is an enjoyable, scary ride that is well-plotted and acted. You will know how it ends within the first five minutes of the film. But the ride getting there is well worth it.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawThe movie is a shard of comic and cosmic spite, and the image of the malign smile carries force.
- 75Slant MagazineRocco T. ThompsonSlant MagazineRocco T. ThompsonEverything Smile is doing is familiar enough at this point to be considered old-fangled, but the striking precision of its craft sloughs away any sensations of déjà vu.
- 70VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanSmile will likely be a hit, because it’s a horror film that delivers without making you feel cheated. At 90 minutes, though, with less repetition, it might have been a more ingenious movie.
- 70Little White LiesCharles BramescoLittle White LiesCharles BramescoSlipping into insanity right alongside its protagonist, Smile is an uncommonly sharp movie deviously disguising itself as more of the same. Lowering our defences with the appearance of the commonplace may be its most wicked move of all.
- 67IndieWireMarisa MirabalIndieWireMarisa MirabalOverall, Smile delivers a captivating and claustrophobic mental hellscape that will cause one to both grimace and grin.
- 63RogerEbert.comKatie RifeRogerEbert.comKatie RifeSadly, despite a compelling lead and strong craft behind the camera—the color palette, in shades of lavender, pink, teal, and gray, is capably chosen and very of the moment—Smile is diminished by the sheer fact that it’s not as fresh a concept as it might seem.
- 55SlashfilmChris EvangelistaSlashfilmChris EvangelistaThere's real skill and artistry smiling out at us here. Too bad it's buried under so many secondhand scenarios.