Smile (2009) Movie Review
Written By: FZ
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Francesco Gasperoni
Writer: Francesco Gasperoni
Producer: Stephane Berrebi, Marc Bikindou, Isabelle Carriere, Jay Julien, et. al.
Date Released: August 8, 2009
Cast:
Armand Assante as Tollinger
Harriet MacMasters-Green as Clarissa
Antonio Cupo as Tommy
Manuela Zanier as Angelica
Mourad Zaoui as Rasheed
Robert Capelli Jr. as Paul
Giorgia Massetti as Jameela
Tara Haggiag as Geneva
Rating = 1/5 Graves
***May contain spoilers***
Synopsis
Smile (2009) is about a group of students who are on holiday in Morocco. When one of the students buy a camera from an antique shop, strange events start to occur. After multiple deaths, the students start to realize that the camera may have something to do with these horrible occurrences. As the student numbers dwindle, they must figure out how to stop this cursed camera from plaguing the students.
Gore Factor
Smile (2009) lacks blood, gore or any special effects. The death scenes and effects are probably the weakest part of this movie; and are comical. For example, in one scene, a girl is shown in a picture alone with a tree and as a result becomes pinned to the tree. In another scene, a guy’s picture is overexposed and this results in the man getting struck by lightning. Lastly, another girl is shown holding a shovel in her hand, and as a result gets impaled by a shovel. However, with all these scenes, there is no blood and when the characters meet their demise, the camera pans away from event.
The Grave Review
Smile (2009) is a poor attempt at making a film similar to Final Destination but fails terribly. Smile (2009) attempts to tell the story of a cursed camera that causes the death of the students based on how the photographs come out. However, this unoriginal concept is overshadowed by unimpressionable acting and special effects or lack thereof. It is not a negative for a film to be unoriginal (no pun intended). However, the manner in which the film was executed is poorly done. As stated above, the death scenes were comical and the overall tone of the film felt spiritless (again, no pun intended, well maybe intended).
The performances felt dry and the characters, themselves, were not relatable. When the characters were killed, it was difficult feel any sense of sympathy. There seemed to be forced concepts to help the story progress. For example, the store owner who sold the camera to the student was so menacing, it would be hard to believe that a normal person would be comfortable in this situation. The film also relies heavily on the fact that the students lack any common sense. However, on a side not, the store owner is played by Armand Assante who provided a nice touch to the film. It was a shame that he received so little airtime.
One aspect of the film which should be appreciated is the location that Smile (2009) was shot on. Sources indicate that the film was shot on location in Morocco in its entirety. In this way, we appreciate that effort as the background and the environment is very pretty to look at and will make you “smile”.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Smile (2009) one grave out of five graves.
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