As someone who is obsessed with horror movies, I was over the moon when I saw the trailer for  “Smile.” I was counting down the days until its release on Sept. 30, and it certainly did not disappoint. I’ve watched a ton of horror movies, and they usually never truly scare me; however, “Smile” sent chills down my spine.

“Smile” follows the life of therapist Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) after a traumatic encounter with a patient named Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey), who described terrifying hallucinations that were threatening her life before eventually ending her life in front of Cotter. Shortly after, Cotter begins experiencing the same delusions. As her life begins falling apart, Cotter desperately tries to investigate what’s happening to her and how she can prevent her impending death. 

Throughout the movie, I was enthralled with the storyline. Every scene left me wondering what would happen next. The movie was nowhere near predictable and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The main aspect that made the movie so horrifying was the marvelous acting. The emotions of the actors were portrayed so well that it almost made me feel the same emotions myself. The chilling screams sent a wave of goosebumps across my entire body.

A far more unsettling part of the movie was the iconic smiling. Many of the delusions people will see consist of a person they know with the most sinister smile across their face. These hallucinations would eventually lead them to their death, and the people affected would be left with the same eerie smile. This movie took what is commonly known as a symbol of happiness to display fear, trauma and death, which left me uneasy.

However unique the movie may be, it was still full of basic, boring side plots – such as family and ex-lover drama. The side plots, at first, were irrelevant and uninteresting. To my surprise, everything tied together perfectly. The side plots played an important role in developing the story. Even though they seemed boring at first, they quickly hooked me in once I understood where the puzzle pieces fell.

At the end of the movie, the writers leave you with a false sense of hope; everything seems to be perfect and the happy ending is finally coming together. If you know anything about horror movies, you know that happy endings simply do not exist. Stupidly, I believed this movie could change that. However, it took an unexpected dark turn that tore apart any bit of happy ending there possibly was. 

This movie was incredibly chilling. It has, by far, surpassed any other horror movie I’ve seen in terms of fright level and cinematic portrayal. If you’re a horror movie lover like me, this is the ideal movie for you, but be warned: this movie is not for the faint of heart.