Paramount Horror Movie Smile terrified audiences with its gory scenes and violent deaths, making a huge profit while it aired. It tells a captivating story that borders on madness, grief and human psychology.
The story begins with Sosie Bacon’s character as a psychiatrist, Dr. Rose Cotter. She witnessed one of her patients commit suicide, which, unbeknownst to her, was the start of a horrible curse.
The doctor investigates further and discovers that she is supposed to kill herself in front of someone, the same thing that happened to her patient. This curse will circulate unless Cotter kills an innocent person to break the spell.
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Smile Director Explains Grim Movie Ending
The story is more than just a scary movie, but it’s an ode to resolving childhood trauma. Cotter visits his old home to confront the demons that haunt it. She has multiple hallucinations, battles a giant monster, and sets everything on fire – even herself!
Smile director Parker Finn spoke Movie Slash and explained the end of the film. It was always the plan to write a horrifying ending, and it was just a matter of how.
“I knew from the start that the movie would eventually end with its worst possible conclusion. It was always built into the DNA of the story because it felt like there was just a chance that it might not necessarily do what the audience hoped for, that it felt like that this was earned through the film’s plot and themes..”
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The director also pointed out that in most Hollywood horror films, there will always be happy endings and solved problems. After terrifying the audience, it often brings comfort towards the end. Instead of doing the same formula, Finn played a trick on viewers.
“There were a lot of different ways the movie was going to potentially get there. I considered a few different routes early on, but at some point it kind of solidified and it was definitely something that was in the script from the start..”
Most of Cotter’s scenes center around the struggle to confront her inner demons and when she finally believes the evil has been vanquished, she enters another round of intense hallucinations. At the end, after setting herself on fire, her ex Joel bursts into the room and witnesses her death. Thus, passing the curse to him.
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Will there be a smile sequel?
With generally positive reviews and a box office gross of $210 million against a budget of $17 million, there’s no doubt that Smile will get a sequel. The plot ended on a dark but unresolved note, leaving an opening for a second installment. With Joel as the new possessor of the curse, the story could use a sequel. With the cast on board for a sequel and director Finn already coming up with ideas for Smile 2fans could only hope for the best.
Smile is available to stream on Paramount Plus.
Source: Screen Rant
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