This little gem goes to show you that even the simplest of concepts, executed properly, can have the greatest success. I can't think of any seasoned filmmakers, given this concept, could've pulled it off as well as this was.
In a nutshell, the horror in this film - a simple smile, just shouldn't have worked, but it did, and it did in a big way, only because of perfect directing, excellent cinematography, and the outstanding score. The real shocker here, is this was all put together buy an amateur filmmaker, Parker Finn, who wrote and directed this, his first feature film, based on one of his only two prior short films. So yeah, this near perfect gem is from an unexperienced newb filmmaker, and Finn has left his mark in this genre as the filmmaker to watch out for. Clearly, Sosie Bacon's spot-on performance helped seal the deal, but also note that her cast direction was from the same new inexperienced filmmaker.
The pacing, albeit slow - which I'm not a fan of, actually worked perfectly in setting the film's tone. The nearly two-hour long runtime flew by. Along with the score that couldn't have been any better, and the sharp and intelligent cinematography, this film worked in every way to keep your heart pumping and your mind stressing. Surprisingly, there were even a few good jump-scares, a rarity for me. Even the special effects and prosthetics were top shelf.
I've had this film on my radar for some time, but after seeing the trailer and rolling my eyes that this horror film is basically based on characters smiling, I laughed it off for many months, especially when I knew it was filmed by a no-name filmmaker. The only reason I finally decided to watch it, was from many of my friends raving how awesome it was. I'm sure glad I finally watched it, and recommend anyone who loves horror, thriller and mystery films to see this as well. I can't wait to see what Finn comes up with next.
In a nutshell, the horror in this film - a simple smile, just shouldn't have worked, but it did, and it did in a big way, only because of perfect directing, excellent cinematography, and the outstanding score. The real shocker here, is this was all put together buy an amateur filmmaker, Parker Finn, who wrote and directed this, his first feature film, based on one of his only two prior short films. So yeah, this near perfect gem is from an unexperienced newb filmmaker, and Finn has left his mark in this genre as the filmmaker to watch out for. Clearly, Sosie Bacon's spot-on performance helped seal the deal, but also note that her cast direction was from the same new inexperienced filmmaker.
The pacing, albeit slow - which I'm not a fan of, actually worked perfectly in setting the film's tone. The nearly two-hour long runtime flew by. Along with the score that couldn't have been any better, and the sharp and intelligent cinematography, this film worked in every way to keep your heart pumping and your mind stressing. Surprisingly, there were even a few good jump-scares, a rarity for me. Even the special effects and prosthetics were top shelf.
I've had this film on my radar for some time, but after seeing the trailer and rolling my eyes that this horror film is basically based on characters smiling, I laughed it off for many months, especially when I knew it was filmed by a no-name filmmaker. The only reason I finally decided to watch it, was from many of my friends raving how awesome it was. I'm sure glad I finally watched it, and recommend anyone who loves horror, thriller and mystery films to see this as well. I can't wait to see what Finn comes up with next.